A New Approach in Teaching Projects and Presentations Course to Level 4

Students Using English Newspapers of Oman

Justin JamesLecturer, Nizwa College of Technology

Sultanate of Oman

AimsReflect on the challenges in the Projects and

Presentations course.Analyze the difficulties students have in this

course.Discuss the challenges teachers have in

teaching this course.Introduce an alternate methodology to teach

this courseDemonstrate how this methodology works.

Present the outcomes of the new methodologyShowcase how this methodology is beneficial to students & teachers

Motivate teachers to employ alternate methodologies to teach challenging courses like Projects and Presentations

Main Objectives of the CourseTo know what academic research is, how to

conduct it & how to record it in a report form.

To choose a topic of interest, form hypothesis & choose suitable research methods to get primary data.

To find and read secondary data & to get practical experience in quoting from references and to use information from them appropriately.

To learn referencing & preparing a bibliography.

To learn and practice specific skills like analysing to arrive at findings and solutions & compiling them.

To present the report orally using relevant presentation tools

Learning Outcomes - After the completion of the course, Students should be able to:

Do independent research at work places/futureIndependently interact with people in formal situationsIndependently write a research/formal report in work

situationWork confidently in a research group / team Independently prepare and deliver oral presentation in

work situation using audio-visual aids and images.

Challenges in Projects and Presentations Course

Introducing the conceptTeaching the methodologySelecting topicsFinding secondary sourcesCollecting primary data

Analysing and interpreting data

Writing reportCiting referencesPreparing presentationPresenting the report

Difficulties of Students Understanding the concept

Lack of ability to understand research methodology

Poor writing abilities

Lack of experience in Summarizing and Paraphrasing

Writing a formal report

Presenting a formal reports

Poor oral communication skills

Lack of experience in making formal presentations

Group dynamics and time management

Challenges Faced by Teachers A Big HeadacheFinalizing topicDifficult to make the

students understand research methodology

PlagiarismCopy and Paste Difficult to make them

generate a questionnaireLots of editing

Students lack of group dynamics

Their weak computer skillsMotivating studentsWeekly targets not achievedUse of unauthentic/inaccurate

translationsHas to rewrite the whole

reportTime management/reporting

work progress

Introduce an alternate methodology to teach this course

Use of authentic materials

News papers (Online/Printed)

Blogs

Magazines (Online/Printed)

Any other socially relevant materials

Model Research topicsThe origin and growth of newspapers in Oman

Times of Oman plays an important role in creating awareness about the world among Omani youth.

The effects of news about conflicts in the world published in Times of Oman

How do advertisements published in Times of Oman promote business in Oman?

What are the impact of Oman National News on the expatriates living in Oman?

Impact of car Advertisements published in Muscat Daily on Customers

Impact of War News published in Muscat Daily on the society

How this methodology works? Procedure Introduce the authentic material (Newspaper)Explain the rationale for using authentic material Discuss various research possibilities in Newspapers Arrive at various topics for researchDistribute topics

Form Hypothesis and ObjectivesChoose research methods/introduction to

methodologyPreparing questionnairesLiterature Review & Collecting secondary dataSummarizing and paraphrasingPrimary Data analysis

Sample Questionnaires

Summarizing & Paraphrasing

Compiling the Report Writing Literature Review Recording Findings using graphs &

charts Writing Recommendations Writing Introduction and Conclusion Compiling references First Draft/Revise/Final Draft

www.citethisforme.com

Poster Concept : Justin James Poster design: Ouarda Khouni

Editing the First Draft

.

Sample Final Drafts

Oral Presentation

Prepare power point slides

Practice oral presentation

Sample Presentations

How this methodology is beneficial to students?

Students Cultivate the habit of reading newspapers Become aware of the world affairs Understand the background of the chosen topic Critical thinking skills increase Discuss with people about a topic of importance

and collect their opinion

Form their own opinionsArrive at conclusionsProvide solutionsUse referencing easily using websitesPrepare effective power point

presentationsDo effective oral presentations

How this methodology is beneficial to teachers?

Find many authentic/interesting topicsPreparing questionnaire is easy as they have many questions

about the news in their mindsEditing made easy with the help of editing toolsEasy to motivate students as they are working on current topicsEasy to manage time and achieve targets as students are

motivatedMonitoring their work progress is easy as we follow them

through every stepTraining students to prepare slides and present their reports are

made easy as many samples are provided to them

Questions and Discussions

Conclusion

Teaching of Projects and Presentation course becomes an interesting experience

It is made easy with the help of many internet tools

Use of authentic topics for doing research helps the students to conduct the research effectively

Effective management of teaching and learning of the course.

Acknowledgement

Many Thanks!

AND FINALLY…