unit 5 effective communication - university of east anglia · unit 5 effective communication...

UNIT 5

Effective Communication

Teaching objectives

This unit has a number of learning activities during which the students will:

• develop their oral, written and visual communication skills• learn to be flexible and to consider the audience when planning a

communication exercise• learn how science is reported in the media to both lay and informed audiences.

Unit 5: Objectives

Unit 5: Overview

Being able to communicate effectively, by speaking, writing and good visualpresentation, is an essential skill for the scientist. Writing to communicatewith other scientists is important and is taught as part of normal teaching,in dissertation and report writing. The ability to communicate science toa non-specialist audience is becoming equally important and is notgenerally taught. In this unit a variety of learning activities are usedto teach the oral, visual and written skills necessary to communicateeffectively to a wide range of audiences.

Summaries of possible activities to be used in this unit

(i) Investigating how science is reported in newspapersThe image of science in the community depends crucially on the reporting it receives in thepress.Understanding how editors report science and the ‘angle’ they take is important forscientists to understand so that they can deal effectively with media publicity. In the activity thestudents are given a variety of newspapers and have to find all the science related articles. Theyinvestigate the kinds of science reported and the differences between tabloid and broadsheetstories. They comment on the presumptions which seem to be evident in the various editorialstyles. Finally they are given the background to a real news story on healthy eating and writebrief storylines for a serious and a popular paper, which are compared with the actual reportingwhich took place.

(ii) Scientific research and the media: writing a press releaseThe science carried out in universities and large companies often is first communicated to thepublic through press releases. In this activity the students are introduced to the role of pressreleases and the qualities of good ones. An actual case is studied, from research paper to pressrelease to ‘wire story’ to the articles which appeared in the popular press, in order to illustratethe development of a piece of science research into a media event. Following this the studentswrite a press release and go on to write a brief article for a newspaper based on the release andfinally assess the quality of their efforts.

(iii) Giving an effective oral presentationStanding up and giving an informed talk about a topic to a wide range of audiences is anessential skill for scientists to learn. In this activity, after being presented with information aboutwhat makes a good presentation and how to go about it, students are paired up to produce andgive a brief presentation to a lay audience. The presentations are recorded, then viewed andassessed by the students, who give constructive feed back using an evaluation form.

(iv) Producing and appraising postersPosters at scientific conferences often have a large amount of information with some imagesand are designed for closer inspection by informed readers. Posters for more general display,such as at university open days, need to adopt a different approach, with a more attractivedisplay and a more immediately available message, probably with little text to be read. Postersneed careful attention to design and content and careful consideration of the intended audience.In theexercises, students compare and contrast different posters and then produce postersin groups and assess their quality and effectiveness.

Unit 5: Overview

Investigating how science is reported in newspapers

Summary

The image of science in the community depends crucially on the reporting it receives in thepress. Understanding how editors report science and the ‘angle’ they take is important forscientists to understand so that they can deal effectively with the media. In the activity thestudents are given a variety of newspapers and have to find all the science related articles. Theythen investigate the kinds of science reported and the differences between tabloid and broadsheetstories. They comment on the presumptions which seem to be evident in the various editorialstyles. Finally they are given the background to a real news story on healthy eating and writebrief storylines for a serious and a popular paper, which are compared with the actual reportingwhich took place.

Time, resource and material requirements

This activity can take between two to three hours, so probably needs two sessions. Each group ofstudents should be provided with national tabloid and broadsheet and also local newspapers ofthe day which they will search for ‘science’ stories. In the second part they need the documentsrelated to the cereal story line,( Attachments (i)3,4 & 5). Finally they need two or three OHTsand OHP pens. An OHP is required and OHT copies of Attachments (i)1 & 6.

Suggested teaching activities

Attachment (i)1 lists some questions to raise about how science is reported in the popular press.An OHT of this attachment could be used to briefly introduce the issue of science in the mediaand how important it is for scientists to know how their work may be viewed in the press. Theimportant distinction between tabloid (popular) and broadsheet (serious) reporting needs to beraised.

Next, divide the students into groups of four. Give each group one tabloid, one broadsheetand one local newspaper bought on the day of the teaching, or recently. There are 3 or 4 each ofsuch newspapers, so different combinations of papers can be distributed. Also, give each groupa blank OHT and pens.Present the students with the task of scanning their newspapers for allappearances of ‘science’ reporting and of researching answers to the questions on OHT 1 (attach-ment (i)1). Tell them they will be presenting their findings to the whole group. Allow about 20-30 minutes for this task.

After this time, ask a representative from each group to present their findings to the class.Draw this part of the session together by using the information on the tutor briefing sheet(Attachment (i)2) to help summarise the usually considered differences between these types ofnewspapers and discuss with the class whether this was evident in their findings on the day.

Tutor Notes for Unit 5

LEARNING ACTIVITY (i) :

Unit 5: (i - a)

In the final part of this activity, each group writes a brief press article. Leave the students in thesame groups and give each group the report from ‘Which?’ about misleading claims in breakfastcereal advertising (Attachments (i)3, 4 & 5). This report led to quite a number of articles in thepopular press at the time. The group task is to read the report and then to write a headline and aleading paragraph or two for TWO articles, one for a tabloid newspaper and one for a broadsheet.

Allow them 20-30 minutes to write their articles. After this time ask each group to swap theirarticles with another group. Ask the groups to examine the articles and to comment on theappropriateness of the headline and the content to the tabloid/broadsheet audience in each case.Ask a representative from each group to give a summarised comment to the whole class.

OHT 2 (Attachment (i)6) has the headlines and a leading paragraph from the actual articles whichappeared on this story in the press in 1996. End the session by commenting and talking withthe class about how well they did (particularly with the punchy headlines) compared to theprofessionals!

Attachments: 2 x OHTs (questions & headline stories);background on tabloids v broadsheets; ‘Which?’ article. Unit 5: (i - b)

Science and the newspapers

How much science gets into thepopular press?

What kinds of stories are used?

Do the different newspapers(popular and serious) treat sciencedifferently?

How can science stories bepresented by scientists to makethem newsworthy?

What presumptions are made byeditors about their readers’ interestin science?

OHT 1

Unit 5: Attachment (i)1

Tutor Briefing Sheet

Tabloids v broadsheets - some conclusions

Two aspects: i) the amount and nature of the science reported; ii) how this is reported - the language used and the visual layout.

Tabloids:

Usually not a lot of hard science is reported, unless it is a sensational story at the time eg. GMfoods. Typically, the science covered is related to medical and health issues - eg. drug break-throughs, pill scares, medical errors! Nearly always there is a real human interest angle and oftenemotive/controversial issues are selected as stories. Tabloid readers often read papers for enter-tainment or for titbits of information rather than for any serious in-depth understanding of issuesor development of knowledge. The reader flicks through and doesn’t spend long on any onearticle, so the stories have to have fairly instant appeal/impact. This is why certain stories arechosen over others. If no science stories are found (there is an issue here of course about whatyou define as a ‘science’ story.), this illustrates well the point that often science stories are not‘sexy’ enough - unless a clever appealing angle can be found by the journalist!

The average Sun reader is quoted as having a very low reading age. This has to be borne in mindby journalists writing for this audience. The layout and the level of language may be seen quiteclearly to reflect this. Most articles have pictures to break up the text and to give more visualappeal - lots of writing together does not attract poor readers. There are usually more, andshorter, paragraphs to break the text. You may also be able to pick up grammar and syntax. Thestyle of writing is often more colloquial and conversational. The short and snappy approach isparticularly evident in the Sun and Mirror.

You can mention that the ‘Mail’ and the ‘Express’ fall somewhere between the two extremes ofreporting.

Broadsheets:

A lot of the comparison points can be picked out from reading the above. The main differencesarise because of the different readership, with different reasons for reading papers. Broadsheetreaders are assumed to have a broader general interest in ‘worldy’ matters, including science andtechnology. They want to get information from reading the paper. They are prepared to readthrough more detail, and are usually quite comfortable with more technical detail. The languageand writing style is more mature. The layout usually consists of more condensed text. Thegraphics are usually more technical and informative - not just ‘pretty pictures’ to break up textblocks.

Some papers will have science/technology supplements. These may not be included in the news-paper on the day your group undertakes their examination of the press, but need to be mentioned- particularly if the broadsheets may not appear to be carrying much in the way of science storieson this particular day.

This comparison exercise works best when students can find - sometimes across the whole class,rather than in the individual groups - the same science story reported in a range of papers.

Unit 5: Attachment (i)2

Unit 5: Attachment (i)3(copied with permission from Consumers’ Association)

(copied with permission from Consumers’ Association) Unit 5: Attachment (i)4

(copied with permission from Consumers’ Association) Unit 5: Attachment (i)5

Headlines and first paragraphs of articles aboutbreakfast cereals.

Cereals given a Special KO on health - The Sun

Britains breakfast cereals have been branded a snap, crackle and CON byconsumer watchdogs.

KIDS CONFLAKES, Watchdog slams adverts for‘healthy’ breakfast cereals - Daily Mirror

Parents giving their children “healthy” breakfast cereals are being conned by TVadverts, it was claimed yesterday.

Difficult to swallow : Health claims about breakfastcereals should be taken with a pinch of salt, say watchdogs -

Daily Mail.

Breakfast cereals are not always the healthy start to the day they are cracked up to be,according to watchdogs

Crunch for con flakes: ‘Healthy’ cereals packed withsugar - Daily Express.

Starting the day with a bowl of cereal may not be such a healthy option for thefamily after all.

Breakfast cereals face the crunch - Daily Telegraph.

Breakfast cereals may not be the health start to the day that they are promoted to be,according to a report published today.

Take sugary puffs with a pinch of salt - The independent.

Breakfast cereals that claim to be a healthy option should be treated with a pinch ofsalt, according to the consumer guide Which?

OHT 2 Unit 5: Attachment (i)6

Scientific research and the media: writing a press release

Summary

The science carried out in universities and large companies often is first communicated to thepublic through press releases. In this activity the students are introduced to the role of pressreleases and the qualities of good ones. An actual case is studied, from research paper to pressrelease to ‘wire story’ to the articles which appeared in the popular press, in order to illustrate thedevelopment of a piece of science research into a media event. Following this the students writea press release and go on to write a brief article for a newspaper based on the release and finallyassess the quality of their efforts.


This activity , if all parts are used, probably needs two sessions or a single two hour period. AnOHP is required and two blank OHTs and pens for each group of 4 students. You will need tophotocopy a set of case study materials - Attachments (ii)2 - 6 for each group. For the set youwill also need to download and copy the Daily Telegraph article from the Electronic Telegraph(www.telegraph.co.uk), using search words ‘global warming’ and search date 10.10.96,providedthis is within your University’s copyright agreement. The students will also need page 32 of theworkbook (Attachment (ii)7)


This activity is in two parts. In the first part the students are introduced to the idea of pressreleases and investigate the trail of one example from research paper through to final articles inpopular newspapers. In the second part, the students work in their groups and write a pressrelease on a research topic of their own choosing. They then take the press release from one ofthe other groups and write an article from it. Finally, they evaluate the press release they weregiven to the whole group in a brief presentation.

Firstly you should present to the students a description of how scientific research makes theheadlines, using the ‘Iron in the Ocean’ case study (Attachment (ii)1). This is a real case studywhich should tell you all you need to know.

Next, divide the students into groups of four and hand out to each group, one set of thevarious materials associated with the case study (Attachments (ii)2 - 6 :the press release, the two‘wire stories’, the article from the New Scientist ,the UEA Broadview, and the Eastern DailyPress. You will also need the article downloaded from the Daily Telegraph website).

You could give the groups a number of tasks based on the case study, such as:• Work out where the author of each final article obtained their information. Did any author go back to the original ‘Nature’ papers when writing their wire stories or final articles?


LEARNING ACTIVITY (ii) :

Unit 5: (ii - a)

• Describe the level of science knowledge and interest in their readers presumed by the authors of the four end product stories.• Write an original headline and first paragraph for a story to appear in a broadsheet newspaper based on the original UEA press release and/or the wire stories. Compare the two sources of information.

Instruct each group to elect a spokesperson who will present their results to the whole class.Provide each group with a blank OHT and pens. Allow about 15-20 minutes to complete thetasks and then get a presentation from each group.

In the final part of the activity, the students, working in groups, are asked to write a pressrelease on a science topic of their own choosing. For this they will need page 32 of the work-book (Attachment (ii)7) describing the qualities of a good press release. You may wish to talkthrough the main points with the whole class. It is a good co-operative exercise for the group tobe made to write the release in class, with everyone contributing, perhaps some doing rapidresearch in the library or consulting lecturers, with others doing the co-ordinating and writing. Iftime is available it might be preferable to give them some days to research the topic, thoughmake them write it co-operatively in class as an exercise in group writing. Allow about 30-45minutes for the task of writing the press release. The pressure of time is part of the exercise.

At the end of the deadline, ask each group to pass their press release to another group. Theninstruct each group to write a headline and a first paragraph of a story either for a broadsheetor a tabloid newspaper, based on the information in the press release they have just received.Give the students a deadline, say 10 minutes. Again, writing to a deadline is a good co-opera-tive exercise.

At the deadline, a representative from each group is asked to present their headline/story tothe class using the OHP, and to evaluate the quality of the press release they received.This classroom presentation ends the unit on press releases.

Unit 5: (ii - b)

Attachments: 6 x case study materials; page 32 of workbook.

The ‘Iron in the Ocean’ case study

The research in this case study involved an experiment, known as IronEx II, in which patches of theocean west of the Galapagos Islands was seeded with iron. The IronEx project involved teams ofscientists from 13 institutions, with the Moss Marine Laboratories in California playing a leadingrole. Sixteen UK scientists from the University of East Anglia and the Plymouth Marine Laboratoryparticipated in the research.

The results of the experiments were published in four papers which appeared in ‘Nature’ onOctober 10th 1996. This case study shows the stages leading to media interest in the story and themanner in which scientific research can be picked up and communicated through the media.

As a result of publication in ‘Nature’, the story featured in the local and national press, nationaltelevision news, on Radio 4’s ‘Science Now’ programme, and in an article in ‘New Scientist’(Read Attachment (ii)6).

So, how did the academic research reported in ‘Nature’ get translated into a ‘popular science’ story?

The journal ‘Nature’ has a procedure whereby, approximately two weeks in advance of publication,a precis of all research findings to be published is circulated to media journalists. This carries anembargo, ie. there is an unwritten agreement not to publish news stories until the day the journal isreleased. This gives media journalists the time to follow up interesting findings and to develop anyof the stories - they may contact researchers or institution press offices to find out more and to gettheir own quotes.

Newsbrokers and newsfinding services, such as Reuters or PA News have journalists to follow upthe story. This information will be put out on the ‘wire’ from the time the embargo is lifted. Thesecan be accessed by journalists across the world. You may have noticed in newspapers an articlewhich is credited to PA, Reuters or other newsfinding services - particularly foreign reports.

Read the PA and Reuters ‘wire’ stories (Attachment (ii)2). How are the reports different/similar?eg. the lead titles are not so different. The same story ‘angle’ has been taken in each case. Whataspects have the particular journalists decided to focus on (you can tell this by the quotes chosen).

As far as the University of East Anglia is concerned, because there are several institutions across theworld involved with this research, the university press office will obviously want to flag up the UEAresearchers’ involvement. They will have probably gauged the emerging media interest in the storyfrom the number of phone calls received by both the press office and the UEA scientists themselves.In this case, the UEA press office produced their own press release to accommodate local journalistsand to alert them to the impending national interest in the story. Read the UEA press release(Attachment (ii)3) and compare the contents with the ‘wire’ stories.

Now read the article which appeared in the local newspaper - The Eastern Daily Press (Attach-ment (ii)4) and the Daily Telegraph article (from the Electronic Telegraph - www.telegraph.co.uk)to see how the story was reported. Finally, read the article that appeared in ‘Broadview’ Attach-ment (ii)5) - an internal UEA newsheet. Notice the style of reporting used in the in-house publication.

The various publications in this case study exemplify the development of a piece of science researchinto an eventual media story and highlights the significant role of the press release.

Unit 5: Attachment (ii)1


Co

pie

d w

ith p

erm

ission

from

PA N

ew

s an

d R

eu

ters

Unit 5: Attachment (ii)3Copied with kind permission of UEA Press Office

Norfolk scientists havefound an iron brew that canstrengthen the sea and couldchange the climate.

University of EastAnglia researchers discov-ered that adding iron to thesea can make life flourish,cut carbon dioxide levelsand encourage clouds toform over the water.

But they will not bestanding on Cromer piershovelling iron filings intothe North Sea - their re-search centres on the Pacific.

A dose of iron in thewater there makes micro-scopic algae flourish and thebenefits are passed all theway up the food chain.

The research, by theUEA’s School of Environ-

Sea Scientists find iron good for lifemental Sciences and thePlymouth Marine Labora-tory, also found that theextra algae growth cut theamount of carbon dioxidedissolved in the water by afifth and also tripled theamount of dimethyl sul-phide, an important agentin cloud formation.

But Prof AndrewWatson warned that add-ing iron to the sea was notthe “quick fix” answer toglobal warming.

“We are interested inthe possibility that some-thing as relatively simpleas this could be used” hesaid. “But that would be along way in the future.There needs to be muchmore investigation. There

may be adverse impacts aswell as potential benefits.”

Half a tonne of ironwas added to a patch ofwater near the GalapagosIslands. A day later theamount of algae had dou-bled and at the end of aweek increased by 30times.

Dr Philip Nightingalesaid: “You could easily seethe changes from the ship.On Monday the sea wasbright blue, by Friday itwas green-brown.”

But the iron brew isnot suitable for all seas -the North Sea off EastAnglia has quite enoughiron of its own, sayscientists.

The story which appeared in the ‘Eastern Daily Press’ on 10 October 1996. Copied by kindpermission of Eastern Counties Newspapers.


Copied with kind permission of UEA Press Office Unit 5: Attachment (ii)5

Copied by kind permission of ‘New Scientist’ Unit 5: Attachment (ii)6

Writing a press release

There are a few golden rules about writing a press release. A press release is the story - treat it a bitlike a trailer for a film! Your press release has to stand out against dozens of others that land on ajournalist’s desk every day. It is competing for space with all other news of the moment - thescandal, the sculduggery, the sport.......!

Think of a newspaper and what attracts your attention: it is the title and the opening paragraph.

• The title should be concise and self explanatory.

• Who, why, what, when, where and how? These are the most important elements in your opening paragraph as they tell the story and inspire the reader to continue.

• Write short sentences and state the facts rather than opinions.

• Avoid technical terms, jargon and flowery prose.

• Include a short quote from someone closely involved with the research.

What your press release should look like:

• At the top of the page, write the day and date of release. Then add ‘For immediate release’ or give it an embargo date.

• Refer initially to a person by their title, first name and surname, and designation, eg. Professor John Smith, Head of the Department of Physiology at the University of Norwich. Thereafter, refer to them only by their title and surname.

• Capital letters are reserved mainly for names. Titles are written in lower case.

• Use one and a half or double line spacing. Leave wide margins.

• Two pages are usually adequate.

• A ‘note to editors’ may be included at the end of the release to give practical details about who to contact for further details etc.

What you are aiming to do is present the information in the most accessible way to busyjournalists who have not got time to plough through dozens of pages in the hope of finding astory buried on the last page! Remember, not all newspapers have science journalists.


Giving an effective oral presentation

Summary

Standing up and giving an informed talk about a topic to a wide range of audiences is an essentialskill for scientists to learn. In this activity, after being presented with information about whatmakes a good presentation and how to go about it, students are paired up to produce and give abrief presentation to a lay audience. The presentations are recorded, then viewed and assessed bythe students, who give constructive feed back using an evaluation form.


This activity spans across three sessions. The opening session consists of a 30 - 40 minutepreparatory talk or video after which the students work in pairs on a specific task in their owntime; the second session requires about 7 mins per pair of students to video record thepresentations; the final session requires about 1 hour to view, appraise and give feedback. For theopening session an OHP will be required and, if you are using a presentation skills video (seebelow for details), a video player will be needed. You will also need an OHT of pages 33 & 34 ofthe workbook and the presentation skills task details (Attachments (iii)1, 2 & 3). For session twoyou will need a video camera and tripod and a video tape per group of 4 students. Each studentwill need an oral presentation appraisal form (Attachment (iii)4). For the final session the studentswill need access to video playback machines. Also, students now expect to be able to makepresentations with up-to-date facilities such as using computer projection facilities and anapplication such as Powerpoint. However, an OHP is sufficient.


In the first session of this activity, the students have explained and are shown how to give a goodoral presentation. Most careers centres or audio visual centres have a professionally producedvideo tape on how to give a good oral presentation. These can be very good and could be used inthis activity. However, if something like this is not available, you should use the OHTs of Attach-ments (iii)1 & 2 to prepare the students to give a good oral presentation; this may appear a bitdaunting! However, we have found that students are usually forgiving of minor weaknesses andaccept good advice which is soundly, if not superbly, presented. Attachment (iii)1 explains how toprepare for a talk, which you should talk through , emphasising the need to consider the audiencewhen planning the talk. Attachment (iii)2 explains the qualities which are looked for in a goodpresentation. Copies of these sheets are available for student reference in the workbook (pages 33& 34 ).

Now divide the students into groups of four, subdivided into two pairs. Explain to them the task,which is summarised on Attachment (iii)3. You should give them at least a full week to preparefor this task.


LEARNING ACTIVITY (iii) :

Unit 5: (iii - a)

You will need two further sessions to complete this unit. You will need to arrange for videocameras/recorders/playback for these sessions.

In the next session, each pair of students makes their presentation to the whole class and this isvideo recorded on to the same tape as the presentation by the other pair from their group of four.During the presentations, the other pair of each group is told to fill in the oral presentationsappraisal form (Attachment (iii)4), with comments and judgements about the presentation. At theend of the complete session each group of 4 students is presented with the video tape of theirperformances and they also have four completed judgement forms. Tell them to view the presen-tations, their own and the second pair’s, at their leisure (in an audio visual centre, in a laboratory,in the library or wherever there is an available video playback machine), before the next session.They should try to consider and expand upon their comments on the appraisal form.

In a final session, the students should be brought back together as a class, or in smaller sets, toview their presentations with their colleagues in the group and to talk through the performances,with judgements and explanations. This final session may be difficult to arrange, but unless it isarranged in class, the students will probably avoid doing it. It is possible to get hold of more thanone video playback machine, sometimes in AVC rooms or in library av centres, or to get severalportable machines, normally in laboratories, together into a classroom. Viewing with criticalfeedback is the essential final part of this unit, which should not be missed. Each group shouldspend at least 30 minutes going through their performances, offering, receiving and discussingfeedback from each other. Go round and listen in to what is going on, interjecting if useful, butotherwise leave the groups alone.

When they have finished, you should ask one presenter from each group to summarise to theclass the results of the group, the strengths and weaknesses which were most evident.

Though this unit needs some extensive organising with all the equipment, it will probably be theone which students get most value from and which they will describe as the most useful in thecourse. They hate the idea of it, but evaluation has shown that they are most grateful for havingbeen made to do it.

Unit 5: (iii - b)

Attachments: 3 x OHTs; oral presentation appraisal form; pages 33 & 34 of workbook

Preparing for a presentation

• Set aims and objectives:why am I giving this talk?am I informing, explaining, persuading?

• Gather information:who are my audience?how much do they already know?how much time do I have?how many people will I be talking to?what resources do I have available?

• Plan material:identify the main areasarrange in a logical sequenceplan the narrative for each sectionplan the opening and the closingprepare visual aidsprepare prompt cards/notescheck timingPRACTISE ALOUD

Unit 5: Attachment (iii)1

Voice: audible and clearfluentinterestingcorrectly paced

Language:appropriate to the audiencefree of jargoneasily understood

Posture: presenter looks comfortablegood eye contact with audiencegood ‘body language’no distracting mannerisms

Content: logical sequenceclear beginning, middle and endno irrelevant wafflerelevant use of humourimportant points clearly stated

clear and readablenot too much informationappropriate, useful and relevant

attractive and well presented

Notes: used as prompts, NOT READ OUT


Qualities of a good presentation

VisualAids:

Presentation skills: the task

• You will form groups of 4and subdivide into pairs.

• Each pair has the task of producing a5 minute presentation, using an OHP,on a topic chosen from a recent articlein a science magazine - New Scientist,Scientific American, Chemistry inBritain, Nature etc.

• The presentation will assume youraudience are members of the generalpublic, with a wide range of scientificbackground. You may wish to definethe context before you present the talk- eg. a W.I. meeting or an interest group.

• Each student must speak for at least 2minutes.

• The presentations will be video-tapedfor subsequent appraisal.



ORAL PRESENTATION APPRAISAL FORMJudgements and constructive comments on the oral presentations.

Use of voice and way of speaking - was it audible and clear, fluent, interesting, correctly paced?Constructive comments:

Quality of the presentation language - was it appropriate to the audience, free of jargon, easilyunderstood?Constructive comments:

Posture and personal manner of the presenters - was it comfortable, good eye contact, mannerismfree, good ‘body language’?Constructive comments:

Content and structure of the presentation - was it logical and well organised, clear, with a begin-ning, middle and end, with direction, the correct length, interesting, suitable for the audience?Constructive comments:

Use of, and quality of, visual aids - were they clear, appropriate, relevant, useful, attractive, easyto comprehend?Constructive comments:

Overall quality judgement of the presentation - was it of overall good quality, were youconvinced by its message?Constructive comments:

producing and appraising posters

Summary

Posters at scientific conferences often have a large amount of information with some images andare designed for closer inspection by informed readers. Posters for more general display, such asat university open days, need to adopt a different approach, with a more attractive display and amore immediately available message, probably with little text to be read. Posters need carefulattention to design and content and careful consideration of the intended audience. In the followingexercises, students compare and contrast different posters and then produce posters in groups andassess their quality and effectiveness.


If all of the activities are used, this work on posters will occupy about 2 to 3 hours. An OHP andan OHT of page 35 of the workbook (Attachment (iv)1) are required. Each group of 4 students willneed a blank OHT and pens. You will need to have a collection of posters displayed for evaluationpurposes (see below). For the poster-making activity you will need a pair of scissors, a glue stick,a set of poster pens, a collection of colourful magazines and one or two large poster-size pieces ofblank white paper for each group of four students. You will need blutack or pins to attach finishedposters to the wall. Finally, each student will require a poster appraisal sheet (Attachment (iv)2)and the tutor will need an OHT of this form.


This activity is in two parts. In the first the students are presented with the qualities of good posterdesign. They then observe and judge the posters on display for good/bad qualities. Each group offour students then makes a short presentation explaining their choice of best and worst poster. Inthe second activity, the students are given lots of pictures with paper/scissors and paste and eachgroup of students produces a poster. When completed these are displayed around the room and areassessed by the students themselves.

Prepare the room in which you will teach by putting up a selection of about 10 posters aroundthe room. Obtain posters from a variety of sources - professional societies, science companies,the university, advertisements, conferences, etc.

Start the session by explaining what makes a good poster, using the OHT on poster design(Attachment (iv)1) Use examples from the selection of posters around the room to illustrateparticular design features. Also highlight the essential need to consider the audience, explainingwhy what is appropriate for one audience/purpose will not be for another.


LEARNING ACTIVITY (iv) :

Unit 5: (iv - a)

After the brief presentation, divide the students into groups of 4 and give a blank OHT with apen to each group. Request each group to choose a ‘best’ and a ‘worst’ poster from thosearound the room and to prepare a short presentation on the OHT explaining their choice. After 15minutes, get a representative from each group to present their conclusions to the class. When allthe presentations are finished, summarise the findings.

In the second part of the session, which is best conducted in a room with tables, you presenteach group with a selection of magazines (popular science magazines/journals with lots ofglossy pictures and advertisements are best), some large sheets of blank paper, a pair of scissors,some poster pens and a glue stick, and instruct them to prepare a poster on a topic of theirchoice to an audience of their choice. They will need at least 30 minutes for this activity, maybelonger. Some students may need encouragement to get going, but usually they enjoy the activitywhich should be conducted in a competitive but friendly atmosphere. When all the posters arefinished, stick them all on the wall and label them A,B, C etc. Invite a representative fromeach group to describe the intended audience/context for their poster to the class.

Hand out a poster appraisal sheet (Attachment (iv)2) to each student. Ask the students to takea few minutes to examine each poster and to fill in the poster appraisal sheet, giving marks toeach poster. Collect in the sheets and work out the average mark for each poster in eachcaregory and record this on an OHT of the appraisal form. Work out the most popular posterand congratulate this team. Draw the session to a close by discussing the features of thisposter that make it so effective

Unit 5: (iv - b)

Attachments: OHT on poster design; poster appraisal sheet

Posters ...

...get a message across quickly,with instant visual appeal

OVERALL:• Is the poster appropriate to the audience?• Would the poster fulfil its purpose?

DESIGN FEATURES:• Is the message obvious?• Is the layout clear and interesting?• Is it visually eye catching?• Does it have appropriate visual images?• Does it use colour well?• Are the images relevant to the message?• Is there enough/too much text?• Is the text well written?

Poster Design

Unit 5: Attachment (iv)1

Poster A

ssessment

Nam

e ........................................................................................................................................... poster group: ........................

A B

CD

EF

G

Does it attract? (m

ax 3 marks)

Is it eyecatching? Does it m

ake good use of colour&

contrast? Does it m

ake good use of visual imagary?

Is the layout appealing & uncluttered? Is the title clear?

Does it hold attention? (m

ax 3 marks)

Is the information accessible &

easily assimilated

ie.easy to read & follow

, not too much info or text?

Are the im

ages relevant? Does it stim

ulate a responsethat m

akes you read on?

Does it deliver? (m

ax 3 marks)

Is the content appropriate for the intended audience&

context? Does the m

essage work?

Extra outstanding feature? (1 m

ark)E

g. Does it have originality?

TO

TAL:

(3 + 3 +

3 + 1 =

10)

Unit 5: Attachment (iv)2

unit 5 effective communication - university of east anglia · unit 5 effective communication...

Documents