Form I Have Students Complete When They’re Listening To Their Classmate’s Presentations

November 20, 2014 by Larry Ferlazzo

There are many benefits to having small groups of students make presentations to their classmates, including the fact that the presenters have an “authentic audience” beyond the teacher.

But how can we maximize its benefit to both speakers and listeners?

One strategy I use, particularly in my International Baccalaureate Theory of Knowledge classes, is have listeners complete this form anonymously sharing what they liked about the presentatio....

Listeners complete the form and I collect them for each group until all the presentations are complete. If the presenters are given them prior to that time they are obviously tempted to read them instead of listen to the other presenters.

I’ve used different versions of this form in other classes and it’s generally been pretty successful, though in ninth-grade classes some students don’t take it as seriously as I would like.

In addition to that form, students also have to write down the name of each group and one thoughtful question they would like to ask. Then, the group chooses one student to ask their question and then the group responds to it. I collect the list, and it functions as an effective form of accountability.

Presentation Evaluation

Name of Presenter or Presenter Group ___________________________________________

Do not write your name on this sheet.  Please, however, take it seriously even though you will not be graded on what you write.  Help your classmates become better presenters, just as they will do the same for you.

Write three things you liked about the presentation.  You could mention qualities like voice projection, looking at the audience and not just reading from notes, well-organized, original ideas, an attractive PowerPoint, speakers didn't just repeat what was on the PowerPoint slide, told good stories and gave good examples, stood straight, didn't chew gum, all presenters paid attention when one spoke, followed instructions for the presentation, kept to the time limit, smiled, took the assignment seriously, and many more...

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Write one,  two or three things the presenters could have done to make the presentation better.   Provide constructive criticism -- be kind.  

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