Running

head: PRESENTATION SKILLS

Presentation Skills for English Language Learners

CarlottaRhea VH Clark
California State University Monterey Bay

IST522 Instructional Design

Dr. Jeanne Farrington
December 13, 2016

PRESENTATION SKILLS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 3
ANALYSIS ......................................................................................................................... 4
NEEDS ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................. 4
LEARNER ANALYSIS ......................................................................................................... 6
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS ............................................................................................ 8
CONTENT ANALYSIS ......................................................................................................... 8
DESIGN ............................................................................................................................ 10
LITERATURE REVIEW/ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN ............................................................... 10
LEARNING OBJECTIVES .................................................................................................. 11
TEST INSTRUMENTS ........................................................................................................ 12
DELIVERY SYSTEM AND MEDIA DECISIONS ................................................................... 12
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES ............................................................... 13
DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION ........................................................... 14
MAJOR DELIVERABLES ................................................................................................... 14
DEVELOPMENT PLAN ...................................................................................................... 15
IMPLEMENTATION PLAN ................................................................................................. 15
EVALUATION ................................................................................................................ 16
FORMATIVE EVALUATION .............................................................................................. 16
SUMMATIVE EVALUATION .............................................................................................. 16
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................ 17

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Introduction
This instructional design project will be to train sixth through eighth-grade students on the
best practices of giving presentations. Currently I teach at Currie Middle School (CMS) in
Tustin, California. I am the seventh-grade AVID ExCEL teacher as well as the eighth-grade
English and U.S. History teacher. Two of my classes are specifically labeled as English
Language Development (ELD) classes because all of my students are classified English
Language Learners (ELLs). These students are also low income. The classes are overloaded, as I
have 39 students in each who all need individual attention. Teaching every student who needs
individual attention has become an exhausting and cumbersome task. It is difficult to be able to
assist all students at the level that they need.
I plan to create a training module for students to receive training and practice on proper
presentation skills. The program would contain multiple short modules to train students on the
best practices of presentations. These would include, but are not be limited to, proper attire,
pacing, and tone. Each module would be approximately two-five minutes long, and would
demonstrate to students how to properly engage an audience. The program would also
incorporate a component that would have students record their presentation and then share it with
a peer or teacher to give them feedback. In addition to feedback, students will also be provided
with a checklist. They could watch their presentation to see if it followed all of the guidelines.
This would provide students with a self-checking aspect as they watched their presentation. They
will be able to review what they have done correctly and see what they need to do to fix in order
to correct their errors.

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Analysis
Needs Analysis
A student being unable to give a clear and well-planned presentation is a problem that
needs to be clearly addressed. Teachers at every level require students to stand and deliver their
ideas yet; no one has taken the time to explicitly train students on this topic. Time and time again
teachers give rubrics and directions, and expect students to be able to give good presentations.
While this might work for students who have been taught to speak their mind since they were
young, this does not work for ELLs who have had limited language exposure since they were
born. According to research done in the mid-1990s [it was] found there may be a 30-millionword gap between the number of words children from poor families hear before they enter
kindergarten and the words children from middle- and upper-income families hear (Schmidt,
2015).
This significant gap leads to low-income students having a serious deficit in their language
and speaking skills, and many are unable to catch up through their elementary years of
schooling. When students are unable to catch up or feel confident in their answers they are less
likely to speak out in the classroom. Teachers continue every year to encourage students but
students continue to be uninterested and often shut down altogether when asked to speak out.
Many of these students at one time in their educational career have been laughed at or belittled in
some way, making them feel inadequate in their ability to participate in a scholarly manner in the
classroom. The problem is two-fold in the fact that students are both unable to formulate gradelevel sentences to give a presentation and they are also lacking the confidence to speak in front
of a large group of other students.
At CMS, students lack adequate presentation skills. Most of our students speak another

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language at home, hindering their English skills, and often making them shy when speaking out
in class. Students are unable to clearly communicate their ideas because they have not been
exposed to enough language that makes them feel confident to speak out in the classroom.
Teachers have to continually prompt students and give them sentence frames in order to help
them speak in a scholarly way in the classroom. When a student is unable to give a proper
presentation or even a simple answer in class they often make a joke in order to cover up their
deficiency.
According to a survey sent to CMS teachers, currently 70% of CMS students are unable to
give an adequate presentation where they clearly speak and maintain eye contact with the
audience. Teachers at CMS would like 90% of students to be able to give presentations that are
at least two minutes in length, where they maintain eye contact, dress appropriately, and speak in
a clear voice. The performance gap between our student population at CMS and non-ELL
student populations is extraordinary. Across town, in another local school, students who are from
middle-upper class families are able to speak clearly, maintain eye contact, and verbally express
their facts and opinions in a clear and concise manner. While some students from these affluent
families still struggle to give great presentations, they have more resources to help them than
low-income students. The skill set and motivational difference between low-income and middleupper class families is such a large gap that oftentimes students are never able to catch up. As the
educational and career world continues to change all students need to be able to have the skills to
communicate and present their ideas clearly. Students who are unable to give presentations
clearly will be hindered from being able to participate in scholarly discussions. They will
continue to be hindered because they will be unable to interview well with colleges and when
entering the workforce will be unable to complete tasks that are required of higher paying

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careers.
Creating the program I have in mind will directly address the needs of the students by
training them how to speak clearly and provide them with the skills they need to give excellent
presentations. Allowing them to practice multiple times, on their own schedule, will help with
their lack of experience. Continuing to practice and develop their language skills will assist
students in their ongoing struggle to overcome their language barriers.
Learner Analysis
I strive to have open and honest communication with my students. This year I taught a
special summer bridging program for our incoming AVID ExCEL students. This allowed me
time to bond and have students become comfortable with speaking in the classroom. My students
provided feedback on skills they struggled with the most, and 100% of students reported that
speaking out in the classroom was their biggest concern. Many students reported that they did
not want to speak out because they were afraid others would tease them. Students also reported
feeling uncomfortable because they do not know how to say many words properly in English.
These students have been allowed to remain quiet in other classrooms when they do not know
what to do. They have been able to pass on sharing but truly want to be able to engage with their
classrooms, and show what they know. Students need, and want, the proper training in order to
help them succeed.
Sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade students at CMS need training on how to present and
articulate their ideas in the classroom. They have great ideas but do not know how to speak up,
dress appropriately, and clearly get their ideas across. With everything else that teachers need to
teach, it has become difficult to teach students and continually have them practice their
presentation and speaking skills. Every teacher at CMS expects their students to speak in full

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sentences, while also being able to speak loud enough to be heard around the classroom. As
teachers, we understand that many mistakes will be made but strive for our students to at least be
able to speak clearly while they share their ideas.
All students at CMS are considered low-income students, as they all receive free breakfast
and lunch. Many older apartments and homes surround the area the school is located in. Many
families live together in one household and often my students are renting a room in a home.
Their experiences in the world have mainly been in one or two neighborhoods surrounding the
current area they live in and many also have experienced some parts of Mexico. Their attitudes
toward learning are not positive and many students feel as if they are too far behind to catch up.
Once students have reached the eighth grade about 15% of them feel that they are so far behind,
that they will not be able to catch up no matter how hard they try. These same students are also
sensitive to anyone else knowing that they are so far behind. They do not want others to know
their struggles as they are easily embarrassed by their lack of knowledge. This embarrassment
causes the students to not want to speak out in class or try at all.
Students at CMS want to learn just as much as other students but with their lack of
experience, resources, and small amount of support at home, they struggle to keep up with other
peers their age. Many students at CMS have special needs and have some type of
accommodation in place for them. These students are in regular classrooms where they get some
type of service but still continue to struggle. While their attitude is a struggle to overcome
because they face so many burdens at home, students who are willing to try can be successful
with tasks that are given to them. They value being able to share their opinion and students need
to be taught how to speak in a scholarly manner, so that they can be respected and listened to in
classrooms and in their future jobs.

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The students have knowledge of many different technologies because despite that they are
all in a lower socioeconomic class, they have all grown up with technology around them. Each
student has a school issued iPad they use on a daily basis. Most teachers at CMS require their
students to take notes, tests, and complete homework assignments on their iPad. Students are
always finding ways to download new games and watch videos that have been blocked. Creating
a program that will teach them how to give excellent presentations, that they will be interested in,
will finally get students to practice oral presentation best practices. This is a difficult concept to
learn, and an even harder concept to practice. Having them practice their oral presentations over
and over will help them conquer the daunting task of speaking in front of groups. By creating
short videos and chunking the information of giving presentations in interesting and captivating
formats for younger ELL students, the aspects will become easier to grasp for all CMS students.
Environmental Analysis
CMS has a one-to-one iPad program, as we are part of a connectED district. Every student
has access to iPads and they are expected to use them daily. The utilization of iPads will help the
students to become successful in using a training module for presentations and practicing
presentations for themselves. Students will complete the trainings in class and at home for
review. We will be able to do this easily in the classroom because of Wi-Fi availability and every
student having iPads and earbuds. Due to time constraints students will be required to watch
some of the trainings at home.
Content Analysis
The goal for CMS students is to improve their public speaking and presentation
skills. Teacher responses clearly show the need for improvement by our students. While the
learning gap is large, I will be creating a program that will allow this gap to slowly close as

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students are able to get the direct teaching they need. They will also be able to review the
information at their convenience. Instead of a teacher having them practice in front of a mirror or
stuffed animals they can get real feedback.
The modules will be anywhere from one to five minutes in length. They will address many
of the current issues students have with public speaking and presentation skills. After students
complete a series of modules they will be required to take a test before they can continue on. In
some modules there will be pop-up style questions to ensure that the students are engaged and on
task. The modules will be videos showcasing real students and myself teaching the topics.
The topics to be included are as follows:
Dressing Professionally
Speaking Loud and Clear
Proper tone
Proper posture
Moving while giving presentations
Eye contact
Notes and other tools
Props
Best practices for slides and props
Taking questions
Closing and thanking your audience
Nerves
Topics
Practicing

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While all the above topics have most likely been taught in one way or another to students
already, they are still struggling to retain the information. My design will allow students to
practice repeatedly, as well as keeping them engaged by using colorful graphics, designs, and
content that they can relate to. In order for students to be able to complete these tasks they will
need to be able to access the Internet and be able to type their responses. The only prior
knowledge they need is to be able to understand English, get on the Internet, and be able to type.
In order to prove their mastery of skills students will take tests, as well as present a topic to
create a presentation and present it in a classroom full of students.
The overall goal for the students is to be able to successfully create a presentation and
speak in front of a forty-person audience. The goal of our school is to develop student abilities
that will make them successful as they continue their educational careers. With these goals in
mind, the program I want to create will close the gaps many of our students have with public
speaking and make them successful in all their future scholastic presentation and career
endeavors. After taking the training, and utilizing the feedback options, students will become
confident and clear speakers.
Design
Literature Review/Environmental Scan
The article, Why Presentation Skills Matter in Todays Economy (Mancini, 2016), is
informative and gives my training validity. This article points out just how important
presentation skills are in todays world. When teaching students it is important to motivate them.
This article could make an excellent addition as a class reading that we could have a discussion
on. This would let students understand why presentation skills are important and encourage them

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to work on their own skills. It would prove to them that almost every job/career in the world
requires excellent presentation skills and could impact how much money they earn someday.
Another article that supports the creation of my instructional design project is, Why Are
Presentation Skills So Important by George Torok. George is a presentation skills trainer that is
available for hire. His article and entire website is dedicated to people who need presentation
skills training. This proves how valuable presentation skills are in the business world. Many
people do not have these skills in the real world and still need training, even in their adult age.
By providing students with the knowledge they need at a young age they will be able to improve
on their skills, as they get older. This will allow them more opportunities in life as they are able
to clearly and easily express themselves.
Learning Objectives
There is one main terminal objective and three enabling objectives that become a terminal
objective at different points throughout the modules. Each of the enabling objectives will ensure
that students are learning the topics at the end of the modules in order to ensure their success
with the main terminal objective.
Terminal Objective: Given an historical topic, eighth grade students will be able to create and
give a presentation, to their class, and score an 80% or higher on a Best Presentation Practices
Rubric.
Enabling Objectives:
Given a ten-point rubric, eighth grade students will be able to evaluate their own presentation
according to Presentation Best Practices. Their scores should be within two points of their
teachers.
Given four outfit options, eighth grade students will be able to choose those appropriate for

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giving presentations with 100% accuracy.

From memory, eighth grade students will be able to recite and explain Presentation Best
Practices with 90% accuracy.
Test Instruments
Throughout the modules there will be a variety of testing instruments. While students are
watching videos they will be stopped along the way with interactive quizzes. These quizzes will
give the students immediate feedback to ensure they are learning the correct practices for giving
presentations. After every few short lessons there will a formal quiz to ensure the students are
retaining the knowledge presented. These quizzes will be both multiple choice and short answer.
These types of questions are appropriate for the objectives because they are the same types of
questions students are used to getting, and also will efficiently assess their knowledge.
The final summative test will be the culmination of the module where students will present
a particular topic to me. Students be assessed based on the best practices presentation rubric I
will be creating. This type of presentation will ensure students are able to not only understand
best practices of presentations, but also ensure that they are able to apply them in real life.
Delivery System and Media Decisions
Delivering the modules online, through the use of our schools Haiku, by utilizing YouTube
and Google Classroom, is the best format for students to be successful learners. There will be a
variety of formats in which the students will complete modules because some will be done in the
classroom with teachers, while others might be completed at home online. The variety of formats
is best for CMS students because having a teacher who introduces them to the material will help
motivate them and keep them on track with moving through the modules. Reviewing the module
material in class as the students learn will keep them on track and help them be more successful

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with speaking.
I chose YouTube to deliver the content because it is the most accessible site to host
interactive videos. By utilizing YouTube my students will be able to access the interactive video
modules in a classroom, on their school iPads, or from a personal computer or cell phone. This
will allow students to complete their work however, and whenever they need to do so. Students
spend hours a day on YouTube and by placing these videos on YouTube it will help them to
learn how to properly speak out in class and give a presentation, while still being engaging on
one of their favorite platforms.
Any module quizzes or tests will be completed using Google Classroom forms. This will
allow me to quickly and easily verify that students are learning as they move through the
courses. If students are getting answers incorrect then they will be given the opportunity to
review the material and ask questions in order to improve their scores and knowledge.
Instructional Strategies and Activities
The instructional strategies will include interactive videos, in class discussions, rubrics,
and tests. The major learning activities will be in the interactive instructional videos and the
culminating student presentation. I will be creating all my videos from scratch, as I will want to
the content to be clear for my learners in the best way possible. The constructivist theory led me
to the creation of my modules, as I will try to engage learners through the use of videos in order
to improve their skills and test their understanding.
Agenda
I.

Introduction
a. Main objective of the modules
b. Why students need to have presentation skills

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c. How the modules will be presented

d. Review of prior knowledge on YouTube and Google Forms
II.

Tasks
a. Students will watch interactive videos pertaining to the best practices topics
listed in the Content Analysis
b. Students will take four quizzes throughout the module as they watch the videos
c. Students will watch critique a peer using a peer rubric
d. Students will videotape themselves and watch their video in order to critique
themselves utilizing a given rubric
e. Students will give a presentation in front of the class to ensure their knowledge
and success of presentation best practices
Development and Implementation

Major Deliverables
In order to complete my modules I will need to videotape or animate approximately 14
short videos. Each of these videos will showcase a different requirement in order to give
successful presentations. These short videos will be comprised of everything from dressing
professionally to speaking loud and clear. Within these videos I will need to add an interactive
quizzing element that takes the student to another video, or simply a quiz that I will be able to
access the answers and provide feedback for them. I will also need to create a rubric for students
in order for them to be able to successfully evaluate themselves when it comes time for them to
do so. This rubric will lead them in creating successful presentations. This is the same rubric they
will follow when they critique themselves and others. This best practices rubric will be used by
myself when I assess them on their final presentation. I will also need to create mini-quizzes that

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will be taken throughout the modules.

Development Plan
All of the modules and quizzes together will take anywhere from five minutes to an hour
based on the students prior knowledge. In order to complete the training the students will need
approximately one week of time. Most students will able to finish the training within one week
by having a teacher lead them through the training, as well as completing some of the modules
on their own. Each module will be able to be viewed at the students discretion of what they need
training on. This will allow them to focus on what they need and not on something they might
get bored with because they already know. Even those that think they know it can still benefit
because they will find the content interesting and fun. I plan to use real life, and cartoon
characters, to captivate the middle school students. An intro will be included that all students
must watch to help motivate them as to why presentation and public speaking skills are so
important. This would help Currie Middle School students become confident in their speaking,
and successful in their future academic careers.
The costs to create the modules are minimal, as I will be using students and myself in the
videos. If I chose to use animations I would need to pay an animator. The general timeline for
creating the entire project would be approximately six months. The challenges I see in creating
the project would be creating the animations in order to make it more engaging for students as
well as inserting questions throughout the video modules. I am still learning programs in order to
question throughout videos that will work on the iPad so this will be a struggle for me.
Implementation Plan
To implement this instructional design module, the teacher will need to be comfortable
with iPads and computers. They will also need to be comfortable with Haiku, YouTube, and

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Google Forms. All Tustin teachers are already trained on iPads and Haiku, but some teachers
may require training on Google Forms. Only one instructor is needed for each period (up to 40
students per period) of students, and a rubric will be given to them for the final presentation.
Instructors will also receive the answers for the quizzes throughout the modules.
Evaluation
Formative Evaluation
In order to evaluate and improve my instruction I will be looking at the interactive quizzes
embedded in the videos throughout the course. If the students are not learning, or are
uninterested in the videos, then I will need to make changes in order to keep them learning and
on task. Each video will have some type on quiz question embedded and at the end of a group of
videos there will be a Google Forms type quiz. This will allow me to efficiently collect data and
analyze it, in order to best help my students.
Summative Evaluation
The summative evaluation of the students learning will be given after they have watched
every video and done a practice presentation with their peers. The students will then present their
final presentation to myself in their regularly scheduled class period. They will be graded
according to the rubric they have been taught in the modules with all of the best practices of a
presentation. While I will not be conducting transfer or payoff evaluations for these modules, it
is possible that can show up weeks or months down the road in different classes for an entirely
different lesson. Some students who struggled through the course might be able to eventually
spend less time doing remedial work and more time focusing on the lesson at hand. The
evaluation I give to students after their final presentation will assist them in continuing to grow
as presenters.

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References
Mancini, S. (2016, March 30). Why Presentation Skills Matter in Today's Economy. Retrieved
November 21, 2016, from
https://www.ethos3.com/2016/03/why-presentation-skills-matter-in-todays-economy/
Piskurich, G. M. (2015). Rapid instructional design: Learning ID fast and right (3

rd

ed.).

Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Schmidt, H. (2015, February 21). Research says poor children can hear 30 million less words
before... Retrieved November 15, 2016, from
http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/education/3684752-research-says-poor
-childrencan-hear-30-million-less-words-kindergarten-those
Torok, G. (n.d.). Why Are Presentation Skills Important? Retrieved December 1, 2016, from
http://www.torok.com/articles/presentation/WhyArePresentationSkillsImportant.html