An undergraduateseminarcourse: Valuable experience

Iin oral presentations

2W. W. Frye and L. S. Click

ABSTRACT
ABILITY to communicate ideas and in-
Presenting materialorally is a common
in the agronomic
experience
professions.A surveyof 120 col- THE
formation orally is a necessary ingredient to
leges anduniversities wasmadeto compare their success in almost any career. Lunden (1972) stated
offeringsin teachingtheseskills to thoseof theSchool that most communications by teachers and research
of Agricultureat Tennessee Technological University,
whichhasgivena seminarcoursesince1952. Eighty workers are oral and that oral expression is "ab-
of 100 schoolsoffer suchcourses.At Tennessee solutely essential." On a survey questionnaire of
Technological University,studentsare requiredto 1) agricultural graduates of the University of Illinois
collect, organize,andoutline information,prepare (Jackson, 1972), one respondent wrote, "I think
visual aids, andmakea 12 to 15-minute seminar pre- speech and writing are more important in any line
sentationonan approved topic; 2) give twoor three
short, impromptu talks; 3) makea speechof intro- of work than most undergraduates realize. You can
duction;and 4) write a r(~sum(~ and letter of applica- make more hay by being able to stand on your feet
tion for employment. Studentsevaluatethe seminar and talk when called upon, than by being the most
presentationof fellow studentsby commenting and able person in your profession if inarticulate".
by form. Theinstructor also comments andhas a Agronomy graduates soon find themselves re-
private conference with eachstudent.Themostim-
portantaspectof the courseis attitude-thatof the quired to articulate through agricultural extension
instructor towardthe studentsandthe attitude he talks, selling, product education, graduate seminars,
fosters among students.Thecoursedevelopsskills research reports, professional papers, civic club pro-
andself-confidence, which assiststudents in obtaining grams, community and church activities, and in
employmentand performing their duties. They many other ways. Sager (1968) stated that except
readilyrecognize the potentialvalueof the courseto
futuresuccess. for the gifted few, training and practice are neces-
sary to bring even moderate skill to public speak-
Additionalindexwords:Rdsumd,Letter of appli- ing. A well-planned seminar course can do much to
cation, Impromptu
talks, Speechof introduction, help graduates become more confident and success-
Visualaids. ful in their first few attempts before an audience.

A SURVEY OF COURSES

] Contribution from the School of Agriculture, Tennessee We surveyed 120 colleges and universities with
Technological Univ., Cookeville, TN 38501 and the Dep. of agronomy curriculums or with strong emphasis in
Agronomy, Univ. of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506.
(Journal article 75-3-159 of the Kentucky Agric. Exp. Stn.) agronomy to determine: 1) the number having
2Assistant professor, Dep. of Agronomy, Univ. of Ken- undergraduate seminar courses with objectives
tucky (formerly professor, Dep. of Plant and Soil Science, (listed below) similar to ours, 2) how important
Tennessee Technological Univ.), and associate professor, these skills are to graduates, and 3) how well gradu-
Dep. of General Agriculture, Tennessee Technological Uni-
versity, respectively. ates are prepared in these skills. Webased the fol-

28
 FRYE & CLICK: ORAL PRESENTATIONS BY STUDENTS 29

lowing summary on 100 replies. Table1-Opinionof surveyrespondents aboutimportance

of seminar
skills to their graduates
Eighty respondents said they had at least one
undergraduate seminar course, while 20 said they Rating
had none. Oral and visual presentations are re- Very Not Did not
quired in 94% of the courses. Helping the student Skill important Important Helpful needed respond

to gain self-confidence and to think on this feet are -- No. of respondents --

Oral and visual
a part of 99% of the courses. Providing experience presentations 57 33 3 0 7
in writing a letter of application and a rdsumd for Self-confidence;
think on feet 69 22 3 0 6
employment are included in only 32% of the Letter of application
and rdsum~ 44 23 17 2 14
courses.
We asked how important these skills are to the
majority of their graduates in getting and perform-
ing a job and how well their graduates are prepared
Table2-Opinionof surveyrespondents
aboutpreparation
in these skills. The results are shown in Tables 1 of their graduates
in seminar
skills
and 2. Perhaps the most surprising result was that
the development of self-confidence and ability to Rating
think on one’s feet were rated as more important Very Fairly Did not
than the ability to make a seminar presentation. Skill well Well well Poorly respond
--No. of respondents.
Experience in writing a letter of application and a
Oral and visual
rdsumd for a job was rated lower in importance presentations 15 42 32 2 9
than the other skills. The majority of graduates are Self-confidence;
think on feet 16 41 27 8 8
considered to be fairly well to well prepared to Letter of application
and rdsum6 9 16 37 17 21
make seminar presentations and to think on their
feet, but they are considered to be less well pre-
pared to write a letter of application and rdsumd. Table3-Outlineof activities scheduled
for seminar
during
About 8B%of the respondents having courses in- a typicalquarter
dicated that they were required and another 12%
of these respondents stated that they should be re- Session~" Activity

quired. Of the 20 cases that have no seminar Introduction to course. Assignmentof seminar dates.
Instruction on preparation of rdsum~and letter of application.
course, 7 require other courses (mostly public Instruction on topic research and preparation.
speaking) that accomplish one or more of the in- Instruction on visual aids and their use. Exampleseminars by
faculty members.
dicated objectives. Thus, these objectives are ac- "Panel" impromptutalks by each student. Approval of outlines
for seminar presentations at next session. Turn in draft copy
complished mostly through required seminar of rdsumdand letter of application.
courses. 5to 7~ Seminarpresentations and evaluation. Approvalof outlines for
presentations at next session.
Seminarpresentations and evaluation. Approvalof outlines for
presentations at next session. Turn in final copy of rdsumd
andletter of application.
9~ Seminarpresentation andevaluation.
Unfinished proceedings and course evaluation.
THE TENNESSEETECH SEMINAR
t" Sessionsare 2 hours in length.
.~ Impromptutalks assigned as time permits.
The rest of this paper describes the present stage,
organization, and conduct of a seminar course that Beginning with the fifth session, three or four pre-
has been taught in the School of Agriculture at sentations are given during each session, the num-
Tennessee Technological University since 1952. It
ber depending on the enrollment. The course pro-
is an intensive, fast-paced course that meets for 2 vides 1 hour of credit. Instructors who desire to
hours each week and provides instruction during
teach the course are assigned from each department
3 weeks and practice during the remaining weeks. on a rotating basis. Weagree with Scholtes (1972)
The course, entitled "Seminar," is scheduled in that an instructor should not be required to teach
the course offerings of each department of the
subjects in which he has little or no interest.
School of Agriculture. The course is offered each
The objectives of the course are:
quarter during the academic year and is required in
all 4-year curricula. 1. To provide instruction and practice to under-
Enrollment usually range~ from 15 to 20 students graduate students in collecting, organizing, and
orally and visually presenting information in a
per quarter. The sessions are weekly and 2 hours small group setting with fellow students as the
in length, with refreshments served during a break. audience.
30 JOURNAL OF AGRONOMICEDUCATION

2. To enhancethe student’s knowledgeof agriculture "panels" of three or four in front of the class, and
andrelated subjects. each is asked to tell his classmates about himself.
3. To develop the student’s self-confidence to speak Students usually tell who they are, where they are
in public and ability to thinkon his feet. from, what their major is, their personal history,
4. To provide experience in writing a letter of appli-
cation and a r~sumd which will improve the stu- their hobbies, and their plans or aspirations for fu-
dent’s efforts in obtaining employment. ture employment. Because success on this first
presentation is so important to the student, the in-
structor prepares to ask questions that will help him
Course Organization and Content make a successful presentation and improve his
ability to think on his feet. For the second im-
A list of activities for each session of a typical promptu talk, the instructor assigns a topic usually
term is shown in Table 3. There are four require- centered around experience, an incident, personal
ments. The most important is a 12 to 15-min goals and aspirations, or a personal opinion. The
seminar presentation on a topic related to agricul- student is alone in front of the class, and the talk is
ture. A second requirement comprises two or three 2 to 3 min long. The third impromptu talk is a
2 to 3-min impromptu talks. Each student makes a more difficult situation in which the student is re-
speech of introduction at the beginning of a fellow quired to think out a talk on his feet. The topic is
student’s seminar presentation as the third require- also more difficult for the student, as it is about
ment. For the fourth requirement, each student something other than himself. Students are en-
writes a letter of application for a job and prepares couraged to use examples to illustrate points. The
his rdsum& second and third impromptu talks are assigned, as
The student is instructed for the seminar pre- time permits, during sessions 5 through 9.
sentation. He is given as fundamental principles: Speeches of introduction are often the poorest
a) telling the audience what he is going to tell them speeches given at meetings. This probably is true
and its importance to them in the introduction; b) because many do not think that introduction
presenting the information and his own ideas and speeches are important. Students are taught that if
experiences in a coherent, logical manner in the a speaker is worthy of being asked to make a talk,
body; ankl c) briefly to tell them what he has told he or she deserves a well-prepared and enthusiastic
them in the summary. In the third session, a introduction to the audience. The students in the
faculty member presents a 12 to 15-min seminar in last group scheduled to make seminar presentations
which intentional errors are made and another for the term introduce the students in the first
faculty member presents a "serious" seminar. The group. Those in the first group introduce the
strengths and weaknesses of these seminars are dis- speakers in the second group, similar to the proce-
cussed extensively by the class. These seminars dure recommended by Teare and Powers (1972).
illustrate common errors that detract from the There are several acceptable forms of introduction
quality of a presentation and show students how speeches (Sager, 1968; Teare and Powers, 1972),
to correct them. but we instruct the students to answer three ques-
The student collects, organizes, and outlines ma- tions about the speaker and his subject: 1) What is
terial and prepares visual aids. Strict adherence to the subject? 2) Whyis the subject important to the
the 12 to 15-min time forces the student to do a audience?, and 3) Whois the speaker and why is he
better job in this preparation than would an open- qualified to speak on the subject? The student
ended seminar (Teare and Powers, 1972). Each making the introduction is expected to obtain the
student is expected to select a topic and review necessary information from the speaker before the
enough references so that the presentation will class meeting and to make the introduction speech
make a significant contribution to his and to his within P/2 min.
audience’s knowledge. He is encouraged to work Instruction in writing a letter of application and
with a faculty member with expertise in his topic rdsum~ is presented during the second session by a
area and to practice the presentation outside of resource person from the Department of Business
class in the presence of the faculty member. Education and Office Management in the College of
Impromptu talks decrease nervousness, increase Business Administration. Instruction is based on a
self-confidence, and develop a friendly, cooperative textbook authored by the resource person (Bonner,
attitude among students. The first impromptu talks 1974). Students are urged to apply for specific jobs
are given during the fourth class session before any with actual companies or agencies of their own
seminar presentations. Students are assembled in choosing. Otherwise, the situation is unreal, and
 FRYE & CLICK: ORAL PRESENTATIONS BY STUDENTS 31

Speaker: Subject: Total Score:

Did the outline cover the subject? Thoroughly 10 9 8 7 6 5 4321 Poorly

Did speakerintroducehis subject? Clearly 10 9 8 7 6 5 4321 Vaguely
Wasspeakerconfident and enthusiastic? Aboutright 10 9 8 7 6 5 432 1 Little
Did speakercaptureand hold your interest? Very well 10 9 8 7 6 5 432 1 Verylittle
Did speaker maintain contact with audience? Excellent 10 9 8 7 6 5 432 1 Very poor
Wasvoice volumeright for roomand audience? Aboutright 10 9 8 7 6 5 4321 Tooloud, too low
Did speaker use meaninglesswords? None 10 9 8 7 6 5 4321 Too many
Useof notes? Aboutright 10 9 8 7 6 5 432 1 Read too much
Wasspeaker’stransition from oneidea to the next smoothand clear? Very smooth 10 9 8 7 6 5 4321 Vague
Did speakercover subject and only subject? Very well 10 9 8 7 6 5 432 1 Incomplete
Did speakereffectively summarize his talk? Effectively 10 9 8 7 6 5 432 1 No summary
Wasspeakerable to respondto questions? Very well 10 9 8 7 6 5 432 1 Poorly
Wasspeaker’ssubject difficult or easy? Very difficult 10 9 8 7 6 5 4321 Too easy
Originality of visual aids. Very good 10 9 8 7 6 5 432 1 Very poor
Readabilityof visualaids. Very good 10 9 8 7 6 5 432 1 Very poor
Did visual aidsillustrate the point? Very well 10 9 8 7 6 5 4321 Poorly
Did speakerusehis visual aids effectively? Very smooth 10 9 8 7 6 5 432 1 Awkward
Overall, howwouldyou rate the seminar? Superior 20 18 16 14 12 10 8642 Poor

Fig. 1-Formfor studentevaluation

of seminar
presentation.

experience has shown that they do not effectively The conduct of the critique is of utmost im-
"sell" themselves. Rough drafts of the letter and portance. It must be friendly, constructive, and
r6sum~are turned in, and the instructor helps each dwell on positive aspects of the speaker, if the ex-
student to improve them before they are turned in perience is to increase rather than decrease self-
to be graded. confidence. Gough (1968) expressed the belief
A faculty memberskilled in the use of visual aids that the speaker "should be given support for his
instructs the class on the selection, development, thoughts and protection for his feelings while con-
and use of visual aids, and the use. of equipment. fidence is being developed." The attitude of the
Examples of good and poor visual aids are shown instructor toward the students is important in any
that illustrate how visual aids can enhance or de- course (Bertrand, 1972), but it is of paramountim-
tract from the quality of a presentation. portance in this course. The instructor should clear-
ly point out to the students during the first class
Evaluation, Feedback, and Grading session that unfriendly or nonconstructive criticism
of fellow students will not be tolerated. In the
We agree with Cathcart (1966) that student par- critique, we emphasize those aspects of a presenta-
ticipation in the critique and evaluation of fellow tion which students can learn relatively easily.
students is a teaching technique. Students evaluate Problems which the student cannot change except
the presentations using the form in Figure 1. The with great difficulty or therapy, such as voice qual-
forms are completed immediately following a ques- ity, are not mentioned. Discussing such weaknesses
tion-and-answer period at the conclusion of the should be postponed until the private conference
presentation. Timing is important because a critique between the student and the instructor. Most stu-
of the presentation follows, and students’ opinions dents are genuinely interested in developing their
of the presentation should not be influenced by ability to make an effective presentation and to
comments made during the critique. make maximumeffort to do so. Reinforcement at
During the critique, the instructor asks three or this point is essential to develop self-confidence and
four students to indicate strong and weak points of to encourage further efforts.
the presentation and to make suggestions for im- Fifty percent of the student’s final grade is de-
provement. The instructor then summarizes the termined by the evaluation of his seminar presenta-
critique, emphasizing the strengths of the speaker tion by fellow students. The remaining 50%is the
and his presentation and making suggestions for instructor’s evaluation of the student’s letter of ap-
improvement, in general terms, directed to the en- plication for employment and r+sum~ (20%), im-
tire class. Later, the instructor holds a private con- promptu and introduction speeches (20%), and class
ference with the student to discuss his score on the attendance and participation (10%). Some students
evaluation forms and to suggest ways to improve. said that they were uncomfortable in evaluating the
The seminar presentation is tape recorded, and the presentations of peers when 50%of the final grade
student listens to the recording at least once within is based on student evaluation. Experience has in-
a few days after the seminar. dicated that, as a group, students rank the seminar
32 JOURNAL OF AGRONOMIC EDUCATION

presentations almost exactly the same as the in- agronomy curriculum or strong emphasis in agrono-
structor, but score them slightly higher. my, a very high percentage of the respondents rated
At the end of the course, students evaluate the the skills objectives of this course as very important
course and the instructor on a scale from 1 to 5, or important to their graduates. This type of course
with 5 being outstanding or ideal. At the end of develops skills and self-confidence in making a talk
the fall quarter, 1975, the average rating by all stu- before a group, using visual aids to enhance the
dents on all aspects of the course was 4.09 and the presentation. Success on this attempt encourages
instructor received an overall rating of 4.47. Usual- further efforts to improve after they are engaged in
ly the lowest rating is on the demands of the course their career. Students are highly motivated because
in relation to the credit. Some students believe that they recognize the value of the course in helping
the course demands more than it should for 1 them obtain employment and in affecting their
credit. success in a career.
Comments made by some students indicated that
many of them dread the course but recognize its
value to their future success. Other students sug-
gest that more speaking activities be included in
the course.

CONCLUSION

The course is constantly under scrutiny by a

committee of the faculty. The description con-
tained herein represents the present stage of de-
velopment.
An atmosphere of friendliness, cooperation, and
reassurance is vitally important to the effectiveness
of the course. A course similar to this one may be
one of the most valuable courses in any curriculum.
In a survey of colleges and universities with an