GTA INSTRUCTIONAL PRESENTATION

Graduate Teaching Assistant Program (GTAP) Orientation
The George Washington University

OVERVIEW:

The GTA Instructional Presentation(IP) provides new graduate teaching assistants with feedback on their presentation skills and is considered one of the most important components of the GTAP Orientation.

Prior to the IP, each new GTA must prepare a five-minute oral presentation on a topic within their academic field of study. The oral presentation is not meant to be a test of your knowledge or a review of your graduate research. Rather, the instructional presentation is designed to give you valuable feedback on how you present an idea, concept, or theory from your field to an uninitiated audience.

During the IP, the GTAs are assigned to small groups, each led by a GW faculty member. The GTAs then present their individual topics to the group, encourage discussion, and respond to questions.

Following the presentation and discussion, the faculty member and the other members of the group write down their comments about, and ratings of, the presenter’s organization of teaching materials along with and their message, delivery and language skills, and engagement of the audience.

After completion of the IP, participants are given the rating/comment sheets with constructive suggestions on how to present more effectively.

NOTE: GTAs whose speech comprehensibility is judged inadequate for instructional purposes may be referred to appropriate University support services and the scope of their GTA responsibilities may be limited until adequate communication skills are achieved.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PARTICIPANTS:

• Prior to the Instructional Presentation, you must select a topic within your academic field of study.
• The specific content must be selected, organized, and presented at a level appropriate for an audience outside the discipline without any prior knowledge of the subject (i.e., for an introductory class).
• The presentation should cover the key points and incorporate personal opinions or experiences and examples relevant to the subject matter, as appropriate.
• As the purpose of the IP is to, the presentation should NOT involve overheads, PowerPoint slides, handouts, or any other audio-visual aids.
• You may use the blackboard if it will be helpful in conveying your message. Also, although you may talk from notes, your presentation should NOT be read. This is a teaching exercise, not a conference presentation.
• Time your presentation carefully to ensure that it does not exceed the five minutes allotted.You should also think of a question or two to encourage a brief discussion during or following your presentation.

EVALUATION: Your presentation will be evaluated both overall and on the basis of three major areas:organization and message, delivery and audience interaction, and language skills.