Relating Science to Technology, Society and the Environment (STSE)

Issues Research Presentation

ENERGY and SOCIETY

Name:______Presentation Date:______

Partner: ______(optional)

Goal:

Assess, on the basis of research, how technologies related to nuclear, thermal or geothermal energy affect society (culture, economics, education, ethics, health, politics etc.) AND the environment.

Part 1–Select an Issue DUE TUESDAY, NOV. 21, 2011 Teacher’s Initials

Pick a topic from the list OR ask your teacher to approve an appropriate topic of your choice.

Issue ______

Complete the chart below in point form. One partner will argue the issue’s positive effects on society and the environment and the other partner will argue the issue’s negative effects on society and the environment. If you are working on your own, select either positive or negative effects.

Positive Effect on Society / Negative effect on Society
Positive Effect on the Environment / Negative Effect on the Environment

Part 2 - Research the Issue DUE 1 DAY BEFORE YOUR PRESENTATION Teacher’s Initials

Each person must complete three research sheets for the main scientific sources they used to learn about their issue. If there are two people in the group, six research sheets must be submitted. Write information in your own words on the research sheets to avoid plagiarism in your presentation. All other resources should be put into a list of references using the CITE RIGHT instructions (page R-7 at the back of your agenda).

Read the article below if you plan to use internet resources. It is your responsibility to find and use trustworthy sources.

Finding Reliable InternetSourcesByGrace Fleming

The Internet is a great resource, but it is also a public forum, where anyone can make a claim or an assertion. If you find an article that provides relevant information for your research topic, you should take care to investigate the source to make sure it is valid and reliable. It is your responsibility as a researcher to find and use the trustworthy sources. There are several ways to investigate your source.

Author

In most cases, you should stay away from Internet information that doesn't list an author. While the information you find may be true, it is more difficult to validate information if you don't know the credentials of the author.

If the author is named, you will want to find his/her web page to:

  • Verify educational credits
  • Discover if the writer is either published in a scholarly journal
  • Verify that the writer is employed by a research institution or university

URL

If the information is linked to an organization, try to determine the reliability of the sponsoring organization. One tip is the url ending. If the site name ends with .edu, it is most likely an educational institution. Even so, you should be aware of political bias.

If a site ends in .gov, it is most likely a reliable government web site. Government sites are usually good sources for statistics and objective reports.

Sites that end in .org are usually non-profit organizations. They can be very good sources or very poor sources, so you'll have to take care to research their possible agendas or political biases, if they exist.

For instance, collegeboard.org is the organization that provides the SAT and other tests. You can find valuable information, statistics, and advice on that site. PBS.org is a non-profit organization that provides educational public broadcasts. It provides a wealth of quality articles on its site.

Other sites with the .org ending are advocacy groups that are highly political in nature. White it is entirely possible to find reliable information from a site like this, as always, you should be mindful of the political slant and acknowledge this in your work.

Online Journals and Magazines

A reputable journal or magazine should contain a bibliography for every article. The list of sources within that bibliography should be pretty extensive, and it should include scholarly, non-Internet sources.

News Sources

Every television and print news source has a web site. To some extent, you can rely on the most trusted news sources, but you should not rely on them exclusively. After all, network and cable news stations are involved in entertainment. Think of them as a stepping stone to more reliable sources.

Part3- Preparea Presentation DUE ON SCHEDULED PRESENTATION DAY

Your presentation should be about 10-15 minutes long for a group of two or half that for an individual.

It will consist of three parts:

a)A slide show (PowerPoint, Google docs, SMART Notebook etc.)

b)A handout for classmates that includes

  1. Front Side of Handout- a half page ‘fill in the blank’ style note or table for classmates to complete AND a diagram or graph for classmates to label.
  2. Back Side of Handout- A few questions about your presentation and space for classmates to answer the questions.

c)A one minute question period at the end.

Your presentation must be persuasive. You want your classmates to agree withYOU instead of your partner at the end of your presentation. Make an argument and back it up with good evidence (facts, statistics, expert testimony, examples, personal experience, etc.).

Suggested Outline for Partners:

Slide 1 – Title with the names of presenters

Slide 2, 3–An overview of the topic being presented

Slide 4, 5-Positive effect on societyargumentswith evidence to support each

Slide 6, 7-Positive effect on environment arguments with evidence to support each

Slide 8, 9 -Negative effect on society arguments with evidence to support each

Slide 10, 11-Negative Effect on environment arguments with evidence to support each

Your presentation should be as interesting and educational as possible. Use appropriate pictures, diagrams and simulations (gizmos, PhET, etc.) if appropriate. Read the article below about preparing an effective presentation.

10 Tips for Preparing a Professional Presentation

Presentations – whether they are made with Powerpoint or other applications, are a great way to support a speech, visualize complicated concepts or focus attention on a subject.Badly designed slides with too much text or bad graphics can distract or worse, irritate the audience.Here’s is a short guide that will help you create presentations with a professional look and concise content, avoiding the most common mistakes.

Design

The first thing that gives a professional touch to any presentation is the design.

  • Keep the design very basic and simple.
  • Pick an easy to read font and colour scheme, and keep the font size above 24 pt.
  • Decorate scarcely but well.

Text

Remember that your slides are only there to support, not to replace your talk! You’ll want to tell a story, describe your data or explain circumstances, and only provide keywords through your slides. If you read your slides and if you do it slow and badly, the audience will get bored and stop listening. Always express a Take Home Message.

  • Keywords only.
  • No sentences!
  • Never read your slides, talk freely

Images

Images are key elements of every presentation. Your audience has ears and eyes – they’ll want to see what you’re talking about, and a good visual cue will help them to understand your message much better.

  • Have more images in your slides than text but do not use them to decorate
  • Use images to visualize and explain, a picture can say more than a thousand words.

Animations & Media

In animations, there is a fine line between a comic or professional impression. However, animations can be rather powerful tools to visualize and explain complicated matters. A good animation can not only improve understanding, but can also make the message stick with your audience.

Keep Your Audience in Mind

  • What do they know and what do you need to tell them?
  • What will be interesting to them?
  • What can you teach them?

Practice

A well-prepared and enthusiastic talk will help you convince your audience and maintain their attention. There are some key points that define a good talk.

  • Know your slides inside out.
  • Speak freely.
  • Speak with confidence – loud and clear.
  • Don’t speak too fast.
  • Maintain eye contact with the audience.

Part 4- Handout DUE ONE DAY BEFORE PRESENTATIONTeacher’s Initals

Give a copy of your handout to your teacher at least one day before your presentation so it can be photocopied for the class.

Part 4- Presentation Day

Save your presentation file on a USB key AND email it to yourself. Arrive as soon as you can before class to load your presentation on to the computer in the classroom.

Before the presentation, each group member must hand in

1)This booklet with the rubric stapled to the back

2)Three research sheets

Before the presentation, each group must hand in

1)A printout of your slides

2)A copy of your handout

STSE Research Presentation Rubric

Name:______Presentation Date:______

Partner: ______(optional)Presentation Title:______

Level 1
50-59% / Level 2
60-69% / Level 3
70-79% / Level 4
80-100% / Comments
SLIDE SHOW
Content
-application of knowledge and skills / -arguments are not backed up with evidence / -arguments are backed up with some evidence / -arguments are backed up with evidence / -arguments are backed up with strong evidence
STSE
-making connections between science and society / -assesses the impact of the issue on society with limited effectiveness / -assesses the impact of the issue on society with some effectiveness / -assesses the impact of the issue on society with considerable effectiveness / -assesses the impact of the issue on society with a high degree of effectiveness
STSE
-making connections between science and the environment / -assesses the impact of the issue on the environment with limited effectiveness / -assesses the impact of the issue on the environment with some effectiveness / -assesses the impact of the issue on the environment with considerable effectiveness / -assesses the impact of the issue on the environment with a high degree of effectiveness
Oral
-oral expression and of ideas and information / -expresses ideas and information with limited effectiveness / -expresses ideas and information with some effectiveness / -expresses ideas and information with considerable effectiveness / -expresses ideas and information with a high degree of effectiveness
Visual
-visual expression of ideas and information / -expresses ideas and information with limited effectiveness / -expresses ideas and information with some effectiveness / -expresses ideas and information with considerable effectiveness / -expresses ideas and information with a high degree of effectiveness
HANDOUT
Content
-application of knowledge and skills / -the handout helps few classmates understand ideas / -the handout helps some classmates understand ideas / -the handout helps most classmates understand ideas / -the handout helps all classmates understand ideas
QUESTION PERIOD
Questions
-transfer of knowledge to unfamiliar contexts
-proposes courses of practical action / -able use knowledge to answer few questions effectively / -able use knowledge to answer some questions effectively / -able use knowledge to answer questions effectively / -able use knowledge to answer all questions thoroughly
RESEARCH SHEETS
Scientific Research
-application of investigation skills / -research notes are not well done or sources are not reliable / -research notes are complete, sources are somewhat reliable / -research notes are well done and sources are reliable / -research notes are very well done and sources are very reliable