Microteaching Mini-Course "Public Speaking for Physicists" for First Year Graduate Students, U of T Physics, Fall 2016

Welcome! The goals of this mini-course are to practice talking up in front of a small group, and discuss the challenges and joys of public speaking. We believe that oral presentation skills are important to your future. These skills do not come naturally, but can be practiced and learned.

Week 2 and 4 Groups [Please alert Jason Harlow by email if you note are any errors, conflicts or inconsistencies!]

#	Time	Senior TA	Students - 4 students	per session plus TA
1	Mon.	Stephen	Lukas Adamek	Perry Mahon
	2-4
2	Mon.	Stephen	Dongzi Li	Spheak Sorn
	5-7			Wonjune Choi
3	Tue.	Dan	Spencer Smyth	Noah Lupu-Gladstein
	2-4			Aaron Goldberg
4	Tue.	Dan	Haruki Hirasawa	Joel Foo
	5-7		Shayan Gheidi	Yuchen Ma
5	Wed.	Dan	Sana Ketabchi	Michael Bartram
	4-6		Philipp Klein	Steven Ufkes
6	Wed.	Dan	Daniel Flam-Shepherd	Matt Smart
	6-8		Jake Gordon	Alex Cabaj
7	Thu.	Dan	Isabelle Racicot	Bernard Yang
	12-2		Simon Axelrod	Fang Xi Lin
8	Thu. 2-4 week 4: 3-4	Dan	Dylan Kisliuk	Kelly Foran
			Arthur Pang	Haochen Zhang
9	Thu. 4-6	Stephen	Yi Fei Han	Jyotirmoy Roy
			Adarsh Patri	Tina Ojeda
10	Thu. 6-8	Stephen	Christopher Nunn	Jordan Chad
			Kamdin Mirsanaye	Eli Bourassa
11	Fri. 1-3	Stephen	Shoma Yamanouchi	Benny Lau
			Tailong He	Chris Garner
12	Fri.	Stephen	Geremia Massarelli	Piotr Bartnicki
	3-5		Joey Carter	Danvin D'Souza

Optional Week 1 Improvisation Workshop (1 extra hour will be added to your DDAH)

Schedule for weeks 2 and 4:

Group 1: Mon. Sep. 12 2:00 - 4:00pm, Mon. Sep. 26 2:00-3:00pm - Room MP713
Group 2: Mon. Sep. 12 5:00 - 7:00pm, Mon. Sep. 26 5:00-6:00pm - Room MP713
Group 3: Tue. Sep. 13 2:00 - 4:00pm, Tue. Sep. 27 2:00 - 3:00pm - Room MP713
Group 4: Tue. Sep. 13 5:00 - 7:00pm, Tue. Sep. 27 5:00 - 6:00pm - Room MP713
Group 5: Wed. Sep. 14 4:00 - 6:00pm, Wed. Sep. 28 4:00 - 5:00pm - Room MP713
Group 6: Wed. Sep. 14 6:00 - 8:00pm, Wed. Sep. 28 6:00 - 7:00pm - Room MP713
Group 7: Thu. Sep. 15 12:00 - 2:00pm, Thu. Sep. 29 12:00 - 1:00pm - Room MP713
Group 8: Thu. Sep. 15 2:00 - 4:00pm, Thu. Sep. 29 2:00 - 3:00pm - Room MP713
Group 9: Thu. Sep. 15 4:00 - 6:00pm, Thu. Sep. 29 4:00 - 5:00pm - Room MP713
Group 10: Thu. Sep. 15 6:00 - 8:00pm, Thu. Sep. 29 6:00 - 7:00pm - Room MP713
Group 11: Fri. Sep. 16 1:00 - 3:00pm in MP713, Fri. Sep. 30 1:00 - 2:00pm - Room MP713
Group 12: Fri. Sep. 16 3:00 - 5:00pm in MP713, Fri. Sep. 30 3:00 - 4:00pm - Room MP713

Week 3 Meeting (choose one)

Tuesday Sep. 20, 1:00pm MP125-C: (17) Spencer Smyth, Daniel Flam-Shepherd, Simon Axelrod, Kelly Foran, Joey Carter, Philipp Wilhelm Klein, Jacob Gordon, Joel Foo, Eli Bourassa, Martina Ojeda, Fang Xi Lin, Aaron Goldberg, Benny Lau, Sana Ketabchi, Isabelle Racicot, Shayan Gheidi, Dylan Kisliuk

Tuesday Sep. 20, 5:00pm MP125-C: (21) Aaron Goldberg, Alex Cabaj, Geremia Massarelli, Perry Mahon, Haruki Hirosawa, Arthur Pang, Danvin D'Souza, Adarsh Patri, Jyotirmoy Roy, Steven Ufkes, Lukas Adamek, Jordan Chad, Piotr Bartnicki, Tailong He, Bernard Yang, Kamdin Mirsanaye, Michael Bartram, Christopher Nunn, Yuchen Ma, Shoma Yamanouchi, Wonjune Choi, Haochen Zhang, Matt Smart

Course Materials:

Teaching Assistant Training Slides, shown in week 1: PowerPoint , PDF

Week 3 Slides

Preparation and Suggestions:

Formal presentations should include:

SET say 'hello' : who you are : introduction, objectives, outline, setting the mood: "what are you going to tell 'em?": point form good

BODY content and themes: cover the points introducing each one: signal important ones: "tell ‘em".

CLOSURE review and wrap-up: "tell 'em what you told them": summarize: finish strongly, with a full stop

• Decide on the format of your presentation: lecture, tutorial or problem-solving session. Please try to elicit a small amount of audience participation. Keep in mind this is for an undergraduate audience, preferably first year. Keep the level low, your content to a minimum, and make your explanations thorough and detailed.
• Finally, this is a unique opportunity for you to experiment with your teaching/presentation style. I urge you to push your limits a little beyond your normal comfort zone - experiment with some styles or techniques. This is about your learning, not about producing a "perfect" presentation. Have some fun!

Payment and relation to TA work:

• This course is not for marks. Attendance will be taken, and an official record will be kept by the graduate chair of who participated as Pass/Fail only.
• An unofficial ranking of your public speaking abilities based on your final presentation will be sent to the undergraduate chair and Pierre Savaria to help guide them in selecting your future TA assignments.
• All 7 hours are considered "TA Training", and you will be paid for this.

Suggested Topics (choose one, make it fun, discuss specific examples!) :

• Newton's Third Law
• Conservation of Angular Momentum
• Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics
• Polarization of Light

First Talk (week 2):

• Only the 4 students and the Senior TA will be present.
• Each 10-minute presentation will be timed and video-taped. Immediately after each presentation, the tape will be reviewed by everyone, with minimal commenting.
• After watching the video, 10 minutes will be used for discussion and constructive comments about the delivery. Each presenter will receive a USB drive with their presentation for their review.
• For each presenter, the 3 peers and the Senior TA will fill out a Feedback Form. The presenter will receive all 4 feedback forms to aid in preparing the second presentation. Results of this first presentation will NOT be shared with the course coordinator, undergrad chair or graduate chair.

 Final Talk (week 4):

• The final talk will take place exactly 2 weeks after the first talk, with the same group members and Senior TA. Each student will give a 10 minute teaching-style presentation which incorporates ideas and suggestions received during the first session.
• Please bring your USB drive from the first session, and your second presentation will be recorded for your records and future review.
• Comments will last for 5 minutes after each talk.
• For each presenter, the 3 peers may fill out a Feedback Form and share it with the presenter. The Senior TA will fill out a Feedback Form which will be then be given to the course coordinator, Jason Harlow. The numerical results of the Feedback will be averaged and shared with the undergraduate chair as an informal assessment of your public speaking ability.

 Preparing your talks:

• You are encouraged to use visual aids, such as powerpoint, or the chalk-board. A laptop with projector will be present in each room; you may bring a talk on a USB key, or bring your own laptop.
• Time yourself! You must not go over the 10 minute limit - the Senior TA will be timing each presentation and cutting you off when your time is up.

 Speaking Tips:

• Be well prepared; plan and rehearse the timing of what you will present.
• Have eye contact with the audience members.
• Speak clearly, and loud enough so everyone in the room can hear you.
• Make sure your visual aids are easily readable to all.
• Smiling, open hand-gestures, and voice inflections are okay - don't monotone!
• Relax and be yourself!

Assorted Links:

Feedback Form (PDF)

Audio/Visual Instructions (PDF)

School of Graduate Studies outside link

Gradlife, Office of Student Life outside link
Grad Escapes outside link
Graduate Professional Skill Program outside link

CUPE 3902 outside link (You are in Unit 1)

This web page is maintained by Jason Harlow.