Current Events Presentations involves one or more students finding and giving a short informal presentation about something currently in the news, in a mainstream newspaper or magazine, that relates to the course content. Students summarise the article and outline how it relates to what has been taught in the course.
Instructions
- Assign a student or small group of students to present in each class and provide them with criteria for article selection, such as what counts as an acceptable source.
- Schedule 5 minutes at the start of each class for students to give their presentation.
Tip
In a larger class, multiple presentations could be scheduled at the start of each class to ensure that all students get to present. Make sure that the students coordinate with each other or with the educator to ensure that they each have a different article.
Resources
- N/A
Variations
- Add a review: Require students to share their chosen article with the educator ahead of the class, so that the educator can confirm the article is relevant and from a reputable source. This may work well for early-year courses.
- Add a Q&A: Allow time at the end of the presentation for other students to ask questions of the presenters.
- Make it a quiz: Encourage students to take notes during the presentations and include some open-ended questions about the presentations in a quiz.
- Branch out from news: Allow students to source their current events from sources other than the mainstream news, e.g., from social media. Encourage them to be respectfully critical and highlight anywhere the source deviated from the facts in their presentation.
References
Current Events Presentation Activity for Introductory Geoscience Classes (carleton.edu)