Developing New Skills - Water Issue Presentations

In science this quarter, our topic was water. We first took a test on basic knowledge about water; where it is found, how it can be polluted, its paths, etc. We then had to choose a global water issue. That was when our knowledge was put to the test.

My topic was “Decrease in Usable Freshwater - Desertification due to overuse of land & climate change – Kenya”. I chose this after having watched a video on it, I became interested and decided it would be my first choice; Fortunately, I got to do it!

The first step was to create a fully detailed outline, with everything from an introduction to a conclusion. This was the same for everyone. However, after we understood our topic in great depth, we could choose between what forms we would want to communicate our research in (depending on your previous grades). I believe this was an excellent opportunity, for we could actually learn from others. When we wrote an essay, it was hard to engage the audience, and teach the whole class about what you learned; no one likes too much writing! It also allowed us to portray our previous skills in formats, or to even learn a new way to present our work.

This was the hardest part for me; creating the presentation. For others, it was easy, for they just added images and their main ideas. I did not understand why I was having such a hard time. I made my first draft, but it did not go so well. I had too many slides, with too much text, and repeated ideas many times. I then decided to restart from scratch, creating a new presentation. I then realized my mistake; my ideas were not properly organized. I was trying to set up my presentation the same format as my outline, but it was not the best way to do so. I finally finished my final product, and was very proud. This whole process was in where I portrayed the core value perseverance/risk taker. Even though I was having a hard time, I kept trying, until I could finally do it. This was mainly because of my peers; if they had done it, I could do it.   

We were graded on this rubric.

Content – I believe I did quite a good job in content. I had a lot of information on my topic, as well as thoroughly explained with strong analysis. I noticed a pattern; I started strong, but ended light. This can be something to improve on, especially how nature acts to solve the problem, as well as what can be done in the future. This is probably because my curiosity level died down at this research area. There was not that much information on what can be done in the future, only about what is being done. Next time, I could try to conference with my teacher, Mr. Pro, to see if he could help me understand these concepts more. This could have also been an issue because I never had a chance to show him my actual first draft, only my first attempt, which failed. Overall, I got a 7.

Presentation – This is the area I was proud of, but realized I could still improve in some areas. I was proud of my introduction and conclusion. I decided to try something new, and start with a cool hook, using props. Fortunately, it did work, as I saw that many people looked more interested after having seen my intro. My voice was at a perfect tone, in which everyone could hear. I had scientific and informative details and language to strongly connect with the audience. An area I could improve in is my word choice and organization. I could have made my word choice more appropriate for my audience, in a way that can help them understand the topic, and not make me look good. With organization, I found that I lacked efficient and effective transitions. I could have made each slide connect more with each other. For next time, I could make sure that everything connects to everything, and make it evident in my work. Overall, I received a 7.

Citations – I was not the strongest in this area. This was due to time; I rushed my citations too quickly, and was a little lost on how to do them. I forgot to add my full citations for my diagram. This was my first time citing a presentation, which made it a harder for me to properly achieve this skill. After doing this presentation and receiving feedback, I can definitely say that I have developed a new stronger skill in citations. Maybe for next time, I could make sure that I fully understand what has to be cited, and what does not. Overall, I achieved a 6.

This was definitely a new and insightful project, which I believe has really helped and prepared for future projects, such as the science fair. I have gained new life-long skills, and believe that this was a really significant project to all. I have seen very successful presentations from my peers as well, which shows me that we all really put all our work into making sure that we can all learn about a new issue, and how we should be taking care of our water.