Key academic readings include:
Oral presentations in higher education: a comparison of the impact of peer and teacher feedback, Luis R. Murillo-Zamorano & Manuel Montanero
Student presentations as a means of teaching and learning English for Specific Purposes: an action research study – Bin Ai, Alexander Kostogriz, Daorong Wen & Lifei Wang
Understanding Students’ Views of the Crit Assessment – Charlie Smith
Chatting and cheating: Ensuring academic integrity in the era of ChatGPT – Debby R. E. Cotton, Peter A. Cotton & J. Reuben Shipway
During my lit review, academic research and readings tend to conclude that oral presentations provide necessary soft skills to undergraduates. But there is no clear recommendation from the readings of how we proceed with oral presentations with today’s complex and modern cohorts. Inclusivity is rarely discussed within the readings. It has lead me to revisit previous readings from the TPP and IP units such as Karen Bradley’s ‘Embracing the Silence’ (2022 ) Where Bradley discusses introverted v extroverted learners. It appears further research maybe needed here.
My readings has also included contemporary industry sources with some relevant and formative findings emerging from both the BBC and also The Business of Fashion – the latter being a vital sector source for my teaching subject. Whilst both readings do not specifically research the topic of oral presentations, both discuss relevant and important topics. The BBC’s investigation into the rise of international students with poor english is very relevant to the use of presentations in assessment. And the Business of Fashion looks at fashion trends for 2025, focusing on the “human side of sales” and their recommendation for reorienting focus towards product expertise and relationship building” (BOF, 2024) – which relates back to the soft skill of communication which is becoming increasingly needed in the field of fashion – my teaching area.
According to the readings, it is widely acknowledged that Oral presentations have significant benefits in higher education and are an extremely useful concept and form of assessment in developing the student. “The ability to present information publicly, clearly and eloquently, in accordance with different academic and professional contexts, is one of the most important soft skills that higher education students should acquire before completing their studies” (Dunbar, Brooks, and Kubicka-Miller 2006) It could be argued that these soft skills are what is needed after graduation in order to succeed in the workplace – especially in some creative industries such as fashion where there is an emphasis on communicating your creativity. Chan (2011) argues this further , suggesting “education and employment experts themselves agree that undergraduates enter the job market with significant gaps in oral communication compentcy” (Luis R. Murillo-Zamorano & Montanero ,2018 )
So if academics and employers alike acknowledge the importance of this soft skill, why is the in person presentation still not considered the assessment method of choice? It could be argued that in recent years, the rise of the student voice and mental health issues amongst young people has impacted the use of this form of assessment. In 2018, Bristol University student Natasha Abrahart sadly took her own life on the day she was due to give a presentation. The case generated widespread news coverage and the University was accused of not making “reasonably adjustments” as they were aware of mental health issues with the student. Since then, the spotlight has been on this topic and the student mental well-being with Universities being asked “to prioritise mental health by September 2024″(Shearing and Clark, June 2023) . In 2019, an article in The Guardian, asks “Public speaking -is the push to make students employable gone too far?” (The Guardian, 2019)
Universities and academics alike have responded to this suggesting presentations are vital – and perhaps a change in the approach and teaching of the skill is needed. Professor Steve West, Vice Chancellor of the University of West England argues the importance of them but also suggests ” I certainly wouldn’t advocate assessed presentations until students have settled in, made friends and developed an understanding of what is expected and how to get additional support,”( The Guardian, 2019). This suggests that universities simply need to create the right environment for a presentation to in the student’s best interest.
What has been interesting is the discussion around the use of the ‘CRIT’ and formative assessment -and how this is potentially a way to reassess the tutor/student relationship when it comes to presenting. Formative assessment is a huge discussion point within my own teaching practice at the moment, with the Dean encouraging increased usage of this to prepare students for assessment….and ultimately increase attainment.
Charlie Smith’s (2011) excellent journal entitled ‘Understanding Student’s Views of the CRIT’ provides a very thought provoking analysis of the complexities of the CRIT and the conflict between student and tutor. He cites that the CRIT is designed for feedback but conflicting opinions with certain subjects (Arts) can provide a confusing and ambiguous feedback space for students – explaining “that it is an integral element of architectural education with substantial learning potential, yet often creates an adversarial environment, has confused objectives and its capacity for providing meaningful feedback can vary considerably.” (smith, 2011) Point being, as discussed previously, the success of a CRIT is perhaps down to the role of the tutor and the environment they create.
It could be argued also that this lack of clarity and fear of ‘creative opinion’ would impact the student’s confidence and ability t0 present in person to the best of their ability.
More contemporary and recent research is willing to look at the impact of tech on our assessment methods in a more practical way – which is where my research journey and’ idea’ began. If we look at the present day situation, we can see that the emergence of AI and ChatGBt has impacted assessment significantly. Chatting and cheating: Ensuring academic integrity in the era of ChatGPT (Debby R. E. Cotton, Peter A. Cotton & J. Reuben Shipway (2024) argues that whilst the rise of AI brings benefits to the higher education sector, “using GPT-3 for assessment in higher education risks plagiarism” which could be argued “undermines the very purpose of higher education which is to challenge and educate students, and could ultimately lead to the devaluation of degrees.” (Cotton, Cotton & Shipway (2024). The journal proposes many ways that institutions could change assessment and even supports the use of presentations and other forms to demonstrate “critical thinking, problem solving and communication skills.” (Cotton, Cotton and Shipway ,2024)
The question remains though, how do we promote inclusivity within this assessment method?
The Mental health debate – UAL Teaching and learning workshop notes. (This section is written in the first person and is my experience of a recent ‘Student disability’ workshop that I attended as part of my role at UAL)
During a recent workshop at my institute, we were presented information regarding the school’s disability service and how we should be approaching students with mental and physical disabilities in our every day teaching practice. During the workshop, the presenter asked us to debate the use of presentations and how we can and should make reasonable adjustments for all students. We were asked to contribute to a padlet with our answer, responding to what we thought were potential barriers – physically and mentally -for the student. The majority of the ‘suggestions’ were in line with the approach we were already using. For example, organising students into smaller groups, creating safe spaces etc. I have included the padlet here. The interesting discussion appeared after the padlet when as academics, we collectively voiced our concern over how we create these environments, the resource and time needed, and how if this approach helps or hinders the resilient of the student. Again we are faced with the conflicting issue of building resilient and communicative graduates….but continually making adjustments that may not be reflective of the real world.
References
The State of Fashion 2025, Business of Fashion, January 2025
Dunbar, Brooks, and Kubicka-Miller 2006; Joint Quality Initiative2004; Živković 2014.
Luis R. Murillo-Zamorano & Manuel Montanero (2018) Oral presentationsin higher education: a comparison of the impact of peer and teacher feedback, Assessment &Evaluation in Higher Education
Shearing and Clarke, BBC.CO.UK, June 2023
Anna Fazackerley, The Gaurdian.co.uk, May 2019
Debby R. E. Cotton, Peter A. Cotton & J. Reuben Shipway (2024) Chatting and cheating: Ensuring academic integrity in the era of ChatGPT, Innovations in Education and Teaching International,
Charlie Smith (2011) Understanding Students’ Views of the Crit Assessment, Journal for Education in the Built Environment