Do you regularly lead conference sessions?  Do you struggle with organizing a presentation?

 

When I was a teacher, I presented more often at conferences than I have since becoming a district administrator.  That seems strange to me since my schedule should be more flexible now than when I was still in the classroom. But for some reason, it has been more difficult to find the time since I have been in the central office.

 

I do think it is important to share what we are doing with others, so I have decided to make a more concentrated effort to present at conferences.  Doing so is a great way to give back to the profession, and it can be a great way to share ideas and skills with other central office administrators, which as you know is near and dear to my Central Matters heart.  

 

Choosing a Topic

Our work at the district level is often messy, making it more difficult to determine what would make a great workshop topic.  As a teacher presenting to other teachers, I was often sharing a specific type of assignment or instructional strategy. This kept my topic focused.  Central office work is usually broader in scope which makes determining a topic more difficult.

 

Often, what I want to know from my counterparts in other districts is what they are working on or how they are tackling a particular problem or issue.  I don’t care if it is innovated; I just want to know if it has proven effective for them.

 

You may be thinking “What do I have to share with others?  I’m just doing my job, but I am not sure exciting enough for a conference presentation.”

 

Your topic doesn’t have to be huge.  But it does need to be helpful. Your answers to the following questions will help you to determine a topic for your next conference presentation.

 

• What are you currently working on that is a source of pride for your district?  
• Which part of your work is bringing you the most satisfaction currently?  
• What is going well for your department or the district?  
• Have you implemented something that has made your job easier?  
• How have you re-worked an existing program to make it better?

 

Your answer to these questions could be a great topic for a conference presentation or talk.  

 

Three (3) ways to organize your

presentation

 

Once you’ve settled on a topic, you will need to organize your information logically.  While the “tell what you are going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them” structure is tried and true (maybe), more interesting frameworks are available.

 

1. Strategy Exposition/Progress Report

This structure is great for sharing how your or your district has tackled a particular issue.  

• Explain the issue or problem of practice that needed a solution.
• Provide more detail and context.  
• Introduce your strategy.
• Provide the action plan(s) you used.  (details)
• Discuss successes and obstacles encountered.
• Explain where you are currently.

I like this framework because if I am a conference attendee, then I am curious about how other districts have tackled a problem I might be having in my district.  This organization makes sense to me, and I may be able to implement the strategy when I return to my district.

 

As a way to organize a progress report, this organization also makes sense.  I can clearly delineate the steps that I or my team took to address the issue.  If I am the person receiving the report from someone else, then I can easily follow their progress.

 

(2)  Lesson Plan Method

Organizing a presentation can be similar to creating a lesson plan.  You need to know your objectives or goals. What is the purpose of the presentation?  When we write lesson plans, we think in terms of “I can” statements for students. Similarly, when giving a presentation at a conference, think of what the “I can” statements are for your participants.  What is it that you want them to be able to do at the end of your presentation?

 

• Determine objectives and “I can” statements
• Lesson hook/bellringer (for a presentation, think of short surveys or Kahoot! activity)
• Main activity (outline your main points)
• Differentiation (district vs. school; Career & Technical Education vs. Arts)
• Media (to engage audience and enrich or extend ideas)
• Wrap-up/Exit tickets (what’s the key take-away?)

 

The Lesson Plan method will not work with all topics or audiences.  But it is worth considering if your presentation is more training than overview.

 

(3) The Hero’s Journey

 

This may be my favorite way to organize slides for a presentation, but like the lesson plan method above, it may not fit with all topics and purposes.  The Hero’s Journey is based on the work of Joseph Campbell.  His book, The Hero With a Thousand Faces, explains the idea that most stories from across cultures follow a similar pattern.  

 

Many of our best-loved and most popular films today follow the hero’s journey (e.g., Star Wars, The Hunger Games).  And while we and our districts may not slay dragons, we do have adversity that we must often overcome.

 

The Hero’s Journey motif works best for presentations that lend themselves to narrative.  Can you tell a story about your topic? Is your topic about a district initiative that is well underway?  If so, you might organize it around The Hero’s Journey motif.

 

The Hero’s Journey

The bare bones of the Hero’s Journey motif:

• The hero heeds a “call to action.”
• Receives assistance.
• Departs from home (or the status quo; enters the underworld)
• Faces many trials.
• Overcomes the antagonist.
• Receives a gift (could be insight or skills)
• Returns home with gift.

How does this work with a conference presentation? Let’s look at an example based on a district initiative.  

 

• The Hero, in school districts, is often a collective hero, or a group.  So, for the sake of our example, the hero is the implementation team who heeded a call to transform the district in some way. Perhaps with the implementation of a new program such as a digital 1 to 1 project.

• Assistance could come in the form of a grant, an outside consultant, or an unanticipated partner.

 

• The implementation team departs from home by leaving the status quo.  Perhaps the team is implementing a truly innovative program unlike anything they have experienced before now.

 

• Our implementation team Hero faces many trials along the way.  Rather than dragons or monsters, our Hero might face other obstacles – lack of time, disagreement among team members, scheduling, lack of administrative support. This is when you discuss any setbacks or problems that you encountered in your rolling out your initiative.

 

• While some of the trials could derail an initiative, the collective Hero typically faces one large ‘dragon’ that will likely ensure the failure of the project if not overcome. To continue our example, I think one of the huge problems that many initiatives encounter that causes failure is lack of funding. In a 1 to 1 project, lack of funds to purchase devices and improve infrastructure can stop the project in its tracks. Stakeholder buy-in is another obstacle that can quickly tank a special initiative. It is imperative that the Hero overcome this beast.

 

• The collective Hero receives the gift.  This could be many things. Grantwriting skills, project management skills, a new partnership are all examples of gifts that an implementation team Hero might receive through its work.  If your initiative included professional development, mention it here.

 

• The collective Hero returns home with the gift.  In terms of implementing a district initiative, this might be when the initiative has reached all the schools in the district.  It might be when the equipment or materials have been purchased. Typically, full implementation of the initiative occurs, and a new and improved status quo is set for the district.  In our 1 to 1 project example, all devices have been deployed and teachers have received the appropriate training.

 

So this story might not be as action-packed as a Star Wars movie, but it can still be professionally satisfying and intriguing.  And a great way to organize a conference presentation.

 

Put yourself in the audience of such a presentation.  Would this type of presentation about a district project not be more interesting than listening to someone discuss how their school district improved education for their students using a traditional outline approach?

 

Other Resources

Strategies for organizing a conference presentation abound.  Nick Morgan’s article “5 Quick Ways To Organize A Presentation” on  Forbes includes variations on items 1 and 2 above.  Though geared toward business, his suggestions could easily be adapted for education, especially the one on teaching a new skill.

 

I challenge you to give back to the profession by presenting at a conference this year.

What are you working on or implementing in your day-to-day work that would make a great conference session?  How would you organize it? Do you have a favorite way to organize presentations?

 

Please let me know in the comments.  Share with me what you are doing. And if you have a topic or problem of practice that you would like for me to tackle in an upcoming post, share that with me as well.