Oral Presentation Policy

Rationale

Norwood Secondary College, as a government school, aims to provide a dynamic learning culture that takes pride in the holistic development of students through the promotion of the college values of respect, responsibility, aspiration and resilience. We are committed to offering a comprehensive, viable and guaranteed curriculum based on the Victorian Curriculum F-10 and VCE. We have high expectations about the content that we teach, the way in which we engage students in learning and the means by which we assess their level of understanding. Therefore, the delivery of oral presentations is a rigorous and careful process.

Principles

Oral Presentations are used to:

• Support and develop the desired outcomes of the Victorian Curriculum and VCE Study Designs
• Provide students with learning experiences, which access a wide range of knowledge and understanding.
• Provide students with communication and presentation skills required in the workforce.

Guidelines for Oral Presentations (7-10)

The Victorian Curriculum requires English teachers to report on a student’s speaking and listening skills. To this end, staff require students to deliver an Oral Presentation to a designated audience each semester. However, whilst this is a formal assessment task, general classroom practise will also be taken into consideration for the VELS progression point on the end of semester report.

The following guidelines will be enforced by teaching staff:

1. Students are required to present their Oral Presentation to their English class and classroom teacher during a designated lesson(s) as they are required to present to an audience at a VCE level.
2. All students must be ready to present from the first lesson that presentations are scheduled to occur. A copy of the speech and any accompanying PowerPoint presentation should be submitted online as part of a Learning Task and cue cards should be printed and organised.
3. Teachers will select students to present at random. This could involve pulling student names out of a hat or using an online generator etc.
4. If a student refuses to deliver their Oral Presentation for assessment when called, the coordinator and Head of Year level will be notified via email which will be documented on Compass. Contact will also be made with the respective parents and/or carers. A new time to present as negotiated by the student and teacher will also be made. In this case, the Late Policy will apply and the student will receive a reduction in their final result. If the student refuses to present on a second occasion, then the student will receive an 'N' on the end of semester report. Furthermore, the VELS progression point could be impacted and therefore, not reflect the students’ level of ability.
5. Students are expected to present to an audience. If for whatever reason a student is unable to present to an audience then an appropriate medical certificate must be provided for exemptions to be made. If a medical certificate isn’t provided, then the student will be granted the same conditions as every other student, regardless of any pre-existing conditions. A parent letter or email does not suffice.
6. Students with an Individual Education Plan (IEP) or EAL status may have different arrangements for oral presentations compared with other students. It is the responsibility of the classroom teacher to check the student’s IEP/be aware of the EAL pathway, which is attached to their Compass profile. If a student requires specific conditions, then the teacher will ensure that these are implemented and if necessary, should liaise with the coordinator, Head of Year level, Student Wellbeing and/or EAL Coordinator.
7. If a student is linked in with Student Wellbeing and the Student Welfare Coordinator deems that there is reasonable grounds for the student to present without a wider audience then this may be granted. This will need to be finalised with appropriate documentation one week prior to the presentation date. It is the responsibility of the student to make a time with Student Wellbeing to discuss their concerns. The Student Wellbeing Staff will have a set of criteria to determine whether the student is a candidate for special presentation arrangements and the Student Welfare Coordinator will sign off on any students allowed these different conditions. A record of students requiring special conditions will be kept and maintained by Wellbeing Staff, and the Head of English and the classroom teacher will be notified. *NB: This process must occur during each school year and students must not assume that they will be granted special conditions each time.