Presentation Information
The Distance Learner Scholarship Expo is an opportunity for distance education students to participate virtually in an annual, campus-wide celebration of student-wide exemplary accomplishments in research, scholarship, and creative production at Bradley University.
Bradley University undergraduate and graduate students from across the disciplinary spectrum of academic programs present poster displays of their scholarly work and share a short presentation about their work to a panel of volunteer judges from Bradley and the surrounding community. The Scholarship Expo will host on-campus poster presentations for students in residence and virtual platforms for distance education students.
Presentations do NOT have to be completed research or scholarly projects. Your presentation is an opportunity to create meaningful dialogue about a topic of interest and share new knowledge, best practices, or your beginning findings on research or scholarly project activities. *Consult with your faculty mentor on the design and components of your poster presentation.
Suggestions include one or more of the following:
- Literature search and synthesis of evidence
- Background & Significance, Needs Assessment
- Problem Statement, Purpose/Aim, and Objectives
- Conceptual or Theoretical Framework and Project Plan
- Methods: Setting, Population, Implementation Strategy
- Project Plan and Measurement Plan
Suggestions for completed scholarly projects or research (all or most components):
- Problem Statement
- Project Purpose/Aim: Project objectives
- Methods: Setting, Population, Implementation Strategy
- Outcomes: Pertinent results presented in tables/figures
- Discussion: Summary of major findings/outcomes; limitations
- Conclusion: Value and impact of the project/research
- Reference list
- Acknowledgments (optional)
Guidelines for Participation in the Distance Learner Scholarship Expo (Virtual)
What are the requirements to participate?
- Participants must be current students at Bradley University enrolled in a distance education (fully online) program.
- Students who earned their degree from the institution within the past 6 months may also participate.
- Participants are currently working on or recently completed a creative production, research, or scholarly project within the past 12 months related to their academic objectives at the university.
- The scholarly work must have been conducted under the mentorship, sponsorship, and/or guidance of a Bradley University faculty member.
What are the presentation guidelines?
- Presenters must have contributed to the intellectual design, development, implementation, and/or analysis of the scholarly work being discussed
- Presenters must participate in the presentation of the scholarly work to its assigned judges during the Scholarship Expo (virtual).
- Presentations must consist of a digital poster (.pptx file) describing the process of conducting or creating the scholarly work being discussed and its intellectual merits.
- Students will be evaluated by the judges on their presentation skills, making note of how organized the poster is, their ability to describe the work to a generalized audience, and their public speaking and presentation skills.
- Students may supplement their poster presentation with props, brief demonstrations, prototypes, or products of the scholarly project or creative work, as appropriate. While these supplemental materials may enhance the understanding of the presentation, they will not be directly evaluated during the judging process.
- Students may present more than one poster describing different projects at the Scholarship Expo, if the above guidelines of the scholarly work are met.
Poster Design Tips
- Use PowerPoint; most digital posters are ratio 4:3 (standard size)
- When you open a new presentation in PowerPoint, click on “slide size” under the Design tab.
- Select “Custom slide size.”
- Enter 48 inches width and 36 inches height for a landscape orientation, or reverse for portrait.
- Select “maximize” when prompted to make a choice between maximize or ensure fit.
- Approximate suggested font sizes:
- Title: 80 pt, author names: 54 pt
- Section titles: 36 pt
- Section body: 24 pt, align left and use short lines
- Lines should have no more than 45-75 characters
- Line height 1.25 spacing
- Outcomes should generally have at least two graphs/charts with captions in 18 pt.
- Leave spaces for edges to reduce clutter. 40% of the poster should have blank or negative space. Reduce wordiness and limit word counts to 250 or less for each section
- Use bullets to emphasize points of discussion, not a lengthy narrative--the audience is not interested in reading a large amount of text.
- Appropriate fonts include Times New Roman, Rockwell, Georgia, and Baskerville.
- Use color (navy, red) to highlight, separate, or define information and keep the background subtle (such as beige).
- Use the "10-10" rule: What a participant can look at in 10 seconds from 10 feet away
Poster Templates:
BU Poster Template.pptx
Sample Templates for Expo Posters.pptx
Presentation Tips
Here are some tips for getting started now so that your presentation at Expo is competitive and noteworthy:
- Talk to your faculty mentor now about the Expo and let them know you would like to present.
- Prepare your poster early and collaborate with your faculty mentor on the design and any needed recommended revisions.
- Practice, practice, practice your oral presentation. Time yourself each time so you stay within your allotted time and practice with others so you're prepared and comfortable.
- Adhere to any Expo deadlines and note time zones--use a calendar reminder to keep yourself on task.
- Be on time for your presentation!
- Dress professionally and present in a quiet, professional environment to minimize distractions.
- Stand/Sit up straight, smile, and show your excitement for being there.
- Speak to your audience, not to your poster. You can and should refer to your poster, pointing out key information that supports what you are saying, but make your audience your focus.
- Speak clearly and at a conversational pace.
- Ask any questions you may have about Expo by e-mailing the Distance Leader Scholarship Expo Coordinator, Dr. Karin Smith at kbsmith@bradley.edu Indicate you are a Distance Learner presenter.
Rubrics and Awards
Your presentation will be assessed by three judges using the following scoring rubrics, depending on your presentation type:
Research and Scholarship Scoring Rubric
Creative Works Scoring Rubric
The following are the awards and monetary prizes for the designated categories that will be presented on the third day of the Expo:
Awards and Prizes
