Comprehensive Portfolio Presentation Prep
This post comes after months of writing, rewriting, revising, and rehearsing my comprehensive portfolio and the defence presentation. I can now honestly say that …. maybe I’m ready. Two weeks from today, I will defend my portfolio and hopefully, take a step across the threshold of PhD candidacy.
Words to Minutes: One of the first challenges was translating words to minutes. With a set time of 20 minutes in order to present and to bring highlights or key points from my portfolio forward for consideration, I had to figure out how many words I could realistically fit into 20 minutes – without it sounding rushed or stilted. Once I did the calculations [you can do a web search and find the answer yourself] I figured out 130 X 20 = 2600 words, or approximately 10 pages of text. There, now I knew the boundaries of my work.
Framing the Words: Then came the framework – what ‘big ideas’ needed to be included in the presentation. Without having models for this planning, it was challenging to figure out what should be included. I returned to the Joint PhD handbook to find out what to include. The evaluation criteria for the comprehensive portfolio gave me some direction (Joint PhD Handbook, p. 24).
“The criteria used by the supervisor and committee members to assess and evaluate components of the comprehensive portfolio as well as the presentation and defence of the portfolio are as follows
• deep understanding of concepts, theories, and issues in the FOS with the possibility of forming links to aspects of the FOS that are relevant to the dissertation topic;
• knowledge of current literature and research methods in the FOS with the possibility of forming links to aspects of the FOS that are relevant to the dissertation topic; and the
• ability to analyze, synthesize, and critique research literature and related research paradigms in the FOS with the possibility of forming links to aspects of the FOS that are relevant to the dissertation topic.
“As part of the public presentation, students provide an overview of their portfolio materials and demonstrate their expertise in relation to the evaluation criteria for the portfolio. Typically, the public presentation is 20 minutes in length. Following the public presentation, the chair of the oral examination invites members of the examination committee to ask questions of the candidate.”
Outlines, Images, and Mapping: Once the basic framework for the slides in the presentation were planned, the layout became a bit clearer. Here’s the final rendition out of many iterations, of the ‘table of contents’ for the presentation.
- SLIDE 1: Introduction
- SLIDE 2: Defence
- SLIDE 3: Labyrinth metaphor
- SLIDE 4: Not a Binary Battle
- SLIDE 5: Presentation plan
- SLIDE 6: The Criteria
- SLIDE 7: Deep understanding of concepts, theories, and issues
- SLIDE 8: Knowledge of current literature and research methods
- SLIDE 9: Analyze, synthesize and critique
- SLIDE 10: What frames our seeing
- SLIDE 11: Issues
- Slide 12: Insights
- Slide 13: Paradox
- Slide 14: Paradigms
- Slide 15: Next Steps
- Slide 16: Conclusion
- References – since this will be a publicly available document as a transcript for the video presentation, I needed to recognize and cite the sources I reference in the presentation.
The collection of images and deciding on transitions came next. The image of the labyrinth that I had taken while at Brock University became the background image for the slides – with a strategic change in the final two slides for dramatic effect. Transitions were timed with a bullet point in the text to indicate a trigger for me to ‘click’ for effect.
Mapping the Step-By-Step blog roll I’ve written while doing PhD studies helped keep the learning in a simple and viewable format. This will become a quick reference for any questions about course work and learning along the ‘labyrinthian path’. I’ve also returned to update the map I started earlier in the PhD process, to lay out the theories, theorists, and frameworks for my research inquiries – Mapping My Research – Lines of Inquiry.
Public Performance: While I realized that I would not be in a physical space when completing this portfolio defence, since COVID-19 would limit contact, this was not a concern for me. I was familiar and ready to present my defence in any virtual medium. I had already taken heed of the ‘public’ nature of this presentation and decided to create a video recording of the presentation, done ahead of time, for those who could not attend at the time/date the defence was scheduled. I had already planned to include this in the final rendering of the open, Scalar formatted version of the comprehensive portfolio, with a page designated for this production. As I rehearsed, I did so using digital technologies by audio recording (Zencastr) my voice to work on timing, pacing, length, as well as screencasting the presentation/notes.
More than just presenting: Then, I needed to re-focus and remember that the comprehensive portfolio defence event is not just about the 20 minute presentation. The schedule includes a round of questions from each member of the committee and the external examiner. Since I have attended a series of these comprehensive portfolio defence events, I had a record of some possible questions that could be asked. I started to collect these so I could prepare some response points. Those will be forthcoming in the next blog post.
Preparing for these questions, I needed to take a broad strokes look at the landscape, so I returned to concept mapping to help me. I had already done some preliminary work on this, but coming back to mapping helped me see the big picture elements of theory, theorists, frameworks, and concepts. In this way, I could look for links and connections that I may not have seen before, explore missed opportunities and gaps, and even find new insights in what I have accomplished thus far in my research. As I was doing so, new information and options emerged through my networks [e.g. Twine Storytelling, conjecture mapping, Boundary crossing and boundary objects].
I’ve written this not only as a way to remember the steps I’ve taken, but as a possible pathway for others who may follow into this comprehensive portfolio defence journey.
