Reflection on Journal Club Presentation
Tasked with presenting a critical review of a relevant journal, my group and I chose to review a journal article researching the potential correlation between subchondral bone thickness and catastrophic lateral condylar fracture of the third metacarpal bone in the UK racehorse population. Although this was a particularly technical and jargon-filled paper, we thought it would be interesting to review it especially considering we had access to an interview with one of the paper’s authors in which he discussed this specific piece of research.
I did find some aspects of the review difficult – I had no previous experience, and the paper was particularly well researched and presented, meaning there was little opportunity for criticism. In addition, I wasn’t entirely certain of what I ought to be looking for. Due to the nature of how we split up the work within our group, the section I was assigned was not the simplest part to review, in comparison to the first section for example, which contained the materials and methods used.
Despite these difficulties, I felt that as a group we performed well on the day, and I was happy with the feedback we received. I felt that I spoke succinctly and knew my topic, but my nerves did cause me to trip over my words and stutter a couple of times which prevented me from achieving a better grade and providing a fluid presentation. I designed the slides on our PowerPoint and think this is a strong skillset of mine as I enjoy this aspect of creating presentations.
To improve my presentation skills in future, I would practice presenting my information verbally more, and possibly try some visualisation exercises to better cope with my nerves in front of an audience. I have come to this conclusion by utilising the Gibb’s (1988) Reflective Cycle to analyse the experience. Using this template has encouraged me to set goals, which is an instrumental part of my learning by improving my motivation and performance (De Grez et al., 2009).
Reference List
Gibbs, G. (1988) Learning by doing: a guide to teaching and learning methods. Oxford: Further Education Unit.
De Grez, L., Valcke, M. and Roozen, I., 2009. The impact of goal orientation, self-reflection and personal characteristics on the acquisition of oral presentation skills. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 24(3), pp.293-306.
