The Study of Space and Numbers

Presentation Guidelines

Public speaking can be scary, but we are going to be a friendly, supportive audience that is rooting for you.

Teach your classmates something meaningful—focus on a specific aspect of your topic that includes both math and history.
Historical context matters—applications should connect to the history of the concept, not just modern uses.
Engagement is key—consider activities, handouts, or interactive elements (talk to me first if you need extra time).
Timing: 8-10 minutes, plus Q&A. It’s fine if you don’t know an answer—think about it and follow up next week.
Notes to help your memory are fine, but don’t just read the whole presentation from them.
Flexibility: If you need to break any of the rules to make a better presentation, you can do so without any grade penalty as long as you talk to me first and I give you the OK.
Example presentation available for reference (note: it's longer than required).

It’s not about saying a lot—it’s about choosing well.A great presentation isn’t about cramming in as much information as possible. Instead, it’s about choosing carefully what to say so your classmates can truly understand and remember something important. Focus on the key ideas, explain them clearly, and avoid unnecessary details. Your goal is not to prove how much you know, but to help others learn.

Public speaking can be scary, but we are going to be a friendly, supportive audience that is rooting for you.

Presentation Rubric

Criteria	Excellent	Good	Needs Improvement	Unacceptable
Teaching the Class	Clearly explains concepts, engages audience, and encourages participation. Class learns something new.	Mostly clear, some engagement, class follows along well.	Occasionally unclear, limited interaction, class struggles to follow.	Hard to understand, little engagement, class does not learn effectively.
Understanding of Topic	Deep understanding of both historical and mathematical aspects. Insightful connections.	Solid grasp, mostly accurate math and history.	Some knowledge gaps, unclear math or history.	Lacks understanding, major math or history errors.
Use of Language & Clarity	Clear, well-structured, appropriate for sophomores, minimal jargon.	Mostly clear, occasional undefined terms.	Often unclear, many undefined terms.	Confusing, excessive jargon, hard to follow.
Visual Aids & Supporting Materials	Well-designed slides, relevant visuals, minimal text, complete bibliography.	Mostly clear visuals, some wordiness, bibliography included.	Overly wordy slides, unclear visuals, incomplete bibliography.	Overloaded slides, poor visuals, missing bibliography.
Delivery	Confident, smooth, minimal reading from slides or notes.	Mostly smooth, some reliance on slides.	Some reading, delivery lacks flow.	Heavy reading, unclear or hesitant delivery.