MSLPS

Mastering Scientific Literature and Presentation Skills (MSLPS) @ BCA

Edward Kang
Hridank Shukla
Nikhil Palempalle
Dr. Sabio, Mr. Vollenweider (Advisors)

Table of Contents

Introduction to MSLPS

MSLPS Curriculum

Project Evaluation

Takeaways and Conclusion

Acknowledgements

Introduction to MSLPS

MSLPS’s Origins

The BCA Research Club was first proposed in May of 2024 during the inaugural International Research Olympiad (IRO). The primary purpose of Research Club was to engage incoming research students in the BCA research programs with various resources to understand scientific literature, select a research topic, and succeed on the IRO. The Research Club was designed initially as an IRO-affiliated club, and later, more permanently, as an independent, online, and after-school club advised by Dr. Sabio.

The club ran from September of 2024 to March of 2025, during which time a variety of lectures and activities were developed. Starting in around October, the potential to transform the club into a more official school course was discussed. By February, Mastering Scientific Literature and Presentation Skills (MSLPS) was approved to run for the first time as a Wednesday Project, taking on a cohort of 24 students, advised by Dr. Sabio and Mr. Vollenweider.

Target Audience

MSLPS, much like Research Club before it, was largely designed to serve new students in BCA and the BCA Research Program by improving their scientific literacy and presentation skills.

Of the 24 students in the first cohort, three of us (Edward Kang, Hridank Shukla, Nikhil Palempalle) were instructors for the course, in 11th grade. Two others were also in 11th grade. The remaining 19 students were in 9th grade. Notably, due to the placement of MSLPS in the third trimester, overlapping with Sophomore Seminar, no 10th graders could be enrolled in the course. For future runs of MSLPS, we recommend one of two alternatives:

  1. The Wednesday project take place in the first trimester, where 9th and 10th graders can attend
  2. The course take place as a two-day elective, most likely 9th period

Course Operation

Accounting for scheduling conflicts with spring break, state testing, and senior exhibitions, a total of 10 lessons were delivered, each two periods (about one hour and thirty minutes) in length.

Instruction Goals

MSLPS was largely guided by three main principles: Learning, Discussion, and Evaluation. As a consequence, interactivity was a key component of every lesson. Most of the course activities were completed as groups, and always involved both reading papers and presenting based on them. The exact format, however, was varied to improve student understanding and attention / retention. We reflect more on this at the end of this writeup.

MSLPS Curriculum

Lesson 1: Introduction to MSLPS

03/19/25 - Introduction to Mastering Scientific Literature and Presentation

  1. [Logistics] Introduce MSLPS’s Objectives
    1. Critical thinking and analysis of research papers
    2. Effective presentation of scientific material
  2. [Logistics] Introduce MSLPS’s Structure
    1. Learning ⇐⇒ Discussion ⇐⇒ Evaluation
    2. Evaluation via International Research Olympiad (IRO) Mocks
  3. [Presentation] Introductory “Icebreaker” Activity: Explain It Like I’m 5 (ELI5)
    1. Purpose: Introduce students to scientific presentation
    2. One graphics-only slide and a brief presentation on a scientific topic
      1. Digestive System
      2. Endocrine System
      3. Nervous System
      4. Atoms and molecules
      5. Evolution and Natural Selection
      6. The food chain
      7. States of matter
      8. Life cycle of a butterfly
      9. Photosynthesis
      10. How planes work
      11. Friction
      12. Water cycle
  4. [Lecture] Research Paper Structure
    1. IMRaD, “Hourglass” Structure
    2. Section-identification questions

Lesson 2: Research Papers

03/26/25 - Meeting 2, Mastering Scientific Literature and Presentation

  1. [Lecture] IMRaD Recap
  2. [Lecture] Paper Walkthrough
    1. “The case of the disappearing teaspoons: longitudinal cohort study of the displacement of teaspoons in an Australian research institute”
    2. Introduce research papers and solidify structural lesson content via an interactive walkthrough
  3. [Presentation] Research Paper Breakdown Introduction
    1. Students select a research paper and develop a 5-minute narrative presentation of its motivations and contents, aware of its structures.
    2. Instructor Template: Paper Breakdown Template
  4. [Guest Lecture] HOSA Health Education
    1. Per- and poly- fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) awareness in a general audience
    2. Exemplifies lay presentation of a complex scientific topic with many interactive components

Lesson 3: Presentation Techniques

04/02/25 - Meeting 3, Mastering Scientific Literature and Presentation

  1. [Lecture] Overview of Presentation Principles
    1. Discussion of important considerations in presentations
    2. Three general paradigms:
      1. Know your audience
      2. Set clear content goals
      3. Tell a story
  2. [Presentation] Research Paper Breakdown Delivery, Part 1
    1. Groups finalize and deliver their presentations
    2. Students are given a feedback form to complete peer-evaluations both quantitatively and qualitatively
      1. Presentation Self-Assessment
    3. Feedback is given in discussion format at the end of each presentation

Lesson 4: IRO Mock Exam

04/09/25 - Meeting 4, Mastering Scientific Literature and Presentation

  1. [Presentation] Research Paper Breakdown Delivery, Part 2
  2. [Exam] IRO Semifinals Mock Written Exam
    1. Students quickly read and comprehend the structure and content of a research paper
    2. Multiple-choice questions are used to assess their understanding of the paper
  3. [Presentation] IRO Oral Presentation
    1. Students are tasked with creating an oral presentation of about 3 minutes summarizing the details of the paper
      1. This is meant to simulate the oral presentation of the IRO semifinals
    2. Feedback is given based on a 10-point system
      1. Feedback Form: https://forms.gle/VMSHSGzDd1kvNKuS7

Lesson 5: Critical Literature Analysis

04/23/25 - Meeting 5, Mastering Scientific Literature and Presentation

  1. [Presentation] IRO Oral Presentation, Part 2
  2. [Lecture] Introduction to Comparing Conflicting Research Papers
    1. The Claim, Evidence, Warrant (CEW) Form
    2. Things to Look Out For
      1. Experimental Design & Methodology
      2. Sample Size & Power
      3. Statistical Validity
      4. Conclusion Strength
      5. Consistency with Existing Literature
  3. [Lecture] The Three-Pass Method
    1. Lecture on highly-efficient literature review through a method developed by computer scientist S. Keshav
  4. [Activity] Comparative Analysis Activity
    1. Students are assigned a research topic and provided two conflicting papers
      1. Drinking Coffee Reduces Cancer Risk
        1. Pro: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5696634/
        2. Con: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-62619-6
      2. Masks are Effective in Stopping the Spread of COVID-19
        1. Pro: https://www.bmj.com/content/386/bmj-2023-078918
        2. Con: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-6817
      3. St. John’s Wort is Effective in Treating Depression
        1. Pro: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12153829/
        2. Con: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11939866/
    2. Students complete a worksheet to organize the contrast in CEW format, with the expectation that they will later debate on this topic.
      1. MSLP - Conflicting Papers Comparison Worksheet

Lesson 6: Scientific Debate

05/07/25 - Meeting 6, Mastering Scientific Literature and Presentation

  1. [Presentation] Comparative Analysis Debate
    1. Flip a coin to decide sides
    2. Alternate Speeches
      1. 3 min opening per team
      2. 1 min of questions per team
      3. 2 min closing per team
    3. Student Vote
      1. Debate Ballot Form: https://forms.gle/gEkJ34frxLWzQ3T47

Lesson 7: Graphs and Figures

05/14/25 - Meeting 7, Mastering Scientific Literature and Presentation

  1. [Activity] Excel and Graphing Worksheet
    1. Use Excel to make proper models / graphs from given scientific data
    2. Interpret graphs based on experiments and determine significance of results
    3. 05/14/25 Excel Activity
  2. [Presentation] Excel and Graphing
    1. Present experiments, graphs, and implications from the activity

Lesson 8: Telephone Game

05/21/25 - Meeting 8, Mastering Scientific Literature and Presentation

  1. [Presentation] Presentation Project Delivery, Part 2
  2. [Activity] Research Telephone Game
    1. Chosen abstracts:
      1. MSLP - Abstracts for Telephone Game
    2. First run of the activity:
      1. Students are grouped into a chain
      2. Rightmost student reads an abstract
      3. Going down the chain, students relay the abstract’s contents by ear
      4. The left-most person re-writes the abstract from memory
      5. Compare the initial and re-written abstract
    3. Discussion of strategy and example presentation by instructor
    4. Repeat the telephone game with new abstracts

Lesson 9: Capstone Presentation Work Day

05/28/25 - Meeting 9, Mastering Scientific Literature and Presentation

  1. [Presentation] Capstone Project Introduction
    1. Using an online random wheel, each group of 3-4 presenters was randomly assigned a topic to present and an audience to present to
    2. Audience: Topic - Link to Research Paper
      1. City Council: New Alzheimer’s Treatment - https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2100708
      2. Science Deniers: Modeling Earth Systems - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09005-y
      3. History Professor: Cancer Research - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08997-x
      4. News Broadcast: Wind speed and climate change - https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/earth-science/articles/10.3389/feart.2024.1398638/full
      5. Overzealous Parents: Mammoth Antibiotics - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-024-01201-x
      6. Elementary Kids: Biodegradable Microplastics - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-56492-6

Lesson 10: Capstone Presentations

06/11/25 - Meeting 10, Mastering Scientific Literature and Presentation

  1. [Presentation] Capstone Presentation Sessions
    1. Each group presents approximately 5-10 minutes
      1. Explain the scientific paper to the randomly-selected audience
      2. Explain why certain presentation choices were made for that audience
    2. 2-3 questions are asked by other students, acting out the randomly-selected audience for that group
  2. [Logistics] End-of-Year Party
    1. Food
    2. Time to complete the feedback form

Project Evaluation

On the last day of the course, an evaluation form was distributed to all students via a Google Form. The form was made anonymous, and students were encouraged to answer the questions honestly. 19 out of 21 students responded to the form.

Quantifiable metrics were evaluated via self-reporting on an integer scale of 1 to 5, which was done for simplicity and efficiency, but may reduce the objectivity of some of the below results, especially student self-evaluation. In the future, an additional form should collect data before the course. Quoted form responses are provided verbatim.

Overall Satisfaction

On average, reported overall satisfaction was 4.16.
Forms response chart. Question title: Overall, how satisfied are you with the content of MSLP?. Number of responses: 19 responses.
On average, students would recommend MSLPS to others with a rating of 3.95.
Forms response chart. Question title: How strongly would you recommend MSLP to other students incoming to BCA / the BCA research program?. Number of responses: 19 responses.

Student Self-Evaluation

Improvement in Scientific Literacy

On average, reported scientific literacy improved from an average rating of 2.47 to 3.95 through MSLPS.
Forms response chart. Question title: How comfortable were you with reading scientific literature before this project?. Number of responses: 19 responses.
Forms response chart. Question title: How comfortable were you with reading scientific literature after this project?. Number of responses: 19 responses.
Additional Comments:

Improvement in Scientific Presentation

On average, reported scientific presentation improved from an average rating of 2.68 to 4.05 through MSLPS.
Forms response chart. Question title: How comfortable were you with scientific presentation before this project?. Number of responses: 19 responses.
Forms response chart. Question title: How comfortable were you with scientific presentation after this project?. Number of responses: 19 responses.
Additional Comments:

Evaluation of Instruction

Course Content Clarity and Organization

Overall reported clarity and organization of content was rated at 3.89.
Forms response chart. Question title: How would you rate the clarity and organization of the topics covered?. Number of responses: 19 responses.

Instructor Delivery

Overall reported delivery of content was rated at 4.05.
Forms response chart. Question title: How would you rate our (organizers) delivery of the content? (engagement, voice/tone, etc). Number of responses: 19 responses.

Instructor Knowledge

Overall reported delivery of content was rated at 4.58.
Forms response chart. Question title: How would you rate our (organizers) knowledge and expertise on the topics? (ability to answer questions, etc). Number of responses: 19 responses.

Areas for Course Content Improvement:

Areas for Instructor Improvement:

Evaluation of Curriculum

The MSLPS curriculum was largely categorized into lectures, activities, and presentations and separated into 11 separate items. Each of these activities were rated.

By rating, the overall ranking of these items (Rank #: [Type] Name (Rating)) are as follows:

Additional Feedback:

Course Pacing

Most students believed MSLPS was paced properly, with sufficient time to learn and prepare the content.
Forms response chart. Question title: How would you rate the overall pace of MSLP?. Number of responses: 19 responses.
Additional Feedback:

Evolution from Research Club

If you were in Research Club from October 2024 - March 2025, how did it compare to your experience in MSLPS? (meeting times, content, etc)

Future Directions

Please provide any additional comments or suggestions for improving Research Club / MSLPS.

Are there any specific topics you would like to see covered in more detail in the future?

Takeaways and Conclusion

Overall, we believe MSLPS was effective in introducing scientific literature and presentation for future BCA research students. Most students rated the overall project highly, and stated they would recommend it to future incoming research students. The skills MSLPS aims to introduce, scientific literacy and presentation, are both crucial for research at the high school level and beyond. Scientific literacy is key in conducting literature reviews and finding a topic to research, and presentation skills are essential for being able to convey the importance of a project to a wide range of audiences with varied knowledge and experience in Science. Students showed self-reported improvement in both of these areas, which suggests the effectiveness of the course with some caveats in data reliability. However, based on qualitative assessment, we dco believe that students did show a marked improvement in these skills.

MSLPS, in alignment with the BCA Research Club (which itself was aligned with the International Research Olympiad (IRO) curriculum), focused solely on STEM-related topics. This choice allowed MSLPS to occupy a different niche to humanities research, which tends to be less experimental and more retrospective in nature. However, many of the skills in reading structured writing and presentation should, in theory, translate to improved performance in other fields of research as well.

Evolving from Research Club, the in-person and longer time allotted to MSLPS allowed us to greatly improve the above mentioned principles. Presentation especially, which involves body language, was much easier to understand and convey in person. As student instructors, we also appreciated the greater student attention and face-to-face interaction afforded by this format.

Students showed a clear preference for certain curriculum items over others. The telephone game and capstone presentations, the two highest-rated activities, were each highly interactive and involved the most novelty over traditional presentation formats. This suggests that the use of not only interactive, but interesting and unique activity formats can help improve student satisfaction and learning. Notably, although many students reported finding the IRO mock exam useful for their learning, it was the lowest scoring activity overall. This is likely due to the complete lack of interactivity in the written portion of the mock exam. However, we believe that IRO exams are still useful for evaluating scientific literacy. The content principles of learning, discussion, and evaluation, as well as delivery principles of interactivity and novelty should be considered to improve MSLPS curriculum in the future.

In the future, we suggest better utilization of Schoology for distributing assignment statements and resources, and proper grading metrics for PowerSchool to improve student accountability as well as the more formal evaluation of student performance rather than self-evaluation via the feedback form. For future instructors, as well as ourselves, we would like to emphasize the need to stay very organized with materials, and provide constant constructive feedback during and after each activity or lecture. Coming up with new and interesting ideas, as well as picking interesting papers for these activities (for example, we chose papers relating to common phrases such as “An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away” and “The 5 Second Rule” which made the works much more accessible to a general audience while still being scientific), is also crucial for student retention and enjoyment of the class.

Finally, we are all very glad to have been able to positively contribute to these students via instruction, and hope to see MSLPS thrive in the future, whatever form it may be in next.

Acknowledgements

MSLPS was only made possible thanks to many individuals who generously devoted their time and resources.

Thank you very much to Dr. Sabio and Mr. Vollenweider for advising and supervising us, as well as contributing directly to MSLPS content and discussions. We also thank Dr. Pinto for allowing us to use her room each Wednesday for the duration of this project. Finally, thank you to all members of the BCA Administration for approving Mastering Scientific Literature and Presentation Skills as a Wednesday Project for the first time.