Preparing Instructional Materials

I. Components of the Session Abstract Form

• The biographical sketch is used to introduce you to attendees. Please be sure
it makes clear your qualifications and experience to cover the topic you are
addressing.
• The session description paragraph appears in the Preliminary Program and is
used to promote the session to attendees and assist in their decisions to elect
one session over another.
• The behavioral objectives appear in the Final Program. Your session will be
evaluated on the basis of how well you met those objectives.
• Pharmacology content is used by advanced practice nurses primarily to meet
state and certification requirements for maintenance of prescriptive authority.
• The bibliography/reference list is used to meet continuing education
requirements.
• The Content Outline should reflect behavioral objectives. Please estimate the
of time you will spend on each component of the outline.

II. Writing Behavioral Objectives

Learning objectives serve three main purposes:

• They ensure that a presentation will focus on the needs of the learner.
• They give learners an overview of the presentation.
• They provide the basis for evaluating the effectiveness of the presentation.

You need to develop three objectives for each presentation. These should be expressed in
terms of knowledge, skills and/or values that the learner can demonstrate by an action or
behavior; in other words, they should be stated behaviorally.

The clue to good learning objectives is carefully chosen verbs to describe what the
participant will be able to do as a result of your presentation. The following list should
be of help.

Information
Cite Enumerate Repeat Tell
Count Identify Select Trace
Describe Indicate State Write
Draw Quote Tabulate

Comprehension
Associate Differentiate Extrapolate Predict
Classify Distinguish Interpolate Report
Compute Estimate Interpret Restate
Contrast Express Locate Translate

Application
Apply Examine Order Sketch
Calculate Illustrate Practice Solve
Demonstrate Locate Review Translate
Employ Operate Schedule

Analysis
Analyze Debate Experiment Outline
Appraise Detect Infer Question
Contract Diagram Inspect Separate
Criticize Differentiate Inventory Summarize

Synthesis
Arrange Design Manage Produce
Collect Detect Organize Propose
Construct Formulate Plan Specify
Compose Generalize Prepare Prescribe
Create Integrate

Evaluation
Appraise Estimate Rank Revise
Critique Judge Rate Score
Determine Measure Recommend Select

Note: Verbs to avoid include: appreciate, believe, know, learn, understand,

recognize. These verbs are too general and not measurable.

III. Slides
Slides should be used to maintain interest and help the audience remember points of
importance. They are a distraction if used by the speaker in lieu of narrative. The slides
are the backdrop, not the presentation. Slides should not be complex but rather should
summarize.

Your opening slide should disclose relevant financial relationships or indicate that no
such relationships exist. In addition disclose any off-label drug or device use you will
mention during your presentation. Disclosure of a relationship is not meant to suggest
bias in the presentation, but to provide learners with information of potential important
in their assessment of your talk.

Graphics
Do not choose a background that is too complex and detracts from the content. Avoid
using background schemes that take space that can be used for text. Be selective with the
use of graphics; too many will detract from the content of the presentation.

Color Combination
It is best to depend on basic colors. More avant-garde combinations may not project
well. Certain colors are difficult to see in rooms with moderately bright lights. Because
lights cannot always be adjusted, it is best to chose colors that can be seen in a variety of
settings. Dark backgrounds, such as dark blue or dark green with white text, work well
under almost any circumstances. Don’t use more than three or four different colors. Use
highlighted text sparingly. Bright yellow can be used to highlight important text.
Because 15-20% of the audience may be color impaired, avoid pastels. Red usually does
not project well.

Fonts
Use traditional, easy-to-read fonts such as Times New Roman or fonts that are sans serif
such as Arial. Do not mix fonts, and use bold and italics sparingly. In a large auditorium
the smallest size that you should use is 24 points; sizes 24 and 36 point font sizes are
best. This will, however, limit the amount of text that you can squeeze onto a slide.

The audience tends to read everything that is on the slide while the lecture is going on.
Thus, if there are several lines of text and you are talking about the first line, the audience
is reading and not listening to you. If you want them to listen, make sure that everything
on the slide pertains to what you are currently saying. This can be accomplished by using
a picture, very few lines of text, or progressive disclosure.

Graphs and Charts

It is probably best to create your own graphs and charts. Using material from a
publication may violate copyright law unless permission is obtained from the publisher.
In addition, these items have been developed for the print medium and usually cannot be
seen in the middle or rear of a large auditorium. The labels may be difficult or
impossible to read. The material should be summarized so that all components can be
seen from all parts of the auditorium. If necessary, divide the graphic and show it over
several slides. Explain the chart. Do not assume that everyone can follow the concept
without being oriented to the slide.

Copyright Permission
If you are using copyrighted work (illustrations, cartoons, graphs, photographs, music,
videos, slides, text) you need to make sure you are in compliance with copyright law*.
While there are “fair use”* exceptions, in most cases you must obtain written permission
to use someone’s copyrighted work. It doesn’t matter if the material is readily
downloaded from the web, or if the copyright symbol © is absent, copyright still applies;
giving credit to or referencing the author is not adequate. The owner of the work may ask
how you are using it, how often and for what size audience. In some cases you will be
charged a fee to use the material; in other cases the owner will charge no fee, but stipulate
conditions and limits on use of the material. Use of the material for nonprofit educational
purposes will not necessarily protect you if it can be determined that such use undermines
the value of the original work.

*Copyright law provides an owner with a set of exclusive rights in an original work of authorship
including literary works. The copyright owner’s exclusive rights include the right to: a) reproduce
the work; b) prepare derivative works based on the copyrighted work; c) distribute copies to the
public; d) perform the work publicly; and e) display the copyrighted work publicly. For an
overview of U.S. copyright law, go to the U.S. Copyright Office web site:
http://www.loc.gov/copyright

** “Fair use” is a defense against copyright infringement such as using copyrighted material for
criticism or commentary. Courts have varied widely in interpreting “fair use” and recent years
have seen stricter limits placed on what constitutes “fair use”.

When in doubt, ask permission. Other options include purchase of a subscription from a
website that will allow you use of their copyrighted images; or use of materials from
government sites or other ‘free’ websites. Oftentimes purchase of a textbook comes with
a CD of images and graphics you are allowed to use. A sampling of resources includes:
• http://phil.cdc.gov/phil (many health related photos, illustrations and
movies; some of which are in the public domain and do not require
copyright permission, and others that do.)
• http://medicine.ucsd.edu/clinicalimg (catalog of clinical images “free to
download for educational endeavors”, plus site includes an extensive list
of links to other useful medical sites)
• http://www.hartfordign.org (wonderful photos of older women, with
permission granted for educational uses)
• http://www.pdinfo.com (website to help identify music and songs in the
public domain).

AWHONN reserves the right to delete slides or materials from the Session Resource CD-
ROM if there is the potential for copyright infringement.

III. Session Resources CD-ROM

With the exception of sessions requiring an additional fee (Legislative Luncheon,
Preconference, and Breakfasts), we do not provide a paper version of handouts or
resource materials. AWHONN will compile a CD-ROM of instructional materials for
each presentation to be handed out to attendees on-site at registration. Attendees can also
download the materials from the AWHONN website approximately 3 weeks prior to
convention. It is not mandatory that you upload your slides for the CD-ROM; an outline,
reference list or other materials are also acceptable. But make sure that the CD-ROM has
everything on it you want attendees to have. If you choose to have paper handouts at
your session, it is your responsibility to provide them. AWHONN will not reimburse
you for this expense, nor will handouts be printed or copied on-site at AWHONN’s
expense.

Sessions requiring an additional fee to attend will not go on the Session Resource CD-
ROM. Presenters for those sessions must submit a copy of their handouts by the
stipulated deadline. AWHONN will make paper versions of the handouts for distribution
to registered attendees at the beginning of the session. If you do not get your handouts
to us by the stipulated deadline, you are responsible for printing them. You will not be
reimbursed by AWHONN, nor will handouts be printed or copied on-site at
AWHONN’s expense.

IV. Multi-Media CD-ROM

AWHONN also offers attendees the opportunity to purchase a CD-ROM post convention
that includes selected sessions, audio taped and synched to the slide presentation. CNE is
offered. If you have agreed to have your session recorded for the Multi-Media CD-ROM,
you will receive further information on uploading your slides.