Towards a set of design principles for developing oral presentation competence: A synthesis of research in higher education

Developing oral presentation competence is an essential objective in higher education. However, a comprehensive picture of effective learning environment characteristics for encouraging oral presentation performance is lacking hitherto. This review identifies and classifies relevant studies with the aim of deducing a set of design principles with underlying conceptual and empirical argumentations for developing this competence. Fifty-two publications from the last 20 years were selected through a systematic search in four scientific databases. Subsequently, all studies were categorized with respect to student characteristics, learning environment characteristics, learning processes and outcomes. The synthesis of these studies resulted in the formulation of seven design principles, addressing the instruction, learning and assessment sides of the learning environment. These design principles include the following learning environment characteristics: learning objectives, learning task, behaviour modelling, opportunity to practice, intensity and timing of feedback, peer assessment and self-assessment. Finally, an agenda for future research is discussed.