By: Madison Dorn '19
A thesis presentation can be a doctoral student's worst nightmare, but having to do it in three minutes? It seems next to impossible. Mindy Gumpert, Old Dominion University doctoral student was up to the challenge, at an October event at ODU.
The Three-Minute Thesis Competition was first developed at Australia's Queensland University. This year was the first year it was put on at ODU and 11 students in graduate and doctoral programs participated. The competition was held on Oct. 24 in the University Theater. Mindy Gumpert, from the Darden College of Education, is getting her doctorate in Education with a concentration in Special Education and won second place in the competition. Her topic was, "An Examination of Scientific Argumentation in an Elementary Inclusive Classroom." She wants to teach elementary school students with and without disabilities how to argue like a scientist.
There is limited research on argumentation in an inclusive classroom and Gumpert wants to break through those limitations and develop studies on the subject. The competing students began preparing for the event in May, participating in eight workshops in the past six months. During those practices they rehearsed their presentations, worked on mastering the three-minute time frame and received constructive criticism from the other students competing. Looking back on those practices, Gumpert said, "It was a wonderful group of graduate students to work with. We were very diverse in our research interests, but found common ground when critiquing each others' presentations. There was more of a communal feel during these meetings than a competitive one." On top of those practices, Gumpert spent 10-15 hours practicing her presentation. It was trying to find extra time in the day to practice, so she did most of her rehearsing on her six-mile walks or on her commute to ODU.
Bryan Porter, associate dean of the Graduate School and director of 3MT at ODU: "The idea was to communicate scholarship in under three minutes."
During the competition, the students competed in front of an audience in the theater and were judged by non-ODU affiliated men and women. They were only allowed one slide of visuals to enhance their presentation. As if this competition wasn't a little nerve-wracking enough a huge clock counted down the seconds of their presentation "One of my biggest take-aways from the 3MT experience was discovering all of the exciting research that is going on at ODU. Seven departments were represented in the competition. It was my pleasure to get to know the graduate students from those departments and learn about their research," Gumpert said.
"Personally, I exceeded my goal for 3MT. I was never in it to win it, my goal was simply to represent myself and my department well and not fall off the stage! Being selected as runner up was a wonderful surprise."