Answer:
CHARACTERISTICS STUDENTS LIKE LIKE ABOUT PROFESSORS’ POWERPOINT SLIDES
Graphs increase understanding of content
Bulleted lists help them organize ideas
PowerPoint can help to structure lectures
Verbal explanations of pictures/graphs help more than written clarifications
According to Edelman and Harring, some conclusions from the research at Muhlenberg are that students learn more when:
material is presented in short phrases rather than full paragraphs.
the professor talks about the information on the slide rather than having students read it on their own.
relevant pictures are used. Irrelevant pictures decrease learning compared to PowerPoint slides with no picture
they take notes (if the professor is not talking). But if the professor is lecturing, note-taking and listening decreased learning.
they are given the PowerPoint slides before the class.
Advice from Edelman and Harring on leveraging the working memory with PowerPoint:
Leverage the working memory by dividing the information between the visual and auditory modality. Doing this reduces the likelihood of one system becoming overloaded. For instance, spoken words with pictures are better than pictures with text, as integrating an image and narration takes less cognitive effort than integrating an image and text.
Minimize the opportunity for distraction by removing any irrelevant material such as music, sound effects, animations, and background images.
Use simple cues to direct learners to important points or content. Using text size, bolding, italics, or placing content in a highlighted or shaded text box is all that is required to convey the significance of key ideas in your presentation.
Don’t put every word you intend to speak on your PowerPoint slide. Instead, keep information displayed in short chunks that are easily read and comprehended.
Resources for making better PowerPoint presentations
One of the mostly widely accessed websites about PowerPoint design is Garr Reynolds’ blog, Presentation Zen. In his blog entry: “What is Good PowerPoint Design?” Reynolds explains how to keep the slide design simple, yet not simplistic, and includes a few slide examples that he has ‘made-over’ to demonstrate how to improve its readability and effectiveness. He also includes sample slides from his own presentation about PowerPoint slide design.
Another presentation guru, David Paradi, author of “The Visual Slide Revolution: Transforming Overloaded Text Slides into Persuasive Presentations” maintains a video podcast series called “Think Outside the Slide” where he also demonstrates PowerPoint slide makeovers. Examples on this site are typically from the corporate perspective, but the process by which content decisions are made is still relevant for higher education. Paradi has also developed a five step method, called KWICK, that can be used as a simple guide when designing PowerPoint presentations.
In the video clip below, Comedian Don McMillan talks about some of the common misuses of PowerPoint in his routine called “Life After Death by PowerPoint.”
