Microsoft powerpoint lesson plans software#

Microsoft powerpoint lesson plans software#

Instructors may choose to use Apple’s Keynote software or other online tools such as Prezi to design slideshows. Overall, intentional slide design combined with quality lecturing can improve student learning in traditional classrooms.īoston University provides faculty with Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Slides. Edward Tufte’s The Visual Display of Quantitative Information illustrates 250 examples of statistical graphs, maps, and images that display data effectively. This suggests that slideshows requiring students to engage visually with complex material may be better than slides that combine visual components and text.Īs such, an intentional focus on quality images and diagrams may improve learning more than a simple diagram with text-heavy explanations. However, slides that include visuals with text are actually correlated with lower student performance on exams. The authors found that visual representations of physical and natural phenomena are beneficial for student learning in STEM disciplines. Overall, PowerPoint and Google Slideshows can be beneficial to student learning, but material that is not pertinent to the presentation can be harmful to student learning (Bartsch & Cobern, 2003).Īccording to Smith, Gardner, and Ryan (2019), PowerPoint slides can improve learning, particularly for the lowest performing STEM students. Various researchers have studied the efficacy of slide use in classrooms. Avoid leaving the slideshow to scroll to the selected videoĪdapted from Berk, 2012: “Top 10 Evidence-Based, Best Practices for PowerPoint in the Classroom.Highlight important points with bold, italics, and underline.Embed sound clips and music if they support discipline-specific learning outcomes.Use short, full-sentence headings written as assertions.Avoid “fly-in” bullets, which may be distracting.Use animations if they help highlight a process or a concept across slides.Select high-contrast colors, with “cool-colored” backgrounds such as greens and blues.Incorporate active learning strategies throughout (i.e., include multiple choice questions).Select simple templates, themes, or solid colors.These points can provide a visual cohesion necessary to support a strong presentation. Ask questions about the slides and gauge feedbackĪdapted from Cornell’s Center for Teaching Excellence “How to Make the Most of PowerPoint in Lectures”īerk (2012) describes ten evidence-based practices for slide use in the classroom.Provide handouts to support, not replace lecture.Use images that support and illustrate ideas (not simply decorative).Use large sans serif fonts (32-pt or larger).6 x 6 Rule: No more than 6 bullets with 6 words per bullet.Convey visual ideas, graphs, and tables.The following principles may also be useful:

Garr Reynolds provides numerous examples of “good” and “bad” slide design through a framework called Presentation Zen. But, in most cases, it is best to focus on simple slide design. Your teaching style or classroom may dictate the ways and frequency with which you use slides. They can either complement or confuse an instructor’s verbal message, so taking some time to think about the design and structure of your slide presentations can really pay off. Does the image of a professor speaking with the aid of a PowerPoint slide deck come to mind? Slides frequently serve as the foundation for lectures and lesson plans.