Goal 2 Student performance

1. Goal 2Student performance Does student perception equal reality?

2. Three types of presentations • Before we can answer that, let’s agree on some common definitions. • There are three types of teacher-created “multimedia” presentations used in most classrooms: • Transparencies • Basic PowerPoint, which only includes text information • Expanded PowerPoint, which includes pictures, sounds, movies, transitions, builds, etc.

3. Ready for a shock? • There is no significant difference in scores on quizzes that come from transparencies and basic PowerPoint lectures. • Students do 10% worse on quizzes that come from expanded PowerPoint lectures (the ones overly loaded with bells and whistles).

4. Wait, there’s more! • Does adding pictures to your presentations significantly improve students’ learning of the material? • NOPE! • Current research shows . . .

5. Interference … 15 yards • Having related pictures in your PowerPoint presentation is neither beneficial nor harmful to the students’ learning of the material. • Unrelated pictures in a presentation, however, have a negative effect on students’ learning of the material. • A picture may be worth a thousand words, but when you use an unrelated picture those thousand words drown out what you are trying to say.

6. For example • PowerPoint 1.0 was actually derived from a product called “Presenter” that was developed by Forethought Inc. in early 1987. • Microsoft purchased Presenter in August of 1987 for $14 million. Image source: albinoblacksheep.com

7. Notice the interference? • That picture, while humorous, had nothing to do with the real content of the slide. • But, I’d be willing to bet that an hour from now you’ll remember the “Howard Dean kitten” picture but completely forget how much Microsoft paid for PowerPoint in 1987. • The slide entertains, but fails to teach. Why? Well…

8. Mayer’s Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning • Students place relevant words into auditory working memory and relevant images into visual working memory. • Students then organize information separately in auditory and visual memory and finally integrate these representations with prior knowledge.

9. The problem with pictures • The on-screen text in PowerPoint is processed in visual memory because it is seen, viewed with the eyes. • Relevant pictures do not help because they are also stored in visual memory along with the text—no new information is added over a different channel.

10. Are pictures necessary? • Pictures are not as important as you may think. • Students are usually able to understand the facts without the help of a picture. • Besides, the facts are what’s going to be on your test, not the pictures. • However—and this is an important point—when the material is more complicated or the students do not know much about the information, pictures may be beneficial.

11. Your Students • In your classroom, you may have students who need something to grab their attention. • A well designed slide with a supporting illustration may be the attention grabber they need. • Just make sure that the extra does not distract from the key information on the slide.

12. In short, use pictures to teach, not to decorate or entertain.

13. Striking a happy medium • If you really want to use pictures in your presentations, make sure the pictures are highly relevant. • When in doubt, leave it out. • Better still, put all testable content on text-only slides and then be creative with your filler slides. • That way the presentation will look pretty, but the “real” content won’t be lost due to visual interference.

14. And don’t forget • Enhancing a PowerPoint presentation with even relevant pictures takes, on average, 50% more time than creating a basic (text-only) PowerPoint presentation. • This extra effort yields no measurable gain in student learning. • But it sure does look pretty.

15. The Good News • In our POWER TAs, we have spent that 50% more time to locate relevant and supportive illustrations • which grab your students’ attention • but do not distract from the content of the lesson. • For example, the following is a teaching aid from Individual and Family Life

16. Friendship Circle

17. and now the improved version

18. FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE Me Close Friends Casual Friends Acquaintances

19. Original teaching aid of case studies. . . . .

20. Decision-Making Case Studies

21. New and improved case studies

22. Decision-Making Case Studies • Ten-year-old Amelia adores her sixteen-year-old sister Amy. She wants to do everything that Amy does. When Amy got her ears pierced at age fourteen, Amelia begged to get her ears pierced too. “Not until you’re a teenager,” said her mother. Each time the family goes to the mall, Amelia begs tog et her ears pierced, but her mother always says, “Not until you’re a teenager.”

23. Decision-Making Case Studies • Last Sunday, Amy and Amelia were walking the mall while they waited for their mother to get her hair done. As Amy and Amelia walked past the shop that specialized in ear piercing, Amelia turned to Amy and began to plead, “Can I get my ears pierced today? Please, please, please.” Amy thought a minute, grabbed Amelia’s hand, and pulled her into the shop. “Let’s do it,” she said. As Amy signed the consent form, writing her age as eighteen, she had second thoughts.

24. Decision-Making Case Studies • Teraj had always dreamed of attending college. In fact, his family, who strongly believed in education, had set up a college fund for each of their children. During his junior year in high school, Teraj and a friend began talking about moving to California following graduation and getting jobs in the movie industry. The friends worked together over the summer at a lumber yard and volunteered at the local community theater working as stage hands, building and painting sets, and helping in the box office.

25. Decision-Making Case Studies • As Teraj entered his senior year, his family got excited as he sent in college applications. When two of the better-known universities accepted him for the fall semester, the family was overjoyed. Teraj, however, still planned to move to California for at least two years before going to college. He just hadn’t found the right time to tell his folks.

26. Decision-Making Case Studies • Komiko had been working at Benny’s Burgers for three months. She loved the team of people she worked with and especially liked the older night manager Jim. although Benny’s was always crowded, the owner recently informed the employees that some changes might have to be made because Benny’s profits were declining.

27. Decision-Making Case Studies • One Saturday night, following the close of Benny’s, Komiko and Jim were the last two employees to leave. As Komiko put her apron in the hamper, she glanced into Jim’s office and not6iced that he was bent over his desk. “Good night,” she said. As Jim jerked his head around to look at her, Komiko observed what appeared to be drug paraphernalia on the desk. Komiko waved to Jim and ran through the back door to her car.

28. Decision-Making Case Studies • As Komiko drove home, she was still in shock at what she had seen. Jim was such a nice man but seemed very nervous and grouchy lately, and the business was losing money. Komiko thought about calling the owner and telling her about Jim but decided not to say anything for awhile.