ASEE SE 20011

PowerPoint Presentations: DoThey Really Work?

Richard O. Mines, Jr., Ph.D., P.E.Director Environmental Engineering

Mercer University

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Overview• Objectives• Background

– Increased Interest in Education– Enhancing Engineering Education– Traditional Lecture Format

• Methodology• Results and Discussion• Summary and Conclusions

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Objectives

• Conduct a study to determine theeffectiveness of using PowerPointPresentations to enhance studentlearning.

• Get student feedback on the likes anddislikes of using PowerPoint.

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Primary Objective

• Answer once and for all,unequivocally and irrefutably ifPowerPoint presentations enhancestudent learning.

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Increased Interest inUndergraduate Education

• The public, industry, and statelegislatures have scrutinized universityeducational systems in recent years.

• Engineering Criteria 2000 established byABET to focus on the “product” ofengineering education.

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Methods for Enhancing Learning

• Multimedia presentations & Internet.

• Computers & software packages.

• CD-ROM PowerPoint Presentations.

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Literature Focused on Formatof PowerPoint Lectures

• Mechanics and formatting of PowerPointPresentations primarily discussed.

• Assessment of PowerPoint presentationshas not been well documented.

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Traditional Lecture Promoted as GoodInformation Transfer Procedure

• Good delivery:clarity, pace, stimulation

• Enthusiasm:should impact both the listenerand the lecturer.

• Content command:breadth and depth ofknowledge of the given subject.

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Methodology• ANOVAs performed on students’ project,

final exam, and overall final grades.

• Comparisons made for three courseofferings: Fall 98 (11 students), Fall 99(6 students), and Spring 00 (10 students).

• Subjective experience of students collected.

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Average Final Exam Grades

Fall 98 Fall 99 Spring 003.32 2.25 2.60

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ANOVA: Final Exam Grades

F Fcritical df α2.59 3.40 2, 24 0.05

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Average Design Project Grades

Fall 98 Fall 99 Spring 002.45 2.83 3.70

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ANOVA: Design Project Grades

F Fcritical df α6.60 3.40 2, 24 0.05

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Average Overall Final Grades

Fall 98 Fall 99 Spring 002.64 2.00 3.05

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ANOVA: Overall Final Grades

F Fcritical df α2.72 3.40 2, 24 0.05

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Positive Comments

• Good for general information andwhen recollection is not required.

• Easier to follow along and comprehendwith PowerPoint.

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Positive Comments

• Dynamic presentations with sound andanimation keep student’s interests.

• I spend most of the time trying to get allthe notes when they are written on theboard and do not always comprehend.

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Positive Comments

• Easy for the presenter to use andcover a lot of material in a short time.

• Lectures clearly outlined and readable.

• Professor can print out handouts for thestudents to follow.

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Negative Comments

• Not good for detailed informationthat must be learned and understood.

• Harder to understand when the teacher isexplaining a long derivation on many slides.

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Negative Comments

• Teacher does a better job of explainingthe material when writing on the board.

• When reviewing, it’s not as easy toidentify the most important points.

• Less attention is paid during the lecturessince I have a handout to rely on.

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Negative Comments

• When lights are dim during thepresentations, students tend to get sleepy.

• There is not as much interaction betweenprofessor and students.

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Summary

• Statistical assessment of the use of PowerPointPresentations was made.

• Subjective assessment of the use of PowerPointPresentations was made.

• A comparison of student grades on final exams,design projects, and overall grades was madewhen EVE 405 was offered with and withoutusing PowerPoint Presentations.

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Conclusions• No significant difference in student grades on

final exams and overall final grades whenPowerPoint Presentations were used.

• Student performance on the design projectimproved when PowerPoint was used.

• Students liked PowerPoint, however, theylearned and understood complex materialbetter when traditional lecture was used.