Comparative Study

Information retention from PowerPoint™ and traditional lectures

By: April Savoy , Robert W. Proctor, and Gavriel Salvendy

Introduction:
The study investigates the effects of PowerPoint’s on student performance (e.g., overall quiz/exam scores) in comparison to lectures based on overhead projectors, traditional lectures (e.g., “chalk-and-talk”), and online lectures. The present study decomposes overall quiz scores into auditory, graphic, and alphanumeric scores to reveal new insights into effects of PowerPoint presentations on student performance.
The objective of this study is to determine how to present information effectively for maximum retention. Data were collected from 62 students via Quiz and questionnaire.

Research approach:
There were two lectures presented during the experiment. Each lecture was presented using traditional and Power-Point delivery styles.
Lecture 1 was titled ‘‘Attention”. The material covered different attention models (i.e., bottleneck models) and concepts of
filter theory, attenuation theory, and issues of perceptual load.
Lecture 2. was titled ‘‘Memory Stores and Working Memory”.

The researchers used two delivery styles presented in the lectures, traditional and PowerPoint. A third presentation category, no class, was formed with the students that were not present during either of the delivery styles. They measured their effects on the following variables:

1. The quiz measured performance
2. Recognition of graphic information
3. Recognition of alphanumeric information – This was measured by the percentage of correct answers pertaining to the alphanumeric information
4. Recognition of auditory information
5. Recognition of audio/visual information – This was measured by the percentage of correct answers pertaining to information that was
6. presented auditorlly and visually.
7. Overall recognition of information – This was measured by the percentage of correct answers pertaining to the information provided during
8. the lectures.
9. Preference – The questionnaire measured preference, where delivery style preference and perceived importance were the dependent variables.

Findings:
Students retained 15% less information delivered verbally by the lecturer during PowerPoint presentations, but they preferred PowerPoint presentations over traditional presentations.

Reference:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6VCJ-4VGVSWM-1-1&_cdi=5956&_user=912155&_orig=search&_coverDate=05%2F31%2F2009&_sk=999479995&view=c&wchp=dGLbVlb-zSkzS&md5=8d25ab98c13bdbfba218d6852cd465a5&ie=/sdarticle.pdf

Non-Comparative Study

Does the amount of on-screen text influence student learning from a multimedia-based instructional unit?

Summary:

This study examines how changes in the amount of on-screen text will
influence student learning from a multimedia instructional unit on basic concepts of coordinate geometry. The relative effectiveness of two different versions (short-text and
whole-text) of the instructional unit was examined for students who differed in terms of their ability to remember symbolic units, symbolic systems and symbolic interpretations. A total of 101 seventh graders were randomly assigned to work with either the whole-text or the short-text version. Student gains were analyzed using pre-test, post-test and retention test scores. Memory ability was assessed by the sub-tests of the Structure of Intellect-Learning Abilities Test. Results indicated no significant differences between groups who worked with short-text and whole-text versions. However retention scores of high and low memory groups who worked with the whole-text version showed significant differences.

The whole-text version was observed to favor students with high memory for symbolic implications. Results suggest that workability of design principles for multimedia instruction may depend on the nature of the task and characteristics of the learner.



Evaluation Approach:

In order to measure the influence of the amount of on-screen text on students learning, performance gains and retention levels of the participants were assessed through performance measures. These performance measures were based on the school’s curricular objectives and the instructional objectives of the multimedia unit. The timing and the format of the tests were based on the school’s regular testing procedures (for example, short answer items were preferred). Two parallel forms were used to assess performance gains (pre post-tests) and a shortened form of these tests was used to assess the level of retention.

Reference: http://www.springerlink.com/content/2jn56259qq781h53/fulltext.pdf