Rethinking PowerPoint - Deviation from ELD but Worth a Gander at Assertion-Evidence Slides

Assertion-evidence Slides Appear to Lead to Better Comprehension and recall of More Complex Concepts
Kerri Wolf, Penn State & Dr. Joanna K Garner, et al at Old Dominion University asked whether or not assertion-evidence slides are better for communicating technical information. Two groups of students viewed different PPTs with same recorded scripts on MRIs. Researchers then assessed knowledge retention with immediate essays and then tested on their retention of the information two weeks later via a quiz.

Assertion-evidence slides have an assertive statement, a large image, and focused labels via layers. They found A-E slides worked better than the traditional bulleted list which tend to have more text/noise. Use of PPT layers or animation can help students visualize. Over 20% increase in understanding of technical concept was seen with the assertion-evidence slides. Students wrote an essay right after the presentation on the process of MRI. Researchers used a rubric to grade the essays, for the common practice 42% and for assertive-evidence students attained 59%. The common practice students also led to more misconceptions.

These slides do take longer to construct, but worth the time investment! 


Informed Influence: Preparing Graduate Students to Present with Power instead of Just PowerPoint
Christine G. Nicometo & Traci N. Nathans-Kelly from University of Wisconsin, Madison discussed the shift from textual to visual slide design and ability for presented to engage audience or students. They teach in Master of Engineering in Professional Practice, which is primarily on online program, and students have been in industry for at least five years.

Teach students to make assertive statement on their slides along with visuals. They also recommend the use of archival/speaker notes, especially useful when sharing presentations. Their professional students are required to record and view their presentations in order to practice and improve, and they have found the powerful impact of using assertion-evidence based presentation slides.

Engineering Education Innovation ASEE 2011 Main Plenary

To sum up, make it active, incorporate collaborative learning, problem-based learning, formative assessment and reflection, possibly even "look ahead homework" instead of just readings and guess what? Students learn more!

Resources to check out:

• Jamieson & Lohmann (2009) – Creating a Culture for Scholarly & Systematic Innovation (see part 1 report) and their Innovation Cycle of Education Practice and Research , final report will be presented Wed. 10:30am
• CLEERhub Collaboratory for Engineering Education Research

Active/Collaborative Learning
Michael Prince – Bucknell
Active Learning Continuum – instructor vs. student centered
Student centered learning includes structured team activities, problem-based learning.

Does is work? Research using “pause” procedure to enhance lecture recall found that with the pause students could recall 108 correct facts vs. 80 without the pause. Less can be more. Another study shows that active learning is twice as effective as lecturing. See Hake 1988 article in American Journal of Physics which  shows students learn twice as much when instructors used active learning techniques. Often variation in student questioning can help students learn. For instance, instead of picking one students to respond, ask all to reflect for 60 seconds. When working with teams, Prince gave us a scenario to reflect upon the problems with a team-based assignment. Collaborative learning (CL) using structure to improve teamwork. Regular self-assessment, positive interdependence with individual accountability. Give students complex activities where they need each other to complete the learning activities. Springer, et al (1999) Effects of Small Group Learning paper showed CL works.

Khairiyah Mohd Yusof from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia described Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Model is an inductive model of teaching and learning. Three critical elements of PBL include: instructors as designer/coach/facilitator, realistic problem, student as problem solver (Tan, 2003). Students show effective learning outcomes with PBL in the areas of knowledge retention, skills, positive attitude, among other metacognitive skills.

See Woods 1994 students cope with change and instructors need to explain and rationalize, as students go through a grieving process since PBL is so different that traditional learning. Suggests instructors move from informal collaborative learning to macro-level PBL.

First Year Engineering Design
Jacquelyn Sullivan discussed student-focused engineering design education. First year design began to infuse in early 1990s to provide students exposure to the real world of engineering. Helped students make leaps from science & math to engineering. Project-oriented education requires synthesis from many disciplines.
Early design experiences share confidence and allows them to experience mastery experiences (see Stevens, Hutchinson-Green). Learning happens between people, see research of Stevens. Suggests we reimagine engineering as socio-technical work.

Robin Adams and colleagues research focuses on entwinement, which is what design education is all about. Deborah Kilgore and others found female college students to be more ready for engineering design.

Self efficacy & the fuzzy stuff: Hutchinson-Green and colleagues found conference in ones abilities to perform tasks and achieve success in the engineering environment. Research links positive self-efficacy and persistence, achievement and interest. Highlights need for students to experience and confirm mastery within first year. At University of Colorado, Boulder they found when looking at six year graduate rates, women are 25% more likely to persist if they have first year design experience.

Engineering the Future
Arnold Pears, Uppsala University, CeTUSS (national center for pedagogical development in technology education in a societal and student oriented context)

Interdisciplinary projects

• “authentic problems cross disciplines” - Sherra Kerns, Olin College
• Integrative project work achievable model for many institutions.

Challenges:
• Bannerot 2010: establishment of these types of courses hard to establish

Successful Interdisciplinary Project:
- Integrates knowledge/skills from team
- Builds additional competence in project management, virtual teamwork, cultural and interdisciplinary teamwork
- Allows students to complete project lifecycle from conception  delivery
- Opportunity to learn professional skills with close mentorship in secure setting, at least twice during their education

Assessment of Conceptual Understanding
David L. Darmofal, MIT AEROASTRO
Conceptual Understanding– see Perkins 2006 for definition but basically “understanding principles governing domain.”

Ozdemir & Clark, 2007 – see for Organization of conceptual knowledge

Forms of Assessment Used:
- Concept Inventories: to assess understanding within physics, etc.
- Oral interviews and exams: useful in identifying misconceptions, but can be time consuming, but improves likelihood of accurate assessment, about ½ of MITs ugrad use oral assessment within at this point
- Concept Questions & Peer Instruction: focus on single concept, multiple choice, more than one plausible answer (using electronic poll system to get responses)
- Student Preparation: Look-ahead homework – used to give only reading, now they also give homeworks that are due before discussion of concept within class

Teaching/Learning System
Anne Dollár, Miami University
Hattie, John. 2009 Visible Learning shows formative assessment has high impact on student learning.
- feedback to students: on progress, non-threatening
- feedback to instructors: on both individual and class performances
- opportunity to close gap between current and desired performance

Open Learning Initiative: Example within Engineering Statics
Learning by doing, electronic system with electronic feedback, scaffolding and hints, if students don’t ask for hints, they may be moved further along while others get more opportunity for practice.

Inverted classroom, where first contact with materials students are studying electronically prior to class and come prepared to be engaged in more intense activities. Instructors monitor to determine where students are struggling, so this learning dashboard allows instructors to focus on target areas that need elaboration and reinforcement.

Well, Can We Accelerate the Rate of Change in Engineering Education?

Karan Watson, Interim Provost & Executive VP of Texas A&M University

She has a plum ’56 Chevy Truck, which she thinks is beautiful but she tells us “I don’t expect it to take me where it can’t take me any longer.” We cannot accelerate change unless we reframe what we are doing. We can deal with how students need to deal with challenges versus topics. She references Nalib Tassem’s  book Black Swan. Black Swan events are outliers and unpredictable. Our representation of reality ceases to apply but we don’t know it. Watson feels our process in engineering education is not rapid enough. Faculty behavior change is needed for educational reform. Throughout history science has progressed in non-rational ways but these ideas never get funded and rarely get praised. Don Tapscott in his article on the Impending Demise of the University suggests that the lecture at the podium will not work for these students. Tapscott doesn’t agree that Google is dumbing down this generation but argues that they can handle information overload better than we can. They are active and demanding as inquirers. They find out what they need to know on their own with Google and Wikipedia. 

Engineers are pushing society with technology at an ever accelerating rate. “We are failing society if we are not leading the way with the educational transformations that need to take place.” Engineering educators need to move from “tinkering phase” or “trial and error” with education innovations to wider adoption of these new ideas surfacing in the engineering education literature.

Use your resources:

• ·         ASEE Journal of Engineering Education
• ·         Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education
• ·         Center for the Advancement of Scholarship in Engineering Education - National Academy of Engineering
• ·         Literature on change, not just on engineering education

Managing strategic change literature suggests we need to avoid quick fixes. Also individuals must disengage from the past to move forward. “A tempered radical” wants to stay in the boat but rock it  (and not go so far as to blow it up). Malcolm Gladwell in Tipping Point tells us that change is like a virus. It is contagious, takes energy, enthusiasm and personality.  There has to be stickiness in change (bloggers note: see also new book Made to Stick). Nothing sticky about working harder than you ever, but you have to see a small incremental benefit, so there needs to be an appropriate reward system.

She refers to Edward Schein, author of Organizational Culture and Leadership. You can tell culture of organization by artifacts and espoused values. Underlying assumptions disconnected with values.

Unfortunately there is deeply embedded resistance in some cultures. Find the “bell cows” in your cultures who should be followed.  The way to make the changes we need is to continue experiments with students and provide research data, pay attention to it, but real change will be in the efforts we put into the change of faculty. Change your own behavior.  

Q&A

·      
 Watson believes that ABET will not hinder change if you get them on board with your initiatives.

·         Disciplines frame discourse in different ways but we can learn a great deal from sociologists, and others.

·        Academic reward structure limits change (education reform). There has to be incentives and people have to believe there’s a safe place to land if they go through this behavior change.

·      
 Bringing discussion of change into classroom: some of our best students are resistant to change because they can work alone well and take tests well. Students change fast, help students learn about learning. We have to find ways to weave into our courses about learning and change, as well we need to teach our students ethics so when they face situations in the future they know how to react.

·        You don’t have to be bad to get better – “whether change or improvement, starting out by insulting everyone who needs to change is not a very good strategy”

·        Advice for new untenured faculty: refers to Art of War. Think about the terrain you are in, if you are in a dying terrain then fight quickly. If your enthusiasm doesn’t match your institution you may be better off somewhere else.

·        Changing funding paradigms: slowly, Watson believes in shared governments, you can lead but not in a way that no one will follow, ask the right questions. Dynamic discussion with faculty about how we can evaluate their teaching is the first step. Set aside $2M in base funding for high-impact experiences such as service or international learning, could be research-based. These should result in deep learning for the students.

·        Engineers as educators: there’s a difference between being researcher of education and a great teacher. Positive deviance is the idea that some people get great results from some resources while others don’t.
All engineering educators need not become researchers of education.

·        Engineering world = have your data or dead on arrival. We have to tell good stories, people don’t change because of data but good stories.

And yes, in case you were wondering and are still reading, Watson does own a second vehicle. Is it a learjet?

Special Interest Groups: Assessment of libraries, of learning

Our small group discussed ideas on assessment and tools/strategies used:

... of learning:

• Outcomes-based, some libraries create outcomes for their overall information literacy programs, some at the course-level, some at the instruction session level. At course-level, one example involved librarian-faculty collaboration to implement 7-question pre and post-test, print journals was an area students have trouble with locating, others mentioned using quizes, looking at projects/papers, getting faculty feedback on improvement in student learning
• Student self-assessment tied in with larger institutional instruments (a few questions on information literacy are incorporated)
• One idea is to study how recent alumni have transferred their information literacy knowledge from the university to the workplace
• Citation analysis of papers/projects
• Working with faculty on assessment of projects, esp. literature review sections
• Importance of collaborating with faculty, directors of writing centers and first year programs and tying in with AbET, NEASC and other regional accreditation self-studies, etc.
• Bruce recommended taking a look at Mark Emmons work at U of New Mexico
• We joked about using a Facebook quiz. "Everyone would take it."
  

... of libraries and services:

• some participate or will soon in the following standardized: MISO: Merged Information Services Organizations, LibQUAL+® for service quality, and homegrown tools
• Other tools we briefly discussed: project SAILS, ETS iSkills Assessment
• For reference assessment some use in-house surveys, also a online link within after virtual reference to a satisfaction survey, other ideas that came up include mystery shopper in collaboration with marketing students, as well as observation assessment of students at the reference desk.

Three Rules for Great Presentations

Sunday June, 14, 2009 2-5pm
Lee Andrew Hilyer, University of Houston Libraries, author of
Presentations for Librarians: A Complete Guide to Creating Effective, Learner-Centered Presentations

Hilyer started by discussing learning theory. He mentioned that Dr. Richard Mayer, UC Santa Barbara, guru on multimedia learning, derives seven principles and most important is that people learn from words and pictures, not text alone. The human memory system involves multiple parts of the brain. Working memory (formerly know as "short term") has two channels for processing speech and visuals:

1. Auditory: handles speech and has limited capacity
2. Visual: Handles images, requires attention before our brains perceive

Bottom line: Our brains process both channels when attending presentations where speakers include both text and images. Text-filled slides that also have images get processed in the visual channel and then go into the auditory, therefore this is the central problem with PowerPoint. This cognitive overload doesn't lead to the best learning.

What is Learning? Knowledge is stored as networks of concepts, or schemas. Hilyer uses dogs as an example -- "pug" is a breed, its features, emotional aspects, whether they are cute or ugly, each represents a different schema.

Three Simple Rules for Presentations

1. Say the words, present your evidence
2. Show the pictures
3. Text is for take-away

Aside: Hilyer, of course, uses images relevant to his points, as I blogger I have limited time to snip and include them, so check out his blog, which may have the visuals to make this point.

When developing presentations, don't jump right to PowerPoint, work in a notebook or word processor. PPT forces presenters to go directly to chunked information and you may miss the most important points. He also recommends presenters consider his three main points and to keep in mind that learning is individual, each person will learn differently depending on existing knowledge and schemas they've built. Give homework as learning often occurs elsewhere, not necessarily during a presentation.

Another interesting tip: People perceive from left to right, he suggests that speakers should stand on the left of the slides (from the audience point of view).

Assertion Evidence Slide Theory by Micheal Alley
Learn more about Alley's research by reading his book The Craft of Scientific Presentations: Critical Steps to Succeed and Critical Errors to Avoid (New York: Springer-Verlag, 2003).

See also Alley, Michael, and Kathryn A. Neeley, "Rethinking the Design of Presentation Slides: A Case for Sentence Headlines and Visual Evidence," Technical Communication, vol. 52, no. 4 (November 2005), pp. 417-426 and Alley's "Rethinking the Design of Presentation" (pdf).

Presenters using this approach make one point per slide with limited text and use a relevant graphic to reinforce the point. Hilyer suggests converting at least a few of your slides using this approach. Retention increases 55% if you include pictures in addition to words, this is known as "picture superiority effect." Use high quality and relevant images. Printout a few blank 3 PPT slide handouts and use to create your own storyboard, boxes for sketching image that matches your text.

Resources for Images

• Life Magazine Archives
• Flickr Commons
• See Hilyer's blog for more suggestions

If you cannot find a relevant image, don't include one. You could possibly create an image yourself or use a flipchart to sketch a graphic to make your point. He also suggests using the "B" keyboard key while using PowerPoint to toggle screen to go blank, then step to center of screen to make your verbal point. Another librarian mentioned she puts "this slide was made intentionally blank." Sometimes using an printed handout of an article or other instructional materials and lead attendees through sections of text you wish to highlight or focus on. Wait 25 seconds after asking if there are any questions before moving on.

Hilyer also recommends the following books:
Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery by Garr Reynolds
Beyond Bulletpoints by Flip Atkinson
slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations by Nancy Duarte
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott Mccloud

See also:
Multimedia Learning by Richard E Mayer
The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning by Richard E Mayer

Handouts or no handouts? His last point, text for takeaway, means that the audience should be taking the textual information with them for later use or learning. However, one librarian pointed out that her students don't take the handouts. As an alternative a few librarians mentioned they work with faculty to post online handouts, libguides or other materials electronically to the course site. Hilyer suggested the handouts need to have a value-add and relevance. Using screen shots or even creating virtual demonstration using Pointer, Jing, TechSmith SnagIt, etc. to highlight sections of a web page or features of a database may help add value to these documents.

Materials for the workshop published on his Presentations4Librarians blog (password: threeRules)

Contact Lee Andrew Hilyer at lhilyer@sbcglobal.net.