is 'edutainment' a valid driver for attempts to engage students in teaching sessions?...

Is 'Edutainment' a valid driver for attempts to engage students in teaching

sessions?

Paddy Turner

Education Developer (Inclusion)

Student Experience Team

p.turner@shu.ac.uk

Jan Stevens

Senior Disability Adviser (Dyslexia)

Disabled Student Support

j.p.stevens@shu.ac.uk

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Outline of Today's Workshop

• Description of the background discussions that led to this issue being proposed for this Forum

• How Edutainment and Inclusive Practice appear to work in opposition to each other

• Is there evidence of students preferring edutainment to content?

• What are the key factors in producing an effective PowerPoint?

• Taking a look at the research evidence regarding effective presentations.

• Opportunity for discussions and questions.

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Edutainment

• ......student engagement

• ......tutors under pressure

• ......modelling good practice for industry

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Inclusive Practice

• ......student engagement

• ......tutors under pressure

• ......modelling good practice for industry

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What's the problem?

..................

Discuss

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Questionnaire

Answer according to your own beliefs as to what is most

important to students

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Student Survey

• .....key stats - outputs

• comparison to delegates responses

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Student comments

"Particularly bad: Masses of Powerpoint slides being presented in a very short time with no real time to engage with the problem."

D&S Student response to survey

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Student comments

"A tutor who is responsive and able to present content in a variety of different ways in order to react to the needs of the students on that day is much more effective than one who has flash animations in PowerPoint which will at best be pleasant and at worst irrelevant and tedious."

D&S Student response to survey

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Inclusive practice principles

• Clear, simple fonts

• Small amounts of information

• Relevant, discrete visuals

• Minimal 'interference'

• Plain, pastel coloured backgrounds

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Fonts

• This type face is quite easy to read (Century Gothic)

• ....and so is this (Arial)

• ....and this (Calibri)

• .....and this (Gils Sans Light)

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Fonts

• This type face is not so easy to read (Times New Roman)

• .....and neither is this (Bodoni MT)

• .....and neither is this (Lucida Handwriting)

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Slides• Upper and lower case type is effective

• Italic type is not as effective

• CAPITAL LETTERS ARE NOT AS EFFECTIVE

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Images and Diagrams

Images should be useful and relate to your

point

Diagrams/charts/tables - readable on paper

copy and/or have clear references

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Good practice evidence"Use a plain background and remove any unnecessary detail"

"Delete that powerpoint template. Templates add clutter and distract from the visual impact of a slide." Olivia Mitchell

http://www.speakingaboutpresenting.com/design/powerpoint-design-recommended-tips/

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Good practice evidence

".....– removing extraneous information from a screen actually increases learning."

Cliff Atkinson

http://www.speakingaboutpresenting.com/design/powerpoint-design-recommended-tips/

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Good practice evidence

"When it comes to slide design, you shouldn’t think of decoration, but of communication."

Christophe Harrer

http://www.speakingaboutpresenting.com/design/powerpoint-design-recommended-tips/

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Good practice evidence

Number of slides had no effect on learning

Lower density of information positively affected learning

Empowering PowerPoint: Slides and Teaching Effectiveness

[Brock, S. & Joglekar, Y. (2011)]

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Good practice evidence

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...test scores were lower as a result of

interference

Bradshaw, A. C. (2003). Effects of Presentation Interference in Learning with Visuals.

Journal of Visual Literacy, 23, 41-68.

Video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNG0etmnwuk

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