Powerpoint in the psychology classroom: Lessons from multimedia learning research

Teaching in higher education often involves giving a lecture that is accompanied by PowerPoint slides. It is common practice for slides to adhere closely to PowerPoint's defaults, but these and other similar designs violate principles of multimedia learning. In this article, the psychological theories that apply to slide comprehension processes are described, with an explanation as to how 'common-practice' slides do not incorporate recommendations that arise from them. The authors identify ways in which an alternative structure, called the Assertion-Evidence (A-E) slide structure, better embodies these principles. They present introductory steps for instructors who are interested in redesigning their slides. Figures are used to illustrate both common-practice and A-E slide structures.