Abstract

Three studies were performed to investigate the efficacy of digital PowerPoint lecturing in undergraduate classrooms. In the first study, students’ opinion about PowerPoint lectures was surveyed after receiving all their lectures in one module in PowerPoint. Grades of one cohort were then compared with the grades of another taking the same test one year earlier. No significant differences were found. In another study, students received a mock test 1 week following: (1) an overhead lecture, (2) a PowerPoint lecture and (3) a PowerPoint lecture with lecture notes. There were no significant differences between the two PowerPoint lectures both of which resulted in higher grades than the overhead lecture. In the third study, two cohorts had two identical lectures, in a counterbalanced order, presented either with PowerPoint or by using overheads. The results revealed that the lecture difficulty, but not the method of lecturing, contributed to the grade differences on two mock tests. It is suggested that the efficacy of PowerPoint lecturing may be case specific rather than universal.

Citation

Szabo, A. & Hastings, N. (2000). Using IT in the undergraduate classroom: should we replace the blackboard with PowerPoint?. Computers & Education, 35(3), 175-187. Elsevier Ltd. Retrieved May 17, 2022 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/56345/.

Keywords

• classroom
• educational technology
• Grades (Scholastic)
• higher education
• Instructional Effectiveness
• Intermode Differences
• IT
• Lecture Method
• lectures
• Overhead
• PowerPoint
• undergraduate students