[powerpoint presentations] could it be the end

This is a summarized version of the text posted today at the Age:

John Sweller, from the University of NSW, has led a team of Australian researchers who have found that is more difficult to process information if it is coming at you in the written and spoken form at the same time.

The report shows the human brain processes and retains more information if it is digested in either its verbal or written form, but not both at the same time. The findings show there are limits on the brain's capacity to process and retain information in short-term memory.

Sweller calls it the "cognitive load theory". The working memory is only effective in juggling two or three tasks at the same time, retaining them for a few seconds. When too many mental tasks are taken on some things were forgotten.

The team has also challenged popular teaching methods, suggesting that teachers should focus more on giving students the answers, instead of asking them to solve problems on their own.

The theory has implications for Power Point presentations. "The use of the PowerPoint presentation has been a disaster," Professor Sweller said. "It should be ditched."

"It is effective to speak to a diagram, because it presents information in a different form. But it is not effective to speak the same words that are written, because it is putting too much load on the mind and decreases your ability to understand what is being presented."

The findings also suggest that instead of asking students to solve problems on their own, teachers helped students more if they presented already solved problems.

"Looking at an already solved problem reduces the working memory load and allows you to learn. It means the next time you come across a problem like that, you have a better chance at solving it," Professor Sweller said.

Naturally, educators would need to wait to see if other researchers support this idea but if it's so, it wouldn't take too much adjustment to alternate reading and listening periods.

I always found that if one spoke in point form, with each point clear and no more than one sentence long, people retained up to five points.

If a clear chart of the points was on the board, it would be better to have it covered whilst speaking, with some form of graphic for general effect, then uncover the list for summary purposes.

Just my theory, mind.