Designing Effective Powerpoints: Considering cognitive psychology EDU 241: Educational Technology Dr. Daniel Moos

Tall in the the saddle Guiding Question: What does this activity suggest about the role of prior knowledge and experience in learning? “Phraseology” example

In 1763 Marian and the settlements ended a seven- year war with the Langurians and Pitoks. As a result of this war Languia was driven out of East Bacol. Marain would now rule Laman and other lands that had belonged to Languia. This brought peace to Bacolian settlements. The settlers no longer had to fear attacks from Laman. The Bacolians were happy to be part of Marain in Yet a dozen years later, these same people would be fighting the for independence (Beck and Mckeown, 1993, p.2) In 1763 Britain and the settlements ended a seven- year war with the French and Native Americans. As a result of this war, the French were driven out of North America. Britain would now rule Canada and other lands that had belonged to the French. This brought peace to the North American settlements. The settlers no longer had to fear attacks from Canada. The North Americans were happy to be part of Britain in Yet a dozen years later, these same people would be fighting the for independence. Guiding Question: What does this activity suggest about the role of prior knowledge and experience in learning? Implications for teachers?

Guiding Question: What does this activity suggest about the importance of organization in learning? What does this activity suggest about the maximum number of items we can learn at one time? Implications for teachers? “Numbers” example

As quickly as you can… …state the months of the year …state the months of the year, alphabetically Guiding Question: What does this activity suggest about the role of how we originally learn in retrieving this knowledge? Implications for teachers? “Months” example

In a moment, you will read a common, everyday word. As soon as you read it, write down the first that comes into your head. Then write down the first word that that word reminds you of. Continue writing down the first word that each successive words brings to mind until you generated a list of 10 words Example: MinnesotaColdIce CreamMoose Tracks Activity: Beach Guiding Question: What does this activity suggest about how we organize our “long-term” memory? Implications for teachers? “Association” example

In a moment, you will be presented with 12 words and asked to memorize them. shirttablehat carrotbedsquash pantspotatoesbench chairshoebean Guiding Question: What does this activity suggest about how the importance of organization in facilitating learning? Implications for teachers? In what order did you recall them? Did you recall them in the order in which you read them? “Categorization” example

“Riding a bike” example On a scale of 1 (very poorly) to 5 (very easily), how well can you ride a bike? Turn to your neighbor and discuss how you would teach someone who does not know how to ride a bike On a scale of 1 (very hard) to 5 (very easy), describe the difficulty level you just experienced in describing how you might teach someone to ride a bike Why might there be a discrepancy between your “expertise” and ability to teach? Guiding Question: What does this activity suggest about the challenges “experts” might face in teaching novices? Implications for teaching?

RED BLACK BLUE BLACK YELLOW BLACK RED YELLOW BLUE BLACK RED BLACK BLUE BLACK YELLOW RED YELLOW BLUE BLACK RED As quickly as you can, quietly say the COLOR and not the pronunciation of the following words (from left to right): Example: Yellow Blue Guiding Question: What does this activity suggest about the role of “attention” and “perception” in learning? Implications for teachers? “Color” example

Cognitive processes: IPT Model Assumptions of each “stage”

IPT: Using our understanding of psychology to design powerpoints Chunking and organization Increase amount of information that can be processed Dual coding theory Auditory and visual information Do NOT add seductive details Limit “interesting” visuals Limit amount of information Working memory has limited capacity