Effective Handouts: Using PowerPoint to Guide Study and Encourage Active
Preparation
It's clear that students benefit from activities that focus their study time
and help them draw connections between textual information and lecture content.
PowerPoint handouts are well suited for study guides of this sort.
Many instructors, however, are reluctant to distribute handouts of PowerPoint
presentations prior to class for fear that students will see them as substitutes
for lecture and fail to attend the actual session. Others balk at the idea
of distributing handouts as students enter the lecture hall, worrying that
students won't pay attention during class or that they will fail to develop
good note taking skills. Providing verbatim copies of lecture presentations,
the standard practice, may well encourage students to fall into these traps,
suggesting that everything one needs to know is included in the handout.
It doesn't have to be this way, however. When used appropriately, PowerPoint
handouts can improve student learning by structuring study time, encouraging
critical thinking, preparing students for lecture, and providing opportunities
for active learning during the course of the session. What follows are excerpts
from two PowerPoint presentations.
The first slide of each pair is part of a handout which was given to students
prior to the day's lecture. Students were asked to work through the handout
as they read the textbook in preparation for the lecture, answering all questions
and bringing their completed handouts to class.
The second slide of each pair was used during the lecture itself.
By comparing the two presentations, you'll notice that the handout differs
in significant ways from what is displayed on screen during the lecture itself.
These differences represent interventions that instructors can make to help
students engage the material actively and efficiently before and during class.
By using the handout as a vehicle to ask questions or assign exercises, instructors
promote active participation.
Provide Study Guidelines
The student handout includes an introductory statement that helps students
structure their study time. This information isn't represented in the presentation
itself, but it would typically be communicated orally by the instructor at
the beginning of the session as a way of gaining student attention and providing
a structure of content for the day's material.
Paper Handout for Students
In-Class PowerPoint Presentation
Leave Blanks That Students Fill in While Studying
Rather than distributing handouts that mirror on screen information, consider
leaving blanks in the handout which students are required to fill in as they
move through their reading. There are many strategies you can use. Below we
illustrate two possibilities.
In the first example, students record the causes of deforestation for each
of the ecosystems in their handouts prior to class. Besides providing an opportunity
for students to reflect on and process the material during study, it also can
be used in a variety of ways by instructors during the lecture session. Instructors
can poll students for their answers or have students rank the causes from most
to least significant, providing an opportunity for discussion and active learning
during the class hour.
Paper Handout for Students
In-Class PowerPoint Presentation
This exercise, like the one above, asks students to fill in specific factual
information. It goes a step farther, though, in asking students to work with
that information by applying it to a real case and identifying causal relationships.
Paper Handout for Students
In-Class PowerPoint Presentation
In both examples above, you'll notice that the slide titles in the student
handouts and the on screen presentations are the same. This is important, as
it helps students connect their preparation work with the content of the lecture.
You may also consider numbering the handout slides if you intend to refer to
them during class.
Leave Blank Slides That Students Fill in During Class
Your handouts can include one or several slides which are left intentionally
blank. These can be used during the period as spaces for students to record
their responses to questions you pose in class. As with other active learning
strategies such as think-pair-share or note check, you present the question
to students on a PowerPoint slide and give them a minute or two to answer it.
Paper Handout for Students
In-Class PowerPoint Presentation
Understanding Checks
PowerPoint handouts can cue students to stop and process information while
they're studying by posing questions based on the day's reading. Think of these
as opportunities for students to check their understanding before moving on
to new information. There are many ways to construct such understanding checks,
but typical examples are short answer and essay questions.
The first example shows a typical use of the strategy. When the concept of
wetland drainage is presented in class, as we see in the second (lower) slide,
students are better able to process the information deeply because they've
had an opportunity to reflect on it during their reading. Understanding checks
force students to construct information actively, rather than absorbing it
passively during the lecture.
Paper Handout for Students
In-Class PowerPoint Presentation
Our second example shows variation on the theme of understanding checks.
Paper Handout for Students
In-Class PowerPoint Presentation
Conclusion
It is important to note here that there is no "best" way to use
PowerPoint handouts. Practice should be driven by your course objectives and
your student body. In some cases, instructors may wish to distribute a handout
before class, using the strategies we've noted above, and another verbatim
copy of the lecture presentation during class.
One chief advantage of providing verbatim copies of lecture presentations
is that students have accurate information to which they can refer later when
studying for tests or exams. Accuracy is particularly important in disciplines
such as mathematics and foreign languages where the representation of symbols
is critical.
Secondly, students shouldn't be mere stenographers. By providing an outline
of your lecture content via handout, you can encourage students to take notes
on what's important–application, synthesis, evaluation–not on simply
writing down what appears on the slide. The handout, then, is a structure which
actually encourages good note taking practice.
Thirdly, by structuring the lecture with opportunities to pause and poll students,
you'll insure that you stop at critical points to change the pace and format
of the presentation.
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