The Effect of Powerpoint Presentations on Student Learning and Attitudes

Abstract

In recent years, the uses of PowerPoint (a form of multimedia) presentations in classroom instruction have significantly increased globally without examination of their effects on student learning and attitudes. In this study, we test whether using PowerPoint in an accounting course enhances student short-term memory, long-term memory, and attitudes toward class presentation and the instructor. We conducted an experiment, which includes a treatment-control design, in a classroom setting throughout a semester. In one section of an accounting principles II (Managerial Accounting) course, PowerPoint was used as the delivery system, while the second section was taught using a traditional delivery system. The results show that PowerPoint presentation may improve student attitudes toward the instructor and class presentation. The results do not provide conclusive evidence that PowerPoint presentations improve short-term or long-term memory. The latter results are consistent with other media comparison studies that show the medium alone does not influence learning. Key words: PowerPoint, learning, attitudes, short-term memory, long-term memory, representational style, dual-coding theory Data availability: Contact the authors 53 54 Nouri and Shahid