Exploring Human-Centered Principles to Improve Lecture Slides

As a university emphasizing student participation and attention, lectures are central to the educational experience at Chapman. However, slide-based lectures can widely vary in quality and approach. Considering various debunkings of learning styles over the years, it seems more difficult than ever to understand how to most effectively teach students. Effective use of computerized tools has thus become increasingly important as the pace of change continues to increase. Yet, research is available on the effectiveness of teaching methods that can provide guidelines for instructors. With increasingly connected and capable devices at our fingertips, it is imperative to both use the technology to our advantage and cut through distractions by creating engaging material. Using a human, research-based approach, this work aims to optimize the time and attention of students and instructors, precious resources that demand careful consideration. Employing research focused on human factors such as habituation, accessibility, and cognitive load theory, current faculty slides were analyzed. Quantitative and qualitative approaches were taken to discover trends in slide design and to identify areas of improvement. For instance, when surveyed, a majority of faculty respondents indicated a desire to create more engaging slides in less time. Additionally, slides were analyzed for readability, visual layout, and accessibility. Strategies to make the development of slides more effective and efficient are proposed, along with directions for future research and development.