Presentations in Lectures to Prompt Innovations in Higher Education

Considering the rich experience of using multimedia presentations as a teaching tool in higher education, in order to introduce new approaches and develop a methodology, there is a need to identify the strengths and weaknesses of existing practices, in particular to identify the emotional attitude of university students to existing lectures and presentations in the educational process and determine relevant opportunities to improve the practice of using interactive and visual educational tools.
The empirical basis of the study was the results of a survey of students of 2–4 undergraduate courses at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (University) of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the 2019–2020 academic year. The survey involved 404 respondents. To process the obtained data, we used the Google Forms and Microsoft Office Excel programs, general scientific methods (comparison, generalization), statistical analysis methods, as well as content analysis.
The empirical study showed a high level of student satisfaction with the volume and effectiveness of multimedia presentations used in the educational process, and also confirmed the theoretical ideas about the advantages and limitations of linear form presentations that dominate in the educational environment. Critical remarks included design errors, oversaturation of visual material, activity out of sync, and flaws in speaker behavior. Among the new techniques for working with presentation materials, photographing slides was noted. An important observation was the students’ request for self-sufficient visual materials of lectures and access to them.
Prospects and opportunities for transforming familiar lectures and the learning environment as a whole were identified taking into account the existing experience of presentations at the university; ways of solving the problems with students’ perception and acquisition of material are proposed and specific recommendations are given for organizing a wide range of classes with visual and interactive components, today these are, first of all, remote online courses (MOOC, e-learning) and new forms of organization classroom activities (“flipped classroom”).

1. Mayer, R.E. (2005). Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning. In: Mayer, R.E. (Ed.). The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning. Chapter 3. New York : Cambridge University Press, p. 31-48, doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511816819.004

2. Leslie, K.C., Low, R., Jin, P., Sweller, J. (2012). Redundancy and Expertise Reversal Effects When Using Educational Technology to Learn Primary School Science. Educational Technology Research & Development. Vol. 60, no. 1, pp. 1-13, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-011-9199-0

3. Li, J., Antonenko, P.D., Wang, J. (2019). Trends and Issues in Multimedia Learning Research in 1996–2016: A Bibliometric Analysis. Educational Research Review. Vol. 28, pp. 1-21, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2019.100282

4. Liu, Y., Jang, B.G., Roy-Campbell, Z. (2018). Optimum Input Mode in the Modality and Redundancy Principles for University ESL Students’ Learning. Computers & Education. Vol. 127, pp. 190-200, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2018.08.025

5. Le, Y., Liu, J., Deng, C., Dai, D.Y. (2018). Heart Rate Variability Reflects the Effects of Emotional Design Principle on Mental Effort in Multimedia Learning. Computers in Human Behavior. Vol. 89, pp. 40-47, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.07.037

6. Mayer, R.E. (2017). Incorporating Motivation into Multimedia Learning. Learning and Instruction. Vol. 29, pp. 171-173, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2013.04.003

7. Stull, A.T., Fiorella, L.R., Mayer, E. (2018). An Eye-Tracking Analysis of Instructor Presence in Video Lectures. Computers in Human Behavior. Vol. 88, pp. 263-272, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.07.019

8. Wang, J., Antonenko, P. (2017). Instructor Presence in Instructional Video: Effects on Visual Attention, Recall, and Perceived Learning. Computers in Human Behavior. Vol. 71, pp. 79-89, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.01.049

9. Fiorella, L., Mayer, R.E. (2018). What Works and Doesn’t Work with Instructional Video. Computers in Human Behavior. Vol. 89, pp. 465-470, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.07.015

10. Antonenko, P., Dawson, K., Cheng, L., Wang, J. (2019). Using Technology to Address Individual Differences in Learning. In: Bishop, M.J., Elen, J., Svihla, V., Boling, E. (Eds). Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology. 5th edition. New York : Springer Science, pp. 51-63.

11. Wiley, J., Sanchez, C.A., Jaeger, A.J. (2014). The Individual Differences in Working Memory Capacity Principle in Multimedia Learning. In: Mayer, R.E. (Ed.). The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning. 2nd edition. New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, pp. 598-620, doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139547369.029

12. Kim, S., Lombardino, L.J. (2019). Multimedia Learning: Contributions of Learners’ Verbal Abilities and Presentation Modalities. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research. Vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 76-91, doi: https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.18.1.6

13. Tsai, M.-J., Wu, A.-H., Chen, Y. (2019). Static and Dynamic Seductive Illustration Effects on Text-and-Graphic Learning Processes, Perceptions, and Outcomes: Evidence from Eye Tracking. Applied Cognitive Psychology. Vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 109-123, doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3514

14. Baker, J.P., Goodboy, A.K., Bowman, N.D., Wright, A.A. (2018). Does Teaching with Power- Point Increase Students’ Learning? A Meta-Analysis. Computers & Education. Vol. 126, pp. 376- 387, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2018.08.003

15. Bolkan, S. (2018). Facilitating Student Attention with Multimedia Presentations: Examining the Effects of Segmented PowerPoint Presentations on Student Learning. Communication Education. Vol. 68, no. 1, pp. 1-19, doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/03634523.2018.1517895

16. Kim, H. (2018). Impact of Slide-Based Lectures on Undergraduate Students’ Learning: Mixed Effects of Accessibility to Slides, Differences in Note-Taking, and Memory Term. Computers & Education. Vol. 123, pp. 13-25, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2018.04.004

17. Stеhl, M., Kaihovirta, H. (2019). Exploring Visual Communication and Competences through Interaction with Images in Social Media. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction. Vol. 21, pp. 250-266, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2019.03.0032

18. Kostromina, S.N., Gnedykh, D.S. (2015). [Lecture with Multimedia Presentation: How to Choose the Best Visual Tools]. Otkrytoe obrazovanie = Open Education. No. 4, pp. 73-80. doi: 10.21686/1818-4243-2015-4(111-73-80 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

19. Raitskaya, L.K., Tikhonova, E.V. (2018). Perceptions of Soft Skills by Russia’s University Lecturers and Students in the Context of the World Experience. Vestnik Rossiiskogo universiteta druzhby narodov. Seriya: Psikhologiya i pedagogika = RUDN Journal of Psychology and Pedagogics. Vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 350-363, doi: https://doi.org/10.22363/2313-1683-2018-15-3-350-363 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

20. Ledbetter, A.M., Finn, A.N. (2017). Perceived Teacher Credibility and Students’ Affect as a Function of Instructors’ Use of PowerPoint and Email. Communication Education. Vol. 67, no. 1, pp. 1-21, doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/03634523.2017.1385821

21. Volkova, S.V. (2018). Phenomenology of Digital Educational Technologies. Vestnik Novosibirskogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo universiteta = Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University Bulletin. Vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 93-106, doi: https://doi.org/10.15293/2226-3365.1801.06 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

22. Lassiter, D.G., Geers, A., Munhall, P.J., Ploutz-Snyder, R.J., Breitenbecher, D.L. (2002). Illusory Causation: Why It Occurs. Psychological Science. Vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 299-305, doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0956-7976.2002..x

23. Davis, R.O. (2018). The Impact of Pedagogical Agent Gesturing in Multimedia Learning Environments: A Meta-Analysis. Educational Research Review. Vol. 24, pp. 193-209, doi: https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2018.05.002

24. Witherby, A.E., Tauber, S.K. (2019). The Current Status of Students’ Note-Taking: Why and How Do Students Take Notes? Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition. Vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 139-153, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2019.04.002

25. Polyakova-Norwood, V. (2009). Waking up from “PowerPoint-Induced Sleep”: Effective Use of PowerPoint for Teaching. USC College of Nursing. Available at: http://cgi.csulb.edu/~nmatza/powerpoint/HSc411BAssign/Course%20Docs/%20%20HSc425%20%20Docs/ppt.tips9.ppt (accessed 13.05. 2021).

26. Zhao, Y., Wang, A., Sun, Y. (2020). Technological Environment, Virtual Experience, and MOOC Continuance: A Stimulus–Organism–Response Perspective. Computers & Education. Vol. 144, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.103721

27. Shestak, N.V. (2018). Lecture in Post-Secondary Education Institution within the Context of Competence Approach. Vysshee obrazovanie v Rossii = Higher Education in Russia. Vol. 27, no. 8-9, pp. 43-53, doi: https://doi.org/10.31992/0869-3617-2018-27-8-9-43-53 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).