{"id":11738,"date":"2022-04-07T13:55:53","date_gmt":"2022-04-07T13:55:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/citejournal.org\/\/\/"},"modified":"2022-09-02T20:11:50","modified_gmt":"2022-09-02T20:11:50","slug":"preservice-elementary-teachers-use-of-text-on-slides-to-support-planned-instruction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citejournal.org\/volume-22\/issue-2-22\/general\/preservice-elementary-teachers-use-of-text-on-slides-to-support-planned-instruction","title":{"rendered":"Preservice Elementary Teachers\u2019 Use of Text on Slides to Support Planned Instruction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The past two decades have seen a rapid infusion of digital learning technologies in classroom instruction. Digital projectors, interactive whiteboards, and large touchscreens are common forms of technology available for use in elementary classrooms today (National Science Board, 2018). One way that teachers employ these technologies is by creating slides that can be projected and used during instruction. Common classroom slideware programs include presentation software such as PowerPoint, Prezi, and Google Slides, as well as proprietary software specifically designed to be used with interactive whiteboards such as SMART Notebook (SMART, 2021) and ClassFlow (ClassFlow, 2021). Multiple studies have documented that slideware, particularly freely available presentation slideware such as Google Slides, is frequently used in elementary classrooms by both practicing teachers (e.g., Karsenti, 2016; Kenny, 2011; Ponce et al., 2018; Putra et al., 2019; Sheffield, 2015) and teacher candidates (e.g., Polly & Binns, 2018).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this body of research offers verification that slideware technology is used to support instruction, few studies offer a detailed description of what the slides look like when used with young students (see Bourbour, 2020, and Ponce et al., 2018, for exceptions). Instead, much of the research describing specific ways slideware is used in classroom instruction has been conducted in lecture halls at the university level (Baker et al., 2018; Garner & Alley, 2013; Mayer, 2020; Smith-Peavler et al., 2019).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Based on this research, useful guidelines for slide design have been developed to assist those who develop lectures for adults. Yet these guidelines do not account for the specific ways in which elementary teachers must design slides to ensure that slide content is appropriate for young learners (Roblyer & Bennett, 2001). In addition, and central to this study, research does not offer insight into how to design slides that support the more student-centered and interactive forms of instruction expected of elementary teachers (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2013; Major & Warwick, 2019). As a result, much uncertainty exists about how slides are used to assist instruction at the elementary level, how they should be used, and what preservice teachers need to learn about slide design to use this technology effectively once in their own classrooms (Baker et al., 2018). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Using slides effectively <\/em>in instruction requires more from teachers than simply putting content on slides and then projecting those slides using classroom hardware (Brumberger, 2011). Slide content can include text, photographs, clipart, videos, animations, and GIFs. When designing their own slides, teachers must choose appropriate content both in terms of its type and its message (Eustler, 2021; Lee & Jones, 2018; Little, 2015; Ruiz-Gallardo et al., 2019).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Teachers also must intentionally arrange content on the slides so that it supports their instructional goals as well as their students\u2019 learning (Little, 2015; Roblyer & Bennett, 2001; Sosa, 2009). In other words, teachers must attend both to the function<\/em> and the form <\/em>of the content included on slides and understand how both aspects can productively contribute to or undermine their instructional intentions (Little, 2015).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For preservice elementary teachers (PSETs), understanding how to navigate slide design requires visual literacy skills, or the ability to understand, communicate with, and ethically use visual materials (Kedra, 2018). Research indicates that visual literacy must be taught actively and is not acquired simply through exposure to visuals or through use of technologies that support the production of visual media, including slideware (Averginou & Pettersson, 2011; Brumberger, 2011; Sadik, 2011). A growing body of literature recognizes the need for developing teachers\u2019 visual literacy skills during their teacher education coursework (Alpan, 2015; Anderson et al., 2021; Brumberger, 2019; Eustler, 2021; Little, 2015; Roblyer & Bennett, 2001).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Research on preservice and in-service teachers\u2019 visual literacy skills has suggested that teachers find it challenging to choose or design visual models that accurately convey intended messages (Johnson, 2013; Lee & Jones, 2018; Ruiz-Gallardo et al., 2019), to incorporate a variety of types of content (Eustler, 2021), and to use design elements such as color and spacing effectively (Alpan, 2015; Yeh & Lohr, 2010). An emerging body of research demonstrates that explicit instruction in visual literacy skills improves teachers\u2019 abilities to design and use visual media in their instruction (Huilcapi-Collantes et al., 2020; Sadik, 2011; Yeh & Cheng, 2010; Yeh & Lohr, 2010).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This study aimed to contribute to this growing area of research by exploring the ways that PSETs used text on slides designed for use during whole-group mathematics instruction. Slide text is of interest, in part, because it is easy to for PSETs to incorporate into slides and commonly featured on slides used in instruction at the university level (Uzun & Kilis, 2019). However, the emerging reading abilities of elementary students makes the use of slide text of questionable value in PK-5 instruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since few studies has been published on the specific ways in which PSETs are designing slides, the data are unclear as to what extent PSETs are using slide text and their reasons for doing so. It is unclear what, if anything, PSETs need to learn (or perhaps, unlearn<\/em>) about using text to design slides that effectively support their instructional goals and their students\u2019 learning. Understanding the PSETs\u2019 existing knowledge and visual literacy practices can help teacher educators create lessons that build on preservice teachers\u2019 knowledge of slideware and address their learning needs. As such, the following research question guided this study: What was the function and form of text on slides designed by preservice elementary teachers for use in whole group mathematics instruction?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Visual Literacy Skills and Competency Standards<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In the Association of College and Resource Libraries (ACRL, 2011) Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education,<\/em> visual literacy was defined as \u201ca set of abilities that enables an individual to effectively find, interpret, evaluate, use, and create images and visual media\u201d (para. 2). Much of the published work related to visual literacy has been theoretical in nature, devoted to proposing frameworks and models to understand and define visual literacy (Avgerinou & Pettersson, 2011; Brumberger, 2019; Kedra, 2018). Kedra contended that visual literacy research should focus less on defining visual literacy and more on developing a practical understanding of the visual literacy skills that are necessary in different contexts. Building on Kedra\u2019s proposal, Brumberger recommended that the Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education<\/em> be used as a starting point for such research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education<\/em> offer useful descriptors of many of the skills required of K-12 teachers when they create slides (Huilcapi-Collantes et al., 2020). In particular, Standards 1, 5, and 6 are directly related to the work of selecting and creating visual media and materials (see Table 1). These competency standards specify that the visually literate preservice teacher should be able to articulate the purpose<\/em> of content included on a slide, define the audience<\/em> for that content, use different types<\/em> of visuals, and ensure that the types of visuals chosen are aligned<\/em> with the different purposes and audiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Table 1<\/strong> Selected Visual Literacy Competencies Related to Creating Visual Media<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The visually literate higher education student determines the nature and extent of the visual materials needed \n (Standard 1)<\/td>
The visually literate higher education student defines and articulates the need for an image<\/td>
The visually literate higher education student: \n - Defines the purpose of the image within the project (e.g., illustration, evidence, primary source, focus of analysis, critique, commentary) \n - Defines the scope (e.g., reach, audience) and environment (e.g., academic environment, open web) of the planned image use<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\t
The visually literate higher education student uses images and visual media effectively \n (Standard 5)<\/td>
The visually literate higher education student uses images effectively for different purposes<\/td>
The visually literate higher education student: \n - Plans for strategic use of images and visual media within a project \n - Selects appropriate images and visual media aligned with a project\u2019s purpose \n - Integrates images into projects purposefully, considering meaning, aesthetic criteria, visual impact, and audience \n - Uses images for a variety of purposes (e.g., as illustrations, evidence, visual models, primary sources, focus of analysis) \n - Uses images for subject-specific and interdisciplinary research, communication, and learning\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\t
The visually literate higher education student designs and creates meaningful images and visual media (Standard 6)<\/td>
The visually literate higher education student produces visual materials for a range of projects and scholarly uses<\/td>
The visually literate higher education student: \n - Produces images and visual media for a defined audience \n - Aligns visual content with the overall purpose of a project<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\t
<\/td>
<\/td>
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\t
Note. <\/em>Adapted from the ACRL Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education<\/em>by the American Library Association, 2011 (http:\/\/www.ala.org\/acrl\/standards\/visualliteracy). Copyright 2011 by the American Library Association.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n
One shortcoming of the ACRL (2011) competency standards is they indicate that aesthetic criteria must be considered when selecting and designing visual media but do not describe the specific skills required to design visual content that it is easily understood and appropriate for use in classroom settings. In 2001, Roblyer and Bennett proposed a set of required visual literacy skills for teachers (summarized in Table 2). Like the ACRL competency standards, Roblyer and Bennett noted that the function<\/em> of content is important for teachers to consider, emphasizing that visual content must be relevant, accurate, and age appropriate. However, in comparison to the ACRL competency standards, Roblyer and Bennett offered a more detailed description of the ways teachers must attend to the form<\/em> of visual content, including taking into consideration the amount of content, its layout, and how design elements such as color and font choice can impact students\u2019 understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several of the guidelines are specific to the use of text, including the need for teachers to limit the amount of text on slides, choose font styles and colors that are easy to read, and limit the number of different fonts used. Thus, for the purposes of this study, Roblyer and Bennett\u2019s (2001) list usefully supplements the Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education <\/em>by detailing design considerations that are of particular importance to teachers and relevant to use of slide text in classrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Table 2<\/strong> Visual Literacy Skills Needed for Teachers to Create and Use Visual Media in Instruction<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n
\n\t
Teacher Skills<\/strong><\/th>
Subskills<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n\n
\n\t
The visually literate teacher selects materials that have good visual literacy attributes<\/td>
The visually literate teacher: \n - Determines if adequate numbers of visuals are included to help students visualize concepts \n - Reviews visuals for age-appropriateness \n - Analyzes visuals to determine if they are relevant, clear, and accurate \n - Scrutinizes visual images to determine if they communicate unintended messages<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\t
The visually literate teacher produces materials that meet basic visual literacy standards<\/td>
The visually literate teacher: \n - Chooses fonts that are easy to read \n - Limits the number of different fonts \n - Selects appropriate font size \n - Incorporates color for interest and choose contrasting background and text colors for easy legibility \n - Follows the left-to-right reading pattern when laying out materials \n - Limits the number of words and lines on slides \n - Uses white space for separation and emphasis of concepts \n - Presents one concept or idea per slide \n - Uses visuals tied to the topic rather than extraneous clipart<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\t
Note<\/em>. Adapted from \u201cThe fifth literacy: Research to support a mandate for technology-based visual literacy in preservice teacher education\u201d by M. D. Roblyer and E. K. Bennett, 2001, Journal of Computing in Teacher Education<\/em>, 17<\/em>(2), pp. 8-15. Copyright 2001 by the International Society for Technology in Education. <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n
The framework used to guide this study synthesizes elements from both Roblyer and Bennett\u2019s (2001) list of visual literacy skills for teachers and the Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education,<\/em> since neither was fully representative of the kinds of skills that preservice teachers need to design slides effectively for use in their instruction. The synthesized frame work names five areas of competency that the visually literate preservice teacher must draw upon to design effective slides (see Table 3). These competencies are organized based on the categories of function and form to emphasize that the visually literate preservice teacher must attend to both aspects when creating slides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The visually literate preservice teacher uses slide content (e.g., text, images, video) effectively for different purposes<\/strong>. <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\t
<\/td>
The visually literate preservice teacher aligns slide content with the needs of the audience<\/strong>for that content (e.g., age-appropriateness, relevance, clarity).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\t
Form<\/td>
The visually literate teacher uses a variety of types<\/strong> of visual content in their slides (e.g., text, clipart, photograph, chart, diagram, gif, animation, video).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\t
<\/td>
The visually literate preservice teacher limits the amount<\/strong> of content included on each slide.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\t
<\/td>
The visually literate preservice teacher considers aesthetic criteria<\/strong> when integrating content into slides (e.g., color choices, size of font and images, slide layout).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n
Literature Review<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
To date, no detailed investigation of preservice elementary teachers\u2019 use of slide text to support their planned instruction has been conducted. However, research on the use of slides by university instructors in combination with research on the use of interactive whiteboards by K-12 teachers together offer useful insights into ways in which slide text may both impede and support effective instruction. The following sections offer a brief overview of pertinent findings from these two bodies of literature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Slide Text Should Complement Images<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Research on the use of slide text to support lectures or presentations suggests that text is most effective when it complements<\/em> (rather than repeats or replaces) information conveyed orally in a presentation or visually on the slide (Fenesi & Kim, 2014; Garner & Alley, 2013; Mayer, 2020; Smith-Peavler et al., 2019). Mayer explained that slide text duplicating a presenter\u2019s spoken words can negatively impact students\u2019 understanding of the content of the presentation, because written and spoken words are both processed in the language regions of the brain and, thus, can interfere with one another when presented in tandem. Rather than using slide text to communicate information, Mayer emphasized the importance of incorporating images into slides when the goal of instruction is the communication of information. However, his research also demonstrated that slide text can be a useful partner for images when it is used in intentional ways, particularly when text is used to highlight (or signal) key information or when labels are placed next to graphics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Slide Text May Support Instructors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
While numerous studies have identified instructors reading bullet points of text to students as a problematic use of slideware from the students\u2019 point-of-view (e.g., Hill et al., 2012; Mayer, 2020; Yilmazel-Sahin, 2009), some studies suggest that that ability to use slide text to \u201cscript\u201d instruction may be considered a benefit of slideware from the point-of-view of the instructor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Surveys of university instructors\u2019 perceptions of the benefits of slideware found that instructors appreciate the ways that slide text can serve as a memory aid for the instructor, keep instruction focused, and help ensure that instruction proceeds as planned (Hight et al., 2013; Hill et al., 2012). A pair of studies on the ways scholars use PowerPoint suggest that the ability to use slide text as a memory aid may be particularly appreciated by novices and anxious presenters (Hertz et al. 2015, 2016).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hertz et al. (2015) found that presenters they identified as \u201cbeginners\u201d included nearly twice as much text in their slide decks as compared to the slide decks of more advanced presenters. In a follow-up study, the same researchers found that anxious presenters used more slide text than those who reported less speaking anxiety and tended to use their slides as \u201cspeaking notes\u201d during their presentations (Hertz et al., 2016, p. 356). The researchers concluded that the novices and anxious presenters included additional slide text to help overcome their anxiety toward presenting. They also speculated that beginners, in particular, \u201cmay be less aware of their use of a relatively large number of words, because they probably have seen many presentations of their peers who use similar quantities of text\u201d (Hertz et al., 2015, p. 284). Their findings validate concerns raised by earlier researchers and theorists that unskilled or novice presenters will use slide text as a tool to help themselves without a clear understanding of or regard for its impact on their audience (Adams, 2006; Farkas, 2005). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Slide Text May Support a Variety of Instructional Practices<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
One concern about slide text as an instructional aid is that it has the potential to support a teacher-centered, transmission model of teaching and learning, particularly when teachers read bullet points of text to students during instruction (Adams, 2006). While there is evidence that many university instructors use text in this manner (Uzun & Kilis, 2019), there is also evidence that slide text can prompt or support students\u2019 active engagement in a lesson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For instance, slide text can be used as the focal point for a discussion (Elliott & Gordon, 2006; Major & Warwick, 2019) and to display key vocabulary (Murcia, 2010). Text also can be used to embed questions about key lesson points into slideware presentations, thereby creating opportunities for students to engage with the presented material (Elliot & Gordon, 2006; Gier & Kreiner; 2009; Murcia & Sheffield, 2010; Valdez, 2013). Finally, when used in partnership with an interactive whiteboard, text can be used to annotate other content or capture students\u2019 ideas and contributions to a lesson in real-time (Beauchamp & Kennewell, 2013; Ponce et al., 2018).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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