Facilitating student attention with multimedia presentations: examining the effects of segmented PowerPoint presentations on student learning

ABSTRACTThis study examined students’ ability to select and pay attention to appropriate learning material when exposed to an instructional lesson delivered with an animated PowerPoint presentation (i.e., information presented one part at a time instead of all at once). A total of 169 students were randomly assigned to watch a multimedia presentation that included either animated information or information presented in full, and were asked to respond to measures assessing their ability to select the appropriate material and its perceived task value. After this was complete, students took a multiple-choice test related to the lesson. Students in the animated condition who were very low, low, or average on the measure of task value scored approximately one fifth to one half of a letter grade higher (i.e., about 2–4%) on their tests. Results indicated this was because these students were better able to select and pay attention to appropriate learning material.