Improving Student Presentations

Abstract

Students often use PowerPoint for presentations. Pecha Kucha was introduced as an alternative type of PowerPoint presentation. Pecha Kucha is a fast-paced presentation style that forces students to focus on their message with automated, 20-second slides. Three studies, including a pilot, examined whether Pecha Kucha enhanced the quality of student presentations as compared to traditional PowerPoint presentations. In a pilot study, students chose their presentation style; those who selected Pecha Kucha had higher quality presentations than did those who used a traditional PowerPoint presentation. When randomly assigned to presentation styles, student presentation quality did not differ. In another experimental study, when students presented using both styles, Pecha Kucha presentations were rated higher than were those using traditional PowerPoint. The results suggest that Pecha Kucha is a new, useful presentation style for students.