Have you ever reviewed someone’s instructional materials and wondered how to gently tell them that, well, they are terrible?
One way to go about it is to reference research and theory, so it isn’t personal. A favorite of mine is Richard Mayer’s Principles of Multimedia Learning. These principles provide a nice way to support the following thoughts:
- “So many words on that slide! Visuals, please!”
- “Too many ideas on that one slide!”
- “Ugh, the busy design, the animations, make them stop!”
- “Information overload! Break it up, pare it down!“
- “You sound like a stuffy academic instead of the awesome person you are! Keep it informal. Ditch the jargon!”
- “Yes, you are very photogenic, but can I please see a visual instead of your face?”
Instructional materials such as videos or PowerPoints can make or break what you teach. Take the time to do them well.
Check out the article How to use Mayer’s 12 Principle of Multimedia, which summarizes Mayer’s principles nicely. If you want to go straight to the source, the MSU library has you covered. Check out Mayer’s book Multimedia Learning (2009), Cambridge University Press.