These presentations are used in practically any setting, ranging from academia (from K-12 schooling, and post-secondary schooling), business, government, and the military.

Where PowerPoints are Used

Research has found that students learned more subject material from PowerPoint presentations, than from chapter summaries, yet similar research found no noticeable distinction between PowerPoint presentations and other forms of media (such as overhead projectors, and blackboards). Other research has actually found that PowerPoints impair learning, and that student recalled more verbal information from a traditional lecture than they did when information was presented used a PowerPoint-based lecture.

Inconsistent Results Regarding PowerPoints

There are eight elements in a quality PowerPoint presentation, and these elements are key in making sure that the presentation is worthwhile and will maintain the attention of the people watching the presentation. These elements are broken up into 3 broader categories: Encoding Processes, Working Memory, and Accessing Long-Term Memory.

Principles of a Quality PowerPoint

An analysis of PowerPoint presentations was done through a recent experiment, which was broken up into three focus areas: 
Study 1: The frequency of which certain principles are broken.
Study 2: What participants found to be inefficient in the PowerPoint presentations they’ve encountered in the last year.
Study 3: The ability or inability for participants to recognize which principles were being violated on certain slides.
Then, participants were shown slides that violated principles, and asked to point out the violated principle, and define which principle was violated. This description was centered on the first and third focus areas. The second focus area was experimented on by asking participants what problems that they encountered with PowerPoints they had seen in the last year. 

The Experiment Regarding the Psychological Analysis of PowerPoint Presentations

A presentation supplement by, or based on, a set of photographic slides and/or projected images. They typically presented in a pre-determined order, meant to educate viewer on some concept.

Ohio State University, Columbus

The way(s) in which a teacher aids in student learning. There are a wide range of strategies used for both full groups and individuals. 

Teaching Strategies

Salkind, N. J., &amp; Rasmussen, K. (Eds.). (2008). Learning Strategies . In Encyclopedia of educational psychology (1st ed., pp. 592–597). essay, SAGE. 

Encyclopedia of Educational Psychology (2008). Salkind

A pedagogical strategy in which the support from a teacher is gradually taken away as a way to facilitate independent learning.

Instructional Scaffolding

A collaborative setting in which people work together to achieve a common goal. 

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