1. This presentation shows transformations of slides from the traditional to the assertion-evidence design
Before
This set of slides presents examples of slides that have been transformed from the traditional topic-subtopic design that is the default of PowerPoint. Presented on each transformed slide are the authors of the slide. In each case, unless specified, Michael Alley oversaw the transformation. When showing these before-and-after slides, please give credit to the authors of the transformed slides.
Please note that the slides with the blue background are instructor slides for this set of transformations and provide perspectives on the transformations.
Also, please note that these slides have been created on a PC with the XP operating system. For that reason, the animations might not work properly if displayed on a Macintosh.
Finally, although you are welcome to present these slides to your students, you should not distribute this file or post it on the web. Please direct those interested in this file to the following web-site:
After

2. Before A First Step Towards Automatic Verification of PDE Code
Hans Petter Langtangen
Ola Skaghaug
Simula Research Laboratory
Oslo, Norway
Before
Traditional title slide. No image exists on the slide to help orient the audience to the topic of the presentation. Many younger presenters will display this type of slide for only a few seconds, not enough time to orient the audience to the topic. In such situations, the visual aid does not aid the audience.

3. A First Step Towards Automatic Verification of PDE Code
Hans Petter Langtangen
Ola Skaghaug
Simula Research Laboratory
Oslo, Norway
Revised title slide. The image gives the presenter the opportunity to make a connection between the details of the title and the screen capture shown on the slide. The typography is also easier for the audience to read, especially those sitting at an angle to the screen.
Reference
Hans Petter Langtangen and Ola Skaghaug, “A First Step Towards Automatic Verfication of PDE Code,” presentation (Oslo, Norway: Simula Research Laboratory, March 2003).

4. Before
Traditional mapping slide. No assertion exists of this slide to put the contents of the presentation into perspective. Also, no images exist on the slide to help make the contents memorable.

5. This presentation shows the evolution from a manual environment to one that is automated
somewhat manual
MATLAB
Python
automated
Fortran 77
C++
Revised mapping slide. The sentence headline states the scope of the presentation and the body of the slide presents the contents in a memorable fashion..
Reference
Ola Skavhaug, Konrad Hinsen, Hans Petter Langtangen, “using Python for High-Level Scientific Programming,” presentation (Oslo, Norway: Simula Research Laboratory, March 2003).
manual

6. Before
Traditional mapping slide. No assertion exists of this slide to put the contents of the presentation into perspective. Also, no images exist on the slide to help make the contents memorable. Moreover, the list of contents is way too long for anyone to remember. People remember lists of twos, threes, and fours.
Finally, the background is distracting and does not aid in understanding the content.

7. This presentation compares methods for reducing emissions of sulfur dioxide from coal power plants
This slide provides a counter-example to the weak example on the previous slide. This counter example, from a different technical presentation about the same topic, is designed for the audience, rather than the speaker. The slide is discussed on pages 59 and in The Craft of Scientific Presentations (Springer, 2002).
The animation on this slide serves to map the topics for this portion of the talk: what to include on slides and the equally important question of what not to include.
Reference:
Cynthia Schmidt, “Methods to Reduce Sulfur Dioxide Emissions from Coal-Fired Utilities,” presentation (Austin, TX: Mechanical Engineering Department, 8 December 1989).

8. Before
Traditional slide. Not memorable. Often, the projection of such a slide is accompanied by the tiresome reading of bullet points by the speaker. No real connections are made among the details.

9. Converting an analog signal to a digital signal requires a sampling of the signal
Hardware converts analog signal to digital
Accelerometer outputs an analog voltage
Revised slide. The sentence headline states the assertion for this part of the presentation and orients the audience to the purpose of this visual aid. The slide’s body then supports this assertion visually. This presentation slide is much more memorable than the original. Also, for an audience reviewing this slide in a set of notes, the sentence-assertion headline orients the audience much better than the original phrase headline does to the role of the slide in the presentation.
Reference:
Robertshaw, Harry, “Class Period 15: Signals and Systems,” classroom presentation in ME 4005 (Blacksburg, VA: Virginia Tech, 16 March 2004).
Computer samples a number of points
Data is exported to popular applications
Excel

10. Before
Traditional slide from the middle of a presentation. Not memorable. Often, the projection of such a slide is accompanied by the tiresome reading of bullet points by the speaker. No real connections are made among the details.

11. Although researchers give validation more attention, validation requires successful verification
Is the PDE model appropriate?
Do we solve the right equations?
Verification
Are the numerical models correctly implemented?
Do we solve the right equations?
Revised slide. The sentence headline states the assertion for this part of the presentation and orients the audience to the purpose of this visual aid. The body then supports this assertion visually.
Note that some people say that they cannot come up with visual evidence for their work. This slide is a nice example of how, even when no photo, drawing, or graph exists, words can be arranged visually.
Reference
Hans Petter Langtangen and Ola Skaghaug, “A First Step Towards Automatic Verfication of PDE Code,” presentation (Oslo, Norway: Simula Research Laboratory, March 2003).

12. Before Iron An abundant metal, makes up 5.6% of earth’s crust
Properties:
shaped, sharpened, welded
strong, durable
Accounts for >95% of metals used
Iron ores discovered in 1844 in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
Soon found other ores in upper Wisconsin and Minnesota
Iron Ore Distribution
Before
Sample slide from Fall 2004 section of a geoscience course taught by Dr. Madeline Schreiber at Virginia Tech. This slide follows the traditional slide design, which Professor Schreiber used until learning the sentence-assertion design. The reference [Kesler, 1994] gives credit to the illustration on that slide. For a discussion, see the reference below.
Reference:
Michael Alley, Madeline Schreiber, Katrina Ramsdell, and John Muffo, “How the Design of Headlines in Presentation Slides Affects Audience Retention,” Technical Communication, vol. 53, no. 4 (May 2006), pp
Kesler 1994

13. Where is the largest concentration of iron ores in North America?
Iron ores make up 5.6% of the earth’s crust and account for 95% of the metals used
Where is the largest concentration of iron ores in North America?
Iron ore [
Can be shaped, sharpened, and welded
Is strong and durable
Iron
Corresponding slide for Fall 2005 section of a geoscience course taught by Dr. Madeline Schreiber at Virginia Tech. This slide follows the slide design of a sentence assertion supported by visual evidence. The reference [Kesler, 1994] gives credit to the illustration on that slide. For a discussion, see the reference below.
Reference:
Michael Alley, Madeline Schreiber, Katrina Ramsdell, and John Muffo, “How the Design of Headlines in Presentation Slides Affects Audience Retention,” Technical Communication, vol. 53, no. 4 (May 2006), pp
Iron Ore Distribution
[Kesler 1994]

14. Students learning from the transformed slide scored higher on an identical test question
Q: How abundant is iron in the earth’s crust?
This slide presents a test case from an experimental study that validates the assertion-headline design. Other examples are given at the end of this talk. For a discussion, see the reference below.
Reference:
Michael Alley, Madeline Schreiber, Katrina Ramsdell, and John Muffo, “How the Design of Headlines in Presentation Slides Affects Audience Retention,” Technical Communication, vol. 53, no. 4 (May 2006), pp
Led to 59% recall
Led to 77% recall
p < 0.001
[Alley et al., 2006]

15. Before
Sample slide from Fall 2004 section of a geoscience course taught by Dr. Madeline Schreiber at Virginia Tech. This slide follows the traditional slide design, which Professor Schreiber used until learning the sentence-assertion design. For a discussion, see the reference below.
Reference:
Michael Alley, Madeline Schreiber, Katrina Ramsdell, and John Muffo, “How the Design of Headlines in Presentation Slides Affects Audience Retention,” Technical Communication, vol. 53, no. 4 (May 2006), pp

16. Although the U.S. has 5% of the world's population, we use an average of 30% of all resources
Corresponding slide for Fall 2005 section of a geoscience course taught by Dr. Madeline Schreiber at Virginia Tech. This slide follows the slide design of a sentence assertion supported by visual evidence. For a discussion, see the reference below.
Reference:
Michael Alley, Madeline Schreiber, Katrina Ramsdell, and John Muffo, “How the Design of Headlines in Presentation Slides Affects Audience Retention,” Technical Communication, vol. 53, no. 4 (May 2006), pp
United States use of specific resources
(percentage of worldwide use)

17. Q: Percentage of world’s resources that the U.S. uses?
Students learning from the transformed slide scored higher on an identical test question
Q: Percentage of world’s resources that the U.S. uses?
This slide presents a test case from an experimental study that validates the assertion-headline design. For a discussion, see the reference below.
Reference:
Michael Alley, Madeline Schreiber, Katrina Ramsdell, and John Muffo, “How the Design of Headlines in Presentation Slides Affects Audience Retention,” Technical Communication, vol. 53, no. 4 (May 2006), pp
Led to 71% correct
Led to 82% correct
p < 0.025
[Alley et al., 2006]

18. Before
Sample slide from Fall 2004 section of a geoscience course taught by Dr. Madeline Schreiber at Virginia Tech. This slide follows the traditional slide design, which Professor Schreiber used until learning the sentence-assertion design. For a discussion, see the reference below.
Reference:
Michael Alley, Madeline Schreiber, Katrina Ramsdell, and John Muffo, “How the Design of Headlines in Presentation Slides Affects Audience Retention,” Technical Communication, vol. 53, no. 4 (May 2006), pp

19. Plates move because of convection caused by heat from decay of radioactive elements in the mantle
Ocean
Corresponding slide for Fall 2005 section of a geoscience course taught by Dr. Madeline Schreiber at Virginia Tech. This slide follows the slide design of a sentence assertion supported by visual evidence. For a discussion, see the reference below.
Reference:
Michael Alley, Madeline Schreiber, Katrina Ramsdell, and John Muffo, “How the Design of Headlines in Presentation Slides Affects Audience Retention,” Technical Communication, vol. 53, no. 4 (May 2006), pp
Uranium and Thorium are large “unstable” atoms
break down to produce smaller atoms, heat, and radioactivity
[Miller, 2004]

20. Q: Heat source for movement of lithospheric plates?
Students learning from the transformed slide scored higher on an identical test question
Q: Heat source for movement of lithospheric plates?
This slide presents a test case from an experimental study that validates the assertion-headline design. Other examples are given at the end of this talk. For a discussion, see the reference below.
Reference:
Michael Alley, Madeline Schreiber, Katrina Ramsdell, and John Muffo, “How the Design of Headlines in Presentation Slides Affects Audience Retention,” Technical Communication, vol. 53, no. 4 (May 2006), pp
Led to 54% correct
Led to 86% correct
p < .001
[Alley et al., 2006]

21. Fossil Fuels: Who has what?
Before
Sample slide from Fall 2004 section of a geoscience course taught by Dr. Madeline Schreiber at Virginia Tech. This slide follows the traditional slide design, which Professor Schreiber used until learning the sentence-assertion design. For a discussion, see the reference below.
Reference:
Michael Alley, Madeline Schreiber, Katrina Ramsdell, and John Muffo, “How the Design of Headlines in Presentation Slides Affects Audience Retention,” Technical Communication, vol. 53, no. 4 (May 2006), pp

22. OPEC countries control about 75% of the world’s oil
Corresponding slide for Fall 2005 section of a geoscience course taught by Dr. Madeline Schreiber at Virginia Tech. This slide follows the slide design of a sentence assertion supported by visual evidence. For a discussion, see the reference below.
Reference:
Michael Alley, Madeline Schreiber, Katrina Ramsdell, and John Muffo, “How the Design of Headlines in Presentation Slides Affects Audience Retention,” Technical Communication, vol. 53, no. 4 (May 2006), pp

23. Q: Percentage of oil that non-OPEC countries control?
Students learning from the transformed slide scored higher on an identical test question
Q: Percentage of oil that non-OPEC countries control?
This slide presents a test case from an experimental study that validates the assertion-headline design. Other examples are given at the end of this talk. For a discussion, see the reference below.
Reference:
Michael Alley, Madeline Schreiber, Katrina Ramsdell, and John Muffo, “How the Design of Headlines in Presentation Slides Affects Audience Retention,” Technical Communication, vol. 53, no. 4 (May 2006), pp
Led to 63% correct
Led to 81% correct
p < .001
[Alley et al., 2006]