Pecha Kucha in the Classroom

Classroom presentations often seem like a good idea. After all, why not give students a chance to share their thoughts, engage their classmates in quality conversations, and earn valuable experience? Then it happens. The class falls victim to a well researched, but over-the-top presentation where as much text as possible is squished onto the screen.

Death by PowerPoint

So many words in tiny font size engulf the screen that everyone feels certain that it will be impossible to read all of them. Of course, everyone is totally wrong. The presenter feels the need to read each and every morsel of text until the class is sure they just can’t take anymore. Then our well-prepared presenter clicks over to the next screen—which is also full of text. And the horrible cycle beings all over again.

Comedian Don McMillan calls this phenomenon “Death by PowerPoint.” He cleverly describes the many pitfalls of PowerPoint, including overused text, poor choice of font size, crazy moving fonts, excessive bullet pointing, distracting animations, and much, much more. The tool that once seemed so helpful now has the potential to kill the classroom experience.

Some may give up on PowerPoint altogether and opt for the Prezi. Others may offer their students tips on ways to more effectively use PowerPoint. I have seen the value of having my students create PowerPoint presentations called Pecha Kuchas. They are extremely effective because they are timed and encourage students to judiciously choose text and images.

Pecha Whatcha?

If you felt lost when you read “Pecha Kucha,” never fear! Pecha Kucha is a Japanese phrase that means “chit chat.” People disagree on the pronunciation of “Pecha Kucha,” but this video claims to settle the debate by offering the pronunciation “Peh-Cha Koo-Cha.”

Pecha Kuchas are PowerPoint presentations that consist of 20 slides. Each slide is timed to appear for only 20 seconds. Therefore the total time for a Pecha Kucha is 6 minutes and 40 seconds. That means that students will have to organize their talks to effectively manage transitions.

The idea for Pecha Kucha arose when two architects wanted to have designers share their ideas. Knowing the tendency of architects be verbose, they came up with the Pecha Kucha strategy. A number of great ideas could be shared by many people in a short amount of time. The constraints actually led to more creativity. Groups throughout the world now participate in Pecha Kucha nights. Pecha Kucha seems like a great assignment for the classroom, but can it really work?

 Pecha Kucha in the Classroom

I have seen Pecha Kucha work well in the classroom. In addition to helping students better manage pictures and text, I find that Pecha Kuchas encourage them to think about a topic in a different way. They have to define their main point and strive to use images that reinforce their idea.

Many of them are initially afraid of the assignment, but almost all of them claim to enjoy the experience. Perhaps that’s because they have to prepare for their Pecha Kucha and practice their timing. They can’t wait until the last minute and throw something together. Pecha Kuchas can actually build confidence and create a better learning experience for the presenter and the audience.

In spite of the horror story I led with, most of my students are actually good presenters. That’s why they need to be challenged in a different way. Pecha Kucha makes students more deliberate about formulating their presentations. Furthermore, the time limit forces them to remove the extraneous points that often survive the editing of many presentations.

Pecha How’d Ya?

So how can an instructor go about incorporating Pecha Kucha in the classroom? First, provide students with an assignment prompt containing enough specificity for focused work as well as the flexibility necessary to foster creativity. Perhaps a Wisdom Literature course could feature a Pecha Kucha that asks students to share the best advice they ever received.

Before giving this assignment, instructors should try their hand at creating a Pecha Kucha in order to demonstrate their best teaching practices. Fortunately, YouTube has several Pecha Kuchas on how to create a Pecha Kucha. This video offers ideas on how to make the most of the experience while this video provides lots of good advice on planning a Pecha Kucha.

After reviewing the format, the presentation needs to be developed. Perhaps the instructor will choose to discuss the wisdom of “Finishing Strong.” This two-word topic offers a number of choices for images. Pictures of finish lines, marathons, and auto racing could be chosen. A picture of Moses staring longingly into the Promised Land could appear on one slide. The next slide could provide a nice contrast by featuring Joshua looking into the Promised Land. The images could be reinforced by facts about why so many pastors quit after only a few years in the ministry.

The Power of Pecha Kucha

Instructors who create their own Pecha Kuchas may discover that they occasionally want to use them to begin class. The short duration of the presentation has the ability to draw students into the subject. The Pecha Kucha introduces the basic topic, serving as a springboard to a more extended presentation or other activity. Pecha Kuchas done by students or instructors could create many opportunities for quality conversations. Of course, keep in mind that the questions must come after the completion of the Pecha Kucha. The time limit prevents interruptions.

The time limit also offers the chance for many students to present their ideas during one class session. Pecha Kucha days could be a welcome relief to students weary of lectures, exams, and papers. Scheduling one or two Pecha Kuchas for a seminar style course could create a much needed change of pace that promotes learning.

I have also seen the value of Pecha Kucha for making longer presentations better. In a Leadership in the Bible course, students were assigned a Pecha Kucha and a longer presentation. The Pecha Kucha experience improved the extended presentations because students became more aware of ways to get the most out of PowerPoint.

Petcha Gotcha!

Finally, the Pecha Kuchas turned out to be a lot of fun. One student even incorporated a Pecha Kucha game into her long presentation. She chose to speak about improvisational leadership, encouraging her fellow seminary students to embrace the power of improv. She had her classmates participate in a game called “Pecha Gotcha!”

She gathered teams of two, gave them a basic theme, and then set the Pecha Kucha in motion. Partners switched back and forth after each slide, describing images they had not previously seen. Their classmates enjoyed watching them struggle to make up things as unexpected images appeared.

Have you got Pecha Kucha? If not, then incorporate it into you lesson plans today! It may be the best 6 minutes and 40 seconds of a student’s semester!

Photo Credit: “IMG_3837.JPG” by 準建築人手札網站 Forgemi– CC by 2.0

  [sociallocker] [/sociallocker]

 

Add to favorites