As a means of enhancing students’ aesthetic awareness and skill in the creation of presentation visuals, this activity uses a small group, problem solving approach to deconstruct and then reconstruct slide show content. By grounding design choices in principles of color and visual theory and using samples of actual ineffective slides and/or of raw content from written sources, each team analyzes and devises a brief but “well-constructed” slide show by coordinating key factors (e.g. enhancement to message, adaptation to audience’s sensibilities, effective aesthetic design).

Ultimately, each team reveals its creation and explains the structural, aesthetic, and software choices. This activity, which can be adjusted to a wide variety of class sizes and session-lengths, accomplishes several additional pedagogical objectives, including: collaborative learning, critical analysis, and the opportunity for practice in presenting with visual aids.