Escaping Powerpoint Purgatory - Breaking the Chalk-Talk-Chain

I’ve been watching with great interest how new AI tools are purporting to be the best new solution for teachers. Teachers show me ‘new and innovative’ ways of working that they have designed in a snap with the support of AI tools without realising that their ‘future lens’ is accidentally facing the wrong way. It seems ironic that we can be on the brink of future-focused learning and have amazing technology to support us to rethink and redesign what training and learning experiences feel like, yet we are accidentally going backwards with more chalk and talk, more snap-made powerpoints and more regurgitative boring experiences.

Soundbytes from the shop floor include: “AI is so great - I don’t even have to think anymore!”, “Chalkie made me this Powerpoint in two minutes”, “I designed a full course in half an hour!” and so on… concerning indeed.

If we think we are innovating but we are still offering teacher-centred experiences tied to the whiteboard and screen - then we are probably not really innovating. Sure, we can make slides in a jiffy - but at what cost?

There has been a lot in the news lately about the cognitive decline caused by out-sourcing our thinking. We know that when AI writes the essay for us, our own understanding of the content has not been changed or challenged. We also know that, just like any muscle, if we don’t use it we lose it. So what does that mean for people who are outsourcing their learning design to AI Powerpoints? It is quick. Yes. But is it good? Is it engaging? Does it really target the productive struggle we all so desperately need to build muscle and master better cognition?

Currently I’m working with a company to overhaul a suite of learning resources for courses and provide contemporary pedagogy support to re-engage learners. What I’m noticing is that the chain to the whiteboard is a safety net that teachers and trainers are reluctant to let go of. When provided with activities that allow learners to ‘go forth and explore’ on their own with guidance from the side, (guide on the side instead of sage on the stage) teachers are using AI to rejig the content back into a Powerpoint so that they can walk them through the content step by step. It’s like presenting learners with a climbing wall but then taking away the hold options and only allowing them to use the easy coloured option. The stretch and challenge of learning is diluted if we insist on staying chained to the whiteboard and offering up Powerpoint purgatory as our learning design solution.

Filling slides with bullet points and text blocks can actually hinder learning. If you reflect on your own experience in board rooms, staff rooms and conferences, how much do you actually take in when presented with a text-heavy slide deck that is read aloud to you? Research shows that it creates cognitive overload and can be disengaging as a consequence. Usually, I read it before the presenter reads it out loud and then I find myself fidgeting with off-task thinking while I wait for others to catch up. Using multiple slides to tell (rather than ‘show’ or ‘offer’) is not an effective solution to engage learners. While it can feel useful from a facilitator’s perspective to have all of the information on the slides in front of us for reference, this is not what learners need. And if we read aloud from the slides, then we may as well tuck them all to bed for a pretty boring bedtime story. Even picture books are more ‘on point’ with less text and more visuals.

AI is being used as another mechanism for reinforcing traditional modes of learning. If we don’t get the basics right and think of shifting pedagogy and really targeting and engineering our prompts to be future-focused and human-centred - then we are going backwards and not forwards. Many modern education solutions are simply reinforcing old habits instead of supporting genuine learning transformation. Chalkie, for example - well - it is in the name. It is definitely another chain we need to break away from.

True innovation is not just about replaceing analog for digital. Yesterday I caught up with an old high school buddy who is a writer and website designer and he said, ‘All the best designers start on paper. If I don’t see a lot of Post-Its and a Sharpie then I know that something is wrong.’ This resonates with me. If we don’t do some messy scribbling and some deliciously ‘what if’ thinking on our own before employing a quick publish with AI, the we may as well let our brains (and our learner’s brains) wither.

AI is trained on historical data that encodes old models of education. Unless we are intentionally prompting with change in mind and intentionally requiring outputs to be experiential/collaborative/future-focused/research-based/aligned to chosen pedagogies - the outputs will favour rote learning and recitation (Powerpoint purgatory). There needs to be a conscious redesign of technology and how we use it as well as a better training datasets for the tools that we employ. Even Microsoft and Google education solutions are so limited in functionality for learner-centred experiences and are proving that developers need to be working alongside serious and experienced educators to understand what modern pedagogy can look like in classrooms and work spaces. Technologies that ‘add sparkle’ by adding emojis to generic templates are frankly useless.

Chalk and talk is a crutch. Some learners need more explanation, some learners need more scaffolding, some learners need more extension opportunities and some learners need a completely different way of engaging with content altogether. This is why Universal Design for Learning or UDL is the chain-breaker that should really be in every carefully engineered prompt (if we are using AI as an assistance tool). Further, if we design learning that is centred around humans in the room being human in the room, then we can guarantee that our brains are the ones doing the work and our brains are flexing and our brains are building muscle.

In ‘Leading Innovative Learning in New Zealand Schools’ (ERO, 2016) nearly ten years ago the recommendation is to prepare learners for a dramatically changing landscape in the future. ‘What is critical is teaching that is personalised and focused on valued [learner] outcomes’ - traditional education and chalk and talk is not the way forward.

I’ve seen firsthand the power of giving learners real world contexts, voice, choice and agency. I’ve seen problem-solving skills increase and creative muscles flexing when provided with interesting challenges to solve in teams. Great learning is not about the technology or the slides - but it is about crafting experiences where learners drive their own journey with dynamic interactions with content as well as people.

Breaking the chalk-talk-chain and escaping Powerpoint purgatory matters because we have to move people from compliance to curiosity. If the world is changing dramatically (and it is), then we need our workforce to be adaptable with curious brains that flex and bend with the tide. Using Powerpoints and a chalking/talking methodology pushes an information pipeline and creates passive recipients. This method of teaching cannot be personalised or individualised and it does not unlock hidden potential or promote true transformation.

We need to embrace a vision for what education can be and work hard to upskill our facilitators to feel confident that they are facing in the right direction by providing experiences that focus on future-durable skills like critical thinking, ethical reasoning, creativity and collaboration among others. AI can be a useful tool in the classroom - but not if it is automating lectures, worksheets and keeping us chained to the whiteboard.

If you’re fed up with tedious solutions, outdated ‘innovation’ or technology that seems to be accidentally facing the wrong way - please get in touch so that I can help you chuck away the chains and propel learning experiences into the future.

What is 'make the pie' learning?

Have you ever been to a workshop or presentation and been given a handout while they present a slide show but you’ve spent the time daydreaming about all the things you’d rather be doing? Or have you ever been asked to write something down that was dictated to you only to promptly forget what you had written?

This kind of learning is like being served a pie. The analogy of a ‘pie’ is helpful because pies come in all shapes, sizes, and flavors—sweet and savory—and we can all imagine being handed a pie. In this learning approach, the pie is served to a passive recipient. The recipient of the pie has no active role in making or even cutting the pie. They might eat it, but they don’t gain any understanding of how it was made. Even if it’s delicious, it’s entirely forgettable—it’s not their pie.

Let’s think about what ‘make the pie’ learning might feel like. Traditional learning experiences are more about serving the pie – and handing out the answers – rather than letting learners dig in and make the pie themselves.

In a well-designed learning environment, no two ‘pies’ should be the same and everyone should have their own pie that they have proudly designed and made for themselves.

My ‘make the pie’ philosophy, is encouraging a hands-on and interactive approach to learning. My ‘make the pie’ philosophy is all about getting people to mix, blend and bake the ingredients themselves. In a well-designed learning experience, people should feel like they have been elbow-deep in the recipe of acquiring new skills, feel confident to combine their own ‘ingredients’ of ideas and leave with an experiential understanding of how things come together.

“She really makes us think for ourselves. I am getting more confident at problem-solving and I like how she doesn’t tell us the answers.”

What’s in the Batter?

I’m not making up this whole pie thing. It’s just my way of explaining pedagogy (teaching-science geekery) to people who don’t love jargon as much as me. The ‘make the pie’ philosophy is a way to re-imagine a workshop session as a pie-making extravaganza. Instead of handing everyone a finished pie (complete with crust and all), participants might get a basket of ingredients – flour, butter, fruit, maybe a pinch of sugar. Then it’s their job to mix, knead, and taste-test as they go. This is active learning that fosters trial and error, fast-failing and iteration, collaboration and communication and a lot more too… And the making of the pie is backed up with a solid lineup of learning theories:

Constructionist Theory: Inspired by Seymour Papert, this approach invites learners to build their own understanding. Just as they’d experiment with different amounts of sugar or spices, they’re encouraged to “construct” knowledge by trying things out and learning from what doesn’t go as planned just as they also learn from what does go as planned. Applying this theory also builds resilience and critical thinking skills.
Constructivist Theory: Constructivism embraces the idea that learning is a social recipe – we all bring different ingredients, and when we mix with others and talk about what we are doing and why we are doing it, we can create something unique. This means collaboration, discussion, and the freedom to add a little ‘seasoning’ of one’s own ideas on the table is encouraged. This also fosters creativity, community, agency and a sense of ownership of the learning AND encourages people to bring prior knowledge and experience as a valued foundation to any new learning. Key players in constructivist theory are Bruner and Vygotsky.
Experiential Learning: If you can imagine each step of designing a recipe as a hands-on experience then this is experiential learning. In my ‘make the pie’ learning experiences, learners are constantly doing, making, and problem-solving with me as an expert guide on the side. This isn’t about a teacher telling students what to think or do but about them figuring it out and arriving at a new understanding with expert guidance.

Why Mixing Matters More Than Memorising

In a lot of learning experiences, we’re too focused on presenting the perfect pie – giving answers and ticking boxes – that we skip the mixing stage altogether. But here’s the secret: it’s in the mixing, kneading, and experimenting where the real learning magic happens. Research shows that active learning is what makes concepts stick. When people have a chance to build their understanding, they’re far more likely to remember it. When they make the pie, they’ll talk about what they made AND want to make more pies too.

Letting learners “make the pie” empowers them to feel like they own the final product because, in a very real way, they do. They’ve rolled up their sleeves and tried out the skills in a controlled, playful setting, so they’re prepared to replicate it in real life.

What Does a ‘Make the Pie’ Workshop Look Like?

When you come to one of my sessions, you’re not sitting and waiting for the ‘perfect recipe’ to appear on a slide. You’re gathering ingredients, mixing things up, and working with a team to see how it all comes together. You might start with a challenge and work out how to fix it – just like you would in a real world situation. You’ll leave not only with new knowledge but with the know-how to apply it.

Choose Your Ingredients: Participants can select the skills or concepts they want to explore with different options that are differentiated and designed to meet different skill levels.
Mix It Up: Everyone has the chance to try new approaches, exchange ideas, and learn by doing in their own time and way – like everyone adding sprinkles and tweaks to a given recipe.
Bake Together: There will also be opportunities for collective problem-solving and sparking and capturing ideas.
Eat and Reflect Together: While the catering is usually up to you, great learning experiences require some critical reflection. We’ll talk about what was most valuable, most effective, most engaging and most impactful so that we can champion these ingredients again in the next workshop.

Making the Pie means that learning is a process of experimenting, ‘tasting’, mixing up solutions and seeing what works. The ‘Make the Pie’ philosophy promotes a ‘can-do’ mindset – because participants were not handed the answers. The answers were made by them.

Ready to Start Mixing?

So next time you’re looking at a workshop or training session and you see a slide deck and a handout with readymade answers, rethink it and try a ‘make the pie’ recipe for success that’s interactive, memorable, and customised.

Because the best learning isn’t served – it’s stirred, seasoned, and baked with everyone’s minds doing the mixing. Like the sound of this kind of pie? You know where to find me.

All These Engineers and No Sheddery

Sheddery isn't about physical spaces; it's about fostering mental and collaborative environments where ideas flourish and fast failure is a stepping stone to success. From napkin sketches to world-changing ideas, 'sheddery' promotes a shed load of continuous improvement, innovation and collaboration. Let's unpack what it means in this blog.