Slide decks are everywhere in education today. PowerPoint and Google Slides are often the backbone of a lesson plan. Many new teachers have never known a time without them. If you’re planning your week, you’re probably searching for slides to go with your curriculum, or even expecting pre-made decks to guide your every lesson.
But here’s the problem:
When we rely too heavily on slide decks, we risk sacrificing good teaching for convenience. We trade flexibility, responsiveness, and deep engagement for something that’s polished but passive.
If you’ve ever felt stuck reading from a slide while your students disengage… or unsure what to do when a lesson goes sideways… or hesitant to deviate from what’s on the screen, you’re not alone. But there’s a better way.
1. Slide Decks Make Teaching Less Responsive
One of the most important parts of teaching is responsiveness. You watch your students as you teach. You read their body language, their questions, their work. You adjust.
But a rigid slide deck doesn’t adjust with you.
If a student asks a question that reveals a gap in their understanding, a pre-planned slide deck can’t pivot. If your students already understand the concept, the deck can’t skip ahead. If you’re stuck to a script, it’s harder to answer unexpected questions, scaffold in the moment, or speed up when students are ready.
2. Slides Can Replace Deep Understanding with Surface-Level Planning
Let’s be honest. Sometimes we use slides because we don’t feel fully confident in the content we’re teaching. Slides give us structure. They keep us on track.
But if you didn’t build the lesson yourself—or deeply understand what’s being taught—it’s hard to go beyond what’s on the screen. You might miss the nuances. You might be thrown off by student questions. And you might teach the slide instead of teaching the concept.
3. Students Become Passive Participants
When slide decks dominate your lessons, students often become passive viewers instead of active learners. They read, they watch, they copy. And for many, that’s not enough.
Especially for students who struggle with reading, learning from a slide means they’re already behind. They can’t access the content as easily. They disengage.
According to Universal Design for Learning (UDL), effective teaching requires multiple ways to engage students, present information, and allow them to respond. Slides usually do one thing: they present information visually, with a teacher talking over it.
4. Pre-Made Slides Create a Mismatch with Your Students
Most slide decks—especially ones downloaded online—aren’t made for your students. They weren’t built in response to their needs, interests, or readiness levels. They weren’t co-constructed with your class.
Using these materials as-is creates a disconnect. Your students become recipients of a generic lesson, not participants in a meaningful learning experience.
5. Slide Decks Limit Variety and High-Yield Strategies
Great teaching doesn’t look the same every day. High-yield instructional strategies—like modelling, discussion, feedback, inquiry, and practice—require variety and interaction.
Slide decks tend to flatten that variety. They lead to teacher-directed instruction, where the teacher talks and students watch.
Research That Supports Moving Beyond Slides
- Inquiry-Based Learning: Inquiry-based approaches improve understanding and engagement.
- Universal Design for Learning (UDL): Calls for multiple ways to engage and represent information.
- Constructivist Teaching: Emphasizes learning through exploration and questioning.
- Meta-Analysis of PowerPoint in Teaching: Interactive strategies outperform static presentations.
- Student-Centred Classrooms: Outperform lecture-style instruction in achievement and motivation.
What to Do Instead: Responsive, Flexible, High-Impact Teaching
- Use slides as a guide, not a script.
- Know your content deeply.
- Co-create visuals and success criteria with students.
- Include high-yield strategies like discussion and hands-on learning.
- Model in the moment using real-time visuals.
- Check in regularly and adapt as needed.
You Don’t Have to Spend Hours Creating It All Yourself
You don’t need to abandon structure. Instead, choose flexible, research-based resources that support responsive teaching. Madly Learning’s Ignited Lessons Club includes:
- Clear teaching guides with background knowledge
- Suggested anchor charts and success criteria
- Open-ended tasks and discussion prompts
- Options for differentiation
Final Thoughts
Slide decks are a tool—but they’re not your lesson. If your teaching falls apart when the slides don’t load, it’s time to rethink your approach.
Start small. Try one lesson without slides. Engage your students differently. See what changes.
Good teaching is responsive, flexible, and human.
Want resources that help you ditch the deck and teach responsively? Check out Ignited Lessons Club and start your free trial today.