The Pedagogy of Constraint: PowerPoint Mandates, Teaching Autonomy, and the Architecture of Learning in Higher Education

PowerPoint and similar presentation technologies have become so entrenched in higher education that some institutions now mandate their use as part of e-learning, requiring faculty to upload presentations and restricting alternative instructional approaches. This paper examines whether such mandates can be justified given the evidence on digital presentation tools and their effects on pedagogical autonomy. Meta-analyses reveal that PowerPoint does not consistently improve learning outcomes compared to traditional methods, while research documents significant problems including cognitive overload, passive learning, and diminished critical thinking when these tools are poorly implemented. Critical scholarship further argues that PowerPoint's linear, bullet-point format can discourage improvisation, foster authoritarian presenter-audience relations, and promote oversimplified reasoning. The effectiveness of any instructional method depends on context, content, and pedagogical approach. Mandating PowerPoint removes the professional flexibility faculty need to match methods to purposes, violates academic freedom in instructional design, and contradicts evidence showing that teaching quality depends on informed judgment rather than standardized tools. Drawing on scholarship linking pedagogical autonomy to academic freedom, this paper argues that institutions should prohibit mandatory PowerPoint requirements and restore faculty autonomy in selecting instructional methods appropriate to their disciplines, students, and learning objectives.