This study investigated the impact of presentation formats on preservice teachers' ability to retain information along with their perceptions regarding subject matter and instructor's effectiveness. Participants were 79 preservice teachers in three sections of an elementary methods course. Each section received instruction using lecture and discussion accompanied by a different presentation format: black and white overhead transparencies, color overhead transparencies, and PowerPoint slides. Following treatment, participants responded to the Course Presentation Survey (CPS), a 7-item questionnaire developed to measure perceptions of presentation effectiveness, and completed a 10-item content quiz. Quantitative data from the CPS were analyzed using an analysis of variance while quiz scores were analyzed using an analysis of covariance with overall grade point average as the covariate. (Contains 3 tables.)