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Educational television plays a crucial role in children's cognitive, social, and emotional development. Programs like Sesame Street and Blue's Clues engage young viewers while teaching essential academic skills such as vocabulary, math, and problem-solving. Prosocial skills, including altruism and self-control, are also fostered through interactive content. The effectiveness of such programming is supported by research like the Early Window Project, which evaluates educational outcomes for children from low-income families. Understanding children's active engagement with media can enhance learning and school readiness.
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Learning with Media: Educational Television for Children
What is educational? • Academic Skills • thinking skills like problem solving • academic content like vocabulary and math • Prosocial Skills • altruism, positive interaction, self control • Other Definitions • APPC Educational Strength
Assumptions… • Content is critical… TV as a medium is neither good nor bad – it depends on what kids watch. • Children are active viewers… Children are cognitively active when watching TV. • The family is a socializing force… The family is the core socializing force influencing children’s use of TV and what they learn from it. (Huston & Wright, 1996)
The Active Child… TV is a one-way medium & learning is a two-way process. How can we create educational content to… • attract & maintain children’s attention? • actively engage children (participatory learning)? • facilitate the learning of desired concepts?
The Preschool Crowd… • Sesame Street • Blues Clues • Dora the Explorer
The Active Child… Piaget’s Cognitive Developmental Theory • Stages of Development • Sensorimotor Stage (infancy) • Preoperational Stage (2 – 5 yrs) • Concrete Operational Stage (5 – 11 yrs.) • Formal Operations (10 – 16? yrs.) Example of Conservation Task:
The Active Child… Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development • Language Acquisition • Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) • Social & Cultural Contributions
The Role of Research… • Formative Research: How can we make show better? • Pilot test new program segments • Measure attention, interest, production • Summative Research: What do children learn? • Evaluate effectiveness of programming • A&E Sesame Street Biography
Research Enhances Learning… • Sesame Street Goals • Communicate w/ low SES audience. • Target children under age 6. • Teach school readiness skills. • Use entertainment production techniques.
Summative Research Enhances Early Learning… • Evaluation: The Early Window Project • Research Question • Do Sesame Street and other educational programs get children ready for school? • Sample • 200+ (2 – 5 years / 4 – 7 years) • Low to moderate income families
EWP Continued… • Method • 3-year longitudinal study following 2 cohorts • Measures • Office Visits • Standardized Tests w/Children, Parent Interviews • Home Visits • Home Observational Measure of the Environment • Time-Use Diaries • Bi-Monthly Diaries Collected Via Telephone
Other Summative Research… • School House Rock • Reading Rainbow • Mister Roger’s Neighborhood • Fat Albert & the Cosby Kids • Barney & Friends
0 – 6 Media Use Report… • Your questions… • How young is too young? • What are the most pressing concerns?
Infants & Toddlers… Baby Einstein videos…
Media Policy:The 3-Hour Rule • Children’s TV Act of 1990 • 3 hours of educational TV per week • Broadcasters -The Jetsons educational? • Necessary to provide broadcasters w/ educational guidelines.
Media Policy:The 3-Hour Rule • Air between 7am and 10pm; • Education as a significant purpose; • Regularly scheduled & typical length; • Identified as educational on the air (E/I symbol) and in documents filed with the FCC and local stations.
The 3-Hour Rule: APPC Educational Strength • Lesson Clarity • Lesson Involvement • Lesson Integration • Lesson Applicability
The 3-Hour Rule…Results • Highest Rated Programs: • Bloopy’s Buddies (S) • Disney’s Doug (ABC & S) • Disney Presents Bill Nye and Science Guy (S) • Popular Mechanics for Kids (S) • Squigglevision (ABC) • Lowest Rated Programs: • Inquirer High School Sports Show (S) • More than a Game (S) • NBA Inside Stuff (NBC) • NFL Under the Helmet (FOX) • Pressure 1 (S) • Pressure 2 (S) • Sherlock Holmes in the 21st Century (FOX)