Children's Learning From Educational Television: Sesame Street and Beyond

by Fisch; Shalom M.

• ISBN13: 9780805839357
• ISBN10: 0805839356
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-04-30
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

At its best, educational television can provide children with enormous opportunities and can serve as a window to new experiences, enrich academic knowledge, enhance attitudes and motivation, and nurture social skills. This volume documents the impact of educational television in a variety of subject areas and proposes mechanisms to explain its effects. Drawing from a wide variety of research spanning several disciplines, author Shalom M. Fisch analyzes the literature on the impact of educational resources. He focuses on television programs designed for children rather than for adults, although adult literature is included when it is particularly relevant. In addition, much of the discussion concerns the effects of unaided viewing by children, rather than viewing in the context of adult-led follow-up activities. The role of parent-child co-viewing and issues relevant to the use of television in school or child care also receives consideration. This volume is intended to make the disparate literature on educational television's impact more accessible, by bringing it together into a centralized resource. To that end, the volume draws together empirical data on the impact of educational television programs--both academic and prosocial--on children's knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behavior. In addition to its emphasis on positive effects, this volume addresses a gap in the existing research literature regarding children's learning from exposure to educational television. Acknowledging that little theoretical work has been done to explain why or how these effects occur, Fisch takes a step toward correcting this situation by proposing theoretical models to explore aspects of the mental processing that underlies children's learning from educational television. With its unique perspective on children's educational television and comprehensive approach to studying the topic, this volume is required reading for scholars, researchers, and students working in the area of children and television. It offers crucial insights to scholars in developmental psychology, family studies, educational psychology, and related areas.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
1 Introduction	1	(14)
Television in Children's Lives	1	(3)
Television Viewing and Academic Achievement	4	(2)
Comparison Studies
Correlational Studies
But What Is "Educational Television"?	6	(3)
Television as Informal Education	9	(1)
Overview of Contents	10	(5)
Part I: Empirical Data
2 Sesame Street and School Readiness	15	(20)
Historical Context and Need	15	(2)
The Role of Research	17	(3)
Criticism of the Research Model
Impact Among Viewers in the United States	20	(5)
Effects of Sustained Viewing
Effects of Limited Exposure
International Impact of Sesame Street	25	(3)
Issues Raised and Lessons Learned	28	(7)
Issues for the Study of Educational Television
Issues for the Production of Educational Television
3 Other Preschool Series and School Readiness	35	(21)
The Potential Role of Television	36	(1)
Impact on School Readiness	37	(13)
Knowledge
Problem Solving
Language
Development
Pursuing Challenges
Educational Television and Very Young Children
Issues Raised and Lessons Learned	50	(6)
Multiple Routes to School Readiness
Viewer Participation and Learning
4 Literacy	56	(14)
Impact on School-Age Literacy in the United States	57	(7)
Basic Reading Skills
Reading Comprehension
Motivation to Read and Write
Long-Term Effects
Impact on School-Age Literacy in Other Countries	64	(1)
Issues Raised and Lessons Learned	65	(5)
Print-on-Screen
Content on the Plotline
Promoting Motivation
5 Mathematics and Problem Solving	70	(13)
Impact on School-Age Mathematics and Problem Solving	71	(6)
Knowledge of Mathematics
Effects on Problem Solving
Attitudes Toward Mathematics
Issues Raised and Lessons Learned	77	(6)
Defining "Comprehension"
Exploring Mechanisms for Impact
6 Science and Technology	83	(12)
Impact on School-Age Science and Technology	84	(5)
Knowledge of Science
Exploration and Experimentation
Attitudes Toward Science
Issues Raised and Lessons Learned	89	(6)
Genres of Television: Constraints and Opportunities
Characteristics of Effective Science Programs
7 Civics and Social Studies	95	(10)
News and Current Events	96	(4)
Knowledge Aquisition From Adult News
Knowledge Aquisition From Children's News
Interest in News
American History and Government	100	(1)
Issues Raised and Lessons Learned	101	(4)
Songs as Vehicles for Educational Content
The Role of Visuals
8 Prosocial Programming	105	(17)
Positive Interactions and "Friendliness"	106	(2)
Altruism and Cooperation	108	(1)
Self-Control/Delay of Gratification	109	(1)
Reduction of Stereotypes	110	(4)
Series for Preschool Children
Series for School-Age Children
Long-Term Effects	114	(1)
Issues Raised and Lessons Learned	114	(8)
Exploring Mechanisms for Impact
Considering Effects in Context
Presenting Prosocial Content Effectively
Whose Values?
9 Adult Mediation: Parents, Teachers, Child-Care Providers	122
Parent-Child Coviewing	123	(3)
Effects of Parental Mediation
Training Initiatives
Preschool Child Care	126	(3)
Effects
School-Age Children: School and After-School	129	(5)
Effects
Issues Raised and Lessons Learned	134	(8)
Variability Among Adults
Making Materials Useful
Part II: Theoretical Approaches
10 Comprehension of Educational Content: The Capacity Model	141	(23)
The Model	142	(14)
Theoretical Construct
Governing Principles
Developmental Aspects of the Model	156	(5)
Development and the Demands of Processing
Development and the Allocation of Resources
Issues Raised and Lessons Learned	161	(6)
Implications for Research
Implications for Production
11 Transfer of Learning From Educational Television: When and Why Does It Occur?	164	(14)
Theoretical Approach	167	(5)
Initial Learning/Comprehension
Mental Representation
The Transfer Situation
Developmental Considerations	172	(2)
Issues Raised and Lessons Learned	174	(2)
Implications for Research
Implications for Production
A Final Note	176	(2)
12 The Social Nature of Children's Learning From Educational Television	178	(17)
Narrative and Learning	179	(1)
Social Aspects of Educational Television	180	(2)
Social Influences on Learning From Educational Television	182	(5)
Initial Learning: Emotion and Identification
Storage and Retrieval: Repertoires
Developmental Considerations	187	(3)
Emotional Stimuli
Emotional Regulation
Identification
Repertoire
Issues Raised and Lessons Learned	190	(6)
Implications for Research
Academic Versus Social Effects
Television as a Socializing Agent
Part III: The Future
13 Looking to the Future: Convergence and Educational Television	195	(14)
Forms of Enhanced Television	196	(1)
Benefits	197	(5)
Matching Programs to Needs
A Springboard for Learning
Individualized Feedback
Promoting Transfer
Involvement
Authoring
Challenges	202	(6)
Challenges of Use
Challenges of Design
Conclusion	208	(1)
References	209	(30)
Author Index	239	(10)
Subject Index	249