Donald Smith

EDRS6301
Spring 2016
ASSIGNMENT TWO:
Television programming is very important in American Culture. Children spend multiple hours viewing
television prior to starting school and interacting with teachers and fellow students. The question
becomes whether or not television programming is an affective tool for education. (Linebarger &
Piotrowski, 2010).
Article:
Linebarger, D. L, Piotrowski, J. T. (2010). Structure and Strategies in Children's Educational
Television: The Roles of Program Type and Learning Strategies in Children's Learning. Child
Development, 81(5), 1582-1597.
This study examined the effectiveness of early childhood television programming when it comes to
school age children between the ages of 7-9, and its affect on future literacy. There were two parts to
the study. In the first part of the study researchers viewed six 30 minute shows on PBS: Arthur &
Friends, Magic School Bus, Wishbone, Reading Rainbow, Zoom, and Kratts' Creatures. These six
shows were split into two groups: narrative and expository structured. Having the two categories
researchers theorized that one would be more affective for building vocabulary, while the other would
be better for comprehension. They coded and scored literacy, comprehension, and vocabulary
strategies viewed during the shows giving value to patterns for learning. Once the first study was
completed, 71 2nd and 3rd grade students were selected from four elementary schools for the second
phase. Phase two had the students view the programming then completing pre and post assessments to
determine and predict learning outcomes.
The researchers were surprised to find that definition knowledge was higher after the children viewed
narrative material. They also found that when the shows used print material (on screen graphics)
knowledge actually dropped, literal comprehension rose. Onscreen print did not improve vocabulary.
Researchers concluded that television producers need to be aware of cognitive overload when it comes
to learning strategies that are incorporated in their programing. They further concluded that TV
comprehension was directly related to reading comprehension. They weren't able to determine
definitely that reading improved by watching TV, but that improvements in comprehension, vocabulary
skills, and overall cognitive activity can occur with responsible educational TV programming.
My own observation is that students in this study whom seem to learn more via narrative material,
coincides with my belief that children are initially taught by their caregivers who are telling them
versus teaching them and therefore learn more from nurturing than formal instruction.