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"The Electric Company"; Television and Reading 1971-76

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'DOCUBENT RES082 BD 122 805 Il 003 423 Cooney, Joan Ganz TITLE Five Tears'of "The Electric Company"; Television and -leading 1971-76. INSTITUTION Children's Television4Workshop, New York, N.Y. PUB DATE Oct 75 NOTE 28p.; EditorialBackgrounder. Reproduced from best available copy !DRS PRICE 10-80.83 NC-82.06 Plus Postage DES9IPTOPS Cost Effectiveness; Educational Peseaich; *Educational Television; Eleaentary Education; Formative Evaluation; Grade 28. Grade 3;"Grade 4; . *Program Evaluation; Public Tel vision; *Reading Difficulty; Beading Instruction; *Ming Skills; Teacher Ittitudes; *Television Res ch IDENTIT=ISi Childrens Television Workshop; *Elect c Company ABSTRACT "The Electric Company" was created by the Children's Television ,workshop (CTW) as an experiment in using television to teach readi 'hg skills to children in grades 2-4 who were having diTficulty learning to read in school. With more that 500 shows Completed and four seasons behind it, the series continues to be an exp4riment. The methods of presenting the curricula via television are .still being tested, altered and Wined to build on the show's experience and to attain optimum, effect. There has been a gradpal shifting in emphasis fros a show to be viewed at home to one to be used in a classroom. The series was initially conceived as primarily an after-school program, but research during the first season bf 1971-72 made it clear that the series bad dramatically found its way into schools and was being incorporated into the classroom routine. (JY) *********************************************************************** Documents acquired by EPIC include sany informal unpublished *'materials not available from other sources. ERIC makes every effort * * to obtain the best copy available. Nevertheless, items of marginal * * reproducibility are often encountered and this affects the quality * * of the aicrofiche and hardcopy reproductions ERIC makes available * * via the ERIC Document ReprOduction Service (RDAS). !DRS is not * responsible for the quality of the original document. Reproductions * * supplied by !DRS are the best that can be made from tbe original. * *********************************************************************** 4 \ ...... --.....e.... VS DEPeRTALENT OF NE ALT N. EMICADON WELFARE EditorialBackirotinder NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF Pir' EDUCATION , IRIS DOCUMENT PAS NEN AM*. OuttO Men, AS RECEIVED room nie slaw, oft excraliza tom °mom- amto ii POINTS Oa VIEW OR OPINIONS t STATED 00 NOT NECESSARILY REPRE- WM se. *foci ICIAL NATIONAL INsfitul'ecif t (roomy/ POSITION OR POLICY k III:OPO OP IMO011twee TM iiiiC PALM, Isas *WM Om Mmwees Fiveyearsof 0 1 IN MS ivErffiNN. NMI INNOMMN NMa OT MINIM W NM ONNMe I' IMMO 'and to OM 0.4.MM. IM grow" music. Noe meal 'The Electric Company' pent et ewe. 1 Television and Reading 1971-76 To the Reader: The tory is still out un whether American society (in the 10/101111 season, will represent the eptome tif what whit h an estimated 25 million c Often% are f um hominy has been learned by our produt lion and tef,eari h people illiteiatoaall marshal bulin lent resounes to achieve uni- about rest hing a target audience with an /educational versal literacy. But this mut h we have learned from The message. We look forward to continued high impac t of Electric ( ompany . the medium of television is definitely the series throughout the next six broad% east sea)ons. one of the e r.ources This continuing experiment has In the larger context of t hildren's television. most demonstrated over the past years that the immense programmingn still determined by the needs ei the power and appeal of television tan be applied to teat hung marketplace. Ihe real needs of children ihem.elees the reading of print. simply do not seem to cuunt. Shows like The I le. tric .%e had an inkling of this before the show premiered .\__Company, slung with Sesame Street, Mustei Roger: in Mt. but even the most optimistic producers and Neighborhood, COMMETt Ill television's rim-Hero .13 ter. I researc hers did not dare to expect that the series would 'school and occasional evening` specials and ( amain reach it, young target audience so quickly and exten- Kangaroo, prove that the medium can br a ppled sively, espec tally in elementary classrooms. But teachers entertainingly and effectively to serve social, ethic s- and independent researchers confirm that the program, huns! and entertainment purpovs. Thew few programs in st hotel and out, has helped faltering young pupils remain beacons in the no-man's land 01 tiles ision before they are elk% tively cut off from other list mimes perhaps we should call it "no child's land " that Jepend so mut h on one's ability to read the English TV can and does teat h. Yet it is must often used ''v language. to entertain and too often to entertain violently Ai. ' . The TV producers and educational researchers who ences are nut monolithic; specialized programmng 't.s have labored in this application of entertainment tech- age and by goal is possible and desirable (The Elestr . niques to the teat hung of reading have fated a variety of (ompany aims duel 'Iv at seven-to ten year oldsi. A t hallngt s in many svaysgreatei than those the teenager isn't interested In the same thing . as A pre ( Malt ui's I de,' 'ion Wok-1141,1.o eti in the t ieatton of at h,i0h.r, vet in..the I V industry "c hildii is's lift .p...I ill its hi .. t tpt riownt. "tie emu. Street": Mille covers everything up to the aye I itI t'i ; to" of the experts agree on how to teat h read- WC k 110W 111.11 l 101%1 ten like No lei v v.1 Ow lc... e..l my, in the classioom. even under ideal common denoininatlir in most t oninteleial Lot loo rts silt umstant es; out remarkable sameness in format, W.- kiwis that 1 Js 1;it seemed almost antithetical to consider the use respond to real human qualities, yet meet pit what they of the medium of television to teach * reading get are "TV superheros" with little or rw, humarity. I of print; We know all these things and more, yet with rare 0 the format had to attract the viewer by action exceptions we cur tinue down the same potentially and humor that would compel him to attend Id destructive road. I believe that the nesessary resevrces the print on the screen, exist both in commercial and non-cOMMCIL WI television One result is sorely the most tee hnically sophisticated to serve the real needs of viewers. that what we require series in the history of television. is the will to t kat'. a di ver..ity of better programs ft -.- tie The Electric Compans will continue to pioneer in most precious atural resource our young pro;ik extending the medium as a supplemental tool to teach reading the nest two produt lion seasons will seethe lit-Awn 01 :1) of wbIt may well be the most Mu( .1 'malty eilri tive shows ever ;nudist its to teach reading on 1 V. The program. whit h will be broadcast through Joan Ganz Cooney President Children's Tele, is.ir SAkeksn 1p 2 October, 19:5 ....eel Al i v 1 1 1. a, I... .. eaeoll 4 , -- TABLEorCONTENTS -- THE PROGRAM Page 1 RESUME: BASIC /0 THE o -- . EXPERIMENT Page 12 . ORIGINS: CURRICULUM PLANNING 1 Formative Studies 12 Curriculum GORIN 2 Impact Studies 13 Preschoolers Tuns Ism 13 THE S108801014 VEHICLE 3 Research.Input 4 UNPRECEDENTED CLASSROOM-USE 14 Pilot 4 IMPACT OM CLASSROOM LEARNING 15 Underwriting 4 One School's Case History 16 Promotion 4 Example of Viewer Gains 18 THE.. DEBUT OUTREACH: BEYOND THE TV 19 Writing Challenge 6 A Fast Pace 6 FROM TUBE TO PRINT: NEW TOOLS FOR READING 20 SEASONTO-SEASON MODIFICATIONS 7 COST erracriveness Second Season 7 Year Three: Progress REACTIONS:PRO ANDCON 21 With Print 8 Teachers' Assessments 22 Fourth Season: Enter Spider-Man as Teacher 8 LESSONS FROM THE SHOW 24 COMING: AN ELECTRIC COMPANY FOR ALL SEASONS 9 THE SHOW GOES AROUNDTHE WORLD 25 9 HONORS AND AWARDS 25 Musical Input 11 A THE PROGRAM "The Electric Company" was created by, the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) as an experimen't in using television to teach reading skills to second, third and fourth grade children who were having difficulty learning . to read in school. With more theft SOO half-hour shows completed and four seasons behind it, the series,continues to be an experiment as it proceeds, through its fifth season on the 256 stations of the Public Broadcasting Service. The methods of presenting the curricUla via the medium of television are still being tested, altered and refined to build on the shOw's experience and to attain optimum effect. There has also been a gradual shifting in emphasis from a show to be vieped at home to one to be used in a classroom.The series was initially conceived by the producers as primarily an after-school program although the program has from the beginning been broadcast twice a day in most parts of the nation, once during school hours and once in late afternoon. Early research during the first season of 1971-72 made it clear that the series had dramatically found its way into schools and was enthusiastically being incorporated by teachers into the classroom routine.Taking * cue from the vast in-school utilization of the program, the producers began to structure The Electric Company more in terms of the needs of the classroom. In keeping with CTW's approach to experimental television projects, the needs of the audience have played a continuing role in ehaping the content of the series.
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