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ABSTRACT How Preschoolers Learn from Television Tori C. Ewing, M.A. Mentor: Daniel Shafer, Ph.D. This study investigates how preschool aged children learn through television throughout the creation of an original narrative, The Topaz Troop. Children are exposed to an assortment of media devices from an early age, and parents continue to seek out quality educational content to enhance their child’s cognitive ability. Recognizing that television is a powerful educational source to deliver information, the study is based on the capacity model, a theory that states that children learn best from educational television when the educational topics are interlaced with the overall narrative of the story (Fisch, 2004). Preschool children are expected to rely on their rapidly developing social cognitive and linguistic systems to comprehend narratives (Skarakis-Doyle & Dempsey, 2008). However, Fisch’s research (2000, 2004) also suggests that verbal ability will impact a child’s ability to process narrative. This research seeks to highlight additional factors that contribute to a child’s ability to comprehend narratives. How Preschoolers Learn From Television by Tori C. Ewing, B.A. A Thesis Approved by the Department of Communication David W. Schlueter, Ph.D., Chairperson Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Baylor University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Approved by the Thesis Committee Daniel Shafer, Ph.D., Chairperson Corey P. Carbonara, Ph.D. Joyce Nuner, Ph.D. Accepted by the Graduate School May 2019 J. Larry Lyon, Ph.D., Dean Page bearing signatures is kept on file in the Graduate School. Copyright © 2019 by Tori Ewing All rights reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................ vii CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................. 1 How Preschoolers Learn from Television ...................................................................... 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 Creating Preschool Television .................................................................................... 2 CHAPTER TWO ................................................................................................................ 4 Literature Review ........................................................................................................... 4 The Production Process............................................................................................... 4 Child Development Theories ...................................................................................... 6 How Children Learn from Television ....................................................................... 15 Figure 2.1: The Capacity Model (Fisch, 2004) ......................................................... 20 Sesame Street ............................................................................................................ 23 Blue’s Clues .............................................................................................................. 27 Dora the Explorer ...................................................................................................... 30 Content Analysis ....................................................................................................... 33 CHAPTER THREE .......................................................................................................... 45 The Creation of The Topaz Troop ................................................................................. 45 The Screenplay.......................................................................................................... 45 Set and Wardrobe Design ......................................................................................... 49 Figure 3.3: The use of color in The Topaz Troop ..................................................... 49 Character Design ....................................................................................................... 50 Formal Features ........................................................................................................ 52 The Production .......................................................................................................... 54 CHAPTER FOUR ............................................................................................................. 56 The Study ...................................................................................................................... 56 Participants ................................................................................................................ 56 Stimulus Material ...................................................................................................... 57 Measures ................................................................................................................... 58 Results ....................................................................................................................... 58 Limitations ................................................................................................................ 59 Discussion ................................................................................................................. 60 APPENDIX A ................................................................................................................... 65 Comprehension Survey Questions ................................................................................ 65 Child’s Survey .............................................................................................................. 65 Narrative Comprehension ......................................................................................... 65 Salience ..................................................................................................................... 65 Prior Knowledge ....................................................................................................... 66 Verbal Ability ........................................................................................................... 66 APPENDIX B ................................................................................................................... 67 iv Producer Interview Questions ....................................................................................... 67 All Interview Questions ................................................................................................ 67 Interview with Benjamin Lehmann (Sesame Street) October 24, 2016 .................. 68 Interview with Carol Greenwald (PBS Kids)- October 28, 2016 ............................. 73 Interview with Traci Paige Johnson (Blue’s Clues) November 11, 2016 ................ 78 APPENDIX C ................................................................................................................... 87 Production Documents .................................................................................................. 87 APPENDIX D ................................................................................................................. 116 The Screenplay ........................................................................................................... 116 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................... 136 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1. The Capacity Model ........................................................................................21 Figure 2.2. The Traveling Lens Model ..............................................................................23 Figure 3.1. Troop Leader Jane reacting .............................................................................48 Figure 3.2. The Shape Game within The Topaz Troop ......................................................49 Figure 3.3. The use of color in The Topaz Troop ..............................................................50 Figure 3.4. Shot Composition: Wide Shot .........................................................................54 vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am so blessed to have had such an amazing support system throughout the course of the creation of The Topaz Troop. To the spectacular cast and crew members that I was fortunate enough to work with, thank you for your wonderful performance, hard work, and commitment to the project! To the production team at Sesame Workshop that I was fortunate enough to intern with and learn alongside of each day – you made me smarter, stronger, and kinder and I will forever be thankful. Angela Santomero, your generosity heavily influenced this project. Thank you for an incredible opportunity to learn from your experience. Dr. Shafer, Dr. Carbonara, and Dr. Nuner, thank you for believing in my vision throughout this entire process. Without your guidance and support, I can’t imagine what this project would look like. I am very appreciative for your willingness to help me, regardless of what time of the day it was. To Christina and Christian, thank you for filling my graduate experience with many laughs. I will forever be grateful for your friendships and support. I couldn’t