University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations Spring 2010 Evaluating Preschoolers’ Comprehension of Educational Television: The Role of Viewer Characteristics, Stimuli Features, and Contextual Expectations Jessica T. Piotrowski University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Communication Commons, Developmental Psychology Commons, and the Instructional Media Design Commons Recommended Citation Piotrowski, Jessica T., "Evaluating Preschoolers’ Comprehension of Educational Television: The Role of Viewer Characteristics, Stimuli Features, and Contextual Expectations" (2010). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 106. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/106 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/106 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Evaluating Preschoolers’ Comprehension of Educational Television: The Role of Viewer Characteristics, Stimuli Features, and Contextual Expectations Abstract This study represents the first experimental investigation to simultaneously evaluate the impact of three key areas of a child’s television viewing experience -individual differences (story schema), the stimulus (narrative type), and the environment (perceived demand characteristics). Guided by the capacity model (Fisch, 2000, 2004), preschoolers’ comprehension of an educational television program was evaluated in a 2 (story schema: low, high) x 2 (perceived demand characteristics: fun (low), learning (high)) x 2 (narrative type: participatory cues absent, participatory cues present) between-subjects fully crossed factorial experiment. Comprehension was operationalized as both narrative (i.e. central, incidental, and inferential comprehension) and educational content comprehension. A total of 172 preschoolers (102 females) participated in the study (Mean Age = 4.2 years). Children were randomly assigned to one of four conditions created by crossing the perceived demand characteristic manipulation with the narrative type manipulation. Story schema level was assigned through a median-split procedure based on story schema scores. In addition to program comprehension, data was collected on expressive vocabulary, story schema skills, program familiarity, and engagement with and attention to stimuli. Advanced story schema supported narrative comprehension, and this reduction in narrative processing demands translated to educational content comprehension. Children’s television programmers are advised to design educational television content which conforms to a prototypical story structure while integrating educational content within the narrative. Additionally, while children seemed able to devote greater attention to content when asked to “watch to learn”, they appeared to struggle with how to differentially distribute this attention, resulting in minimally enhanced inferential processing and no additional benefits ot educational content comprehension. Finally, the inclusion of participatory cues in children’s television programming was not sufficiento t support comprehension. Rather, it seems that engagement with participatory cues is necessary to support comprehension – particularly for children with low story schema and children viewing “for fun”. When integrating the findings for perceived demand characteristics and narrative type, children’s television programmers are advised to use participatory cues strategically to highlight educational content. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Communication First Advisor Deborah L. Linebarger, Ph.D. Second Advisor Joseph N. Cappella, Ph.D. Third Advisor Amy B. Jordan, Ph.D. Keywords television, children, education, comprehension, media Subject Categories Communication | Developmental Psychology | Instructional Media Design This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/106 EVALUATING PRESCHOOLERS’ COMPREHENSION OF EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION: THE ROLE OF VIEWER CHARACTERISTICS, STIMULI FEATURES, AND CONTEXTUAL EXPECTATIONS Jessica Taylor Piotrowski A DISSERTATION in Communication Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2010 ___________________________________________ Deborah L. Linebarger, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Communication Supervisor of Dissertation ___________________________________________ Katherine Sender, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Communication Graduate Group Chairperson Dissertation Committee Joseph N. Cappella, Ph.D. Gerald R. Miller Professor of Communication Michael Delli Carpini, Ph.D. Professor of Communication and Walter H. Annenberg Dean Martin Fishbein, Ph.D. Harry C. Coles, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Communication Amy B. Jordan, Ph.D. Director, Media & the Developing Child Sector, Annenberg Public Policy Center Evaluating Preschoolers’ Comprehension of Educational Television: The Role of Viewer Characteristics, Stimuli Features, and Contextual Expectations COPYRIGHT 2010 Jessica Taylor Piotrowski Dedication For my best friend, and the love of my life, my husband John. iii Acknowledgements When I entered graduate school, I knew that my dissertation would represent the culmination of my graduate training. What I did not know, however, was how many people would play a role in this culminating document. I feel so very fortunate to have had such an incredible support system as I navigated the often exhausting and frequently challenging dissertation roads. First and foremost, I must thank my doctoral advisor, colleague, and friend - Dr. Deborah Linebarger. Although the road of graduate school has not always been easy, your confidence in my abilities and your support of me has been unconditional. You believed in the value of my dissertation topic from its inception, and generously funded this research. You have challenged me when necessary and allowed me to make mistakes without judgment. You had the confidence that I could complete this research, even when I did not. You listened when I was stressed, offered me advice when I was confused, and pushed me when I needed a nudge. For all this and more, I thank you. I am also deeply grateful for the guidance and support provided by the members of my dissertation committee. To Dr. Amy Jordan – I feel so blessed that you were willing to serve on my dissertation committee. You are a brilliant, fiercely strong woman. I feel fortunate to have you as both a colleague and friend. Your support throughout the dissertation has been so appreciated, and your feedback on a previous draft of this dissertation was invaluable. To Dr. Joseph Cappella – thank you for offering your methodologically rigorous eye to this dissertation research. Your advice undoubtedly improved the quality of this work. To Dr. Michael Delli Carpini – thank you for so generously agreeing to serve on my dissertation committee so late in the game. iv Your critique from the perspective of a Communication scholar is much appreciated. To the late Dr. Martin Fishbein – thank you for your support throughout the dissertation process. Whenever we discussed data collection challenges, your kind smile and words put me right at ease. Your feedback certainly contributed to the methodological rigor of my research, and I only wish you were here today to read the finished product. Your untimely passing leaves a void that no one can fill. You are truly missed. Thank you to Dr. Sandra Calvert, Director of the Children’s Digital Media Center and Professor in the Department of Psychology at Georgetown University, for providing the stimuli used in this research. Thank you to Dr. Shalom Fisch for your willingness to discuss your theoretical model as well as for your feedback on the research design. Finally, thank you to Dr. Alison Bryant for your support of the research as well as for helping me find the right people to speak with at Nickelodeon. Your passion for fostering connections between the academy and industry is inspiring. Special thanks to the child care centers, parents, and children that participated in this project. Without you, this project would not have been possible. I also have to thank my research assistants for their tireless efforts: Katie Esposito, Annie Magnuson, Natalie Burak, Julia Holup, and Janet McMenamin. Thank you for the early hours, for cramming into a car filled with furniture, for carrying furniture up and down stairs several hundred times, for understanding when things did not go as planned, and for simply being incredible. Thanks also to Mary Kate McKnight – you are the best reliability coder ever! I cannot imagine this dissertation without all of you. To all of my friends and colleagues who have supported me on this journey, thank you. Moira O’Keeffe has been a loyal friend throughout, and has always been there v when this project was taking its toll on me. Susana Ramirez, Jocelyn Landau, Robin Stevens, Dan Berger, Deb Wainwright, Sarah Vaala, Matt Lapierre, Kara Garrity, Katie McMenamin, and Laura Gibson have been cheering for me and offering support throughout this journey. And to all of the Annenberg staff members who have been there for me – especially Bev Henry, Joanne Murray, and Joe Diorio – thank you. To my family, thank you for being so supportive of my work and understanding of its time requirements. You have encouraged me throughout this marathon,