TELEVISION AS TEACHER: MOTIVATION TO LEARN MESSAGES IN CHILDREN'S EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING By DEBORAH KARIN WAINWRIGHT B.A., University of British Columbia, 1996 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY, EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SPECIAL EDUCATION We accept this thesis as conforming to the jequire4^tandard UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA April 2004, © Deborah Karin Wainwright, 2004 Library Authorization In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Deborah Karin Wainwright Name of Author (please print) Date (dd/mm/yyyy) Title of Thesis: Television as teacher: Motivation to learn strategies in children's educational programming Degree: M.A. Year: 2004 Department of Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology, & Special Education The University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC Canada ABSTRACT This study examined the use of recognized production features and motivation to learn strategies in 3 educational television programs: Sesame Street, Between the Lions, and ZOOM. It was hypothesized that educational television may be limited with regard to its presentation of motivational strategies: A content analysis of 5 episodes of each subject program was conducted. Coders observed the use of production features of the medium believed to support children's learning from viewing, and the use of teacher and learner strategies known to support intrinsic motivation for learning. Coders also examined any attempts by these programs to extend the on-air lessons beyond the television viewing time. The results reveal that these programs incorporate many of the production features thought to support children's learning from television. But the results also show that few of the recognized motivation to learn techniques are being portrayed in the content of these programs. As well, there is little evidence of attempts to extend the lesson beyond the program viewing time. It is difficult to escape the conclusion that these educational children's programs are not providing much support for intrinsic motivation in their viewers. Suggestions for how producers can revise or develop programming that can motivate viewers are discussed. The results inform producers, researchers, and parents of learning and motivation to learn opportunities offered to children on educational television today. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii List of Tables v List of Figures vi Acknowledgements vii CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTION 1 The Impact of Television 1 Life-long Learning 3 The Present Research 5 Educational Programming 6 Research Questions and Hypothesis 11 Significance of this Study 11 CHAPTER TWO - REVIEW OF LITERATURE 13 Part One - Educational Television 13 A Brief History of Children's Television 15 Television Can Teach • 16 The Elements of Effective Educational Programming 18 Non-informational Content 19 Informational Content 23 Summary - Part One 30 Part Two - Motivation to Learn 31 A Brief History of Research on Motivation 31 Intrinsic Motivation 33 Developing in Learners an Intrinsic Motivation for Learning 35 Teacher Strategies that Encourage Intrinsic Motivation 35 Elements of an Intrinsically Motivating Learning Environment 42 Learning Strategies that Encourage Intrinsic Motivation 45 Summary - Part Two 48 Overview 49 CHAPTER THREE - METHODOLOGY 51 Sample 51 Subject Programs 52 Coding Instrument 55 Message Units 55 Academic Lessons • 57 Coding Procedure 58 Reliability .61 IV CHAPTER FOUR - RESULTS 67 Data Analysis Overview -. 67 Overall Proportion of Academic Content 68 Part One - Content Designed to Attract & Engage Viewers 69 Non-informational Content 70 Informational Content 79 Summary - Part One 84 Part Two - Content Designed to Motivate Learning :....87 Motivational Teaching Strategies 87 A Supportive Learning Environment : 99 Learner Strategies 104 Attitudes toward Learning 108 Summary - Part Two 110 CHAPTER FIVE - SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS 114 Summary of Findings 115 Discussion 116 On-Air Academics 116 Motivational Content 119 Limitations of this Present Study & Directions for Future Research 123 Conclusion 125 REFERENCES ; 126 APPENDICES 138 Appendix A - Codebook 139 Appendix B - Running Record ...145 Appendix C - Tally Sheet 150 LIST OF TABLES 1. Inter-coder Reliability 62 2. Inter-coder Percentage and Kappa Agreement 64 3. Percentage of Series Using Non-Informational Features that Enhance Attention to Television 71 4. Percentage of Series Using Informational Features that Enhance Attention to Television 80 5. Total Percentage of Programs Incorporating Content that Appeals to, and Enhances Comprehension of, Child Viewers 85 6. Percentage of Series Incorporating Motivational Teaching Strategies 88 7. Percentage of Series Incorporating Elements of a Motivational Learning Environment 99 8. Percentage of Series Portraying Learner's Strategies and Attitudes 105 9. Total Percentage of Program Incorporating Intrinsically Motivating Elements Ill vi LIST OF FIGURES 1. The elements of successful educational television 19 2. Teacher and learner strategies that encourage intrinsic motivation 36 Vll ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS No Masters degree is ever completed alone. I would like to acknowledge many people for helping me through the process. I must start by thanking my advisor, Nancy Perry, for her generous time and commitment. She continually stimulated my analytical thinking and patiently waited through my constant delays. I am also grateful for having an exceptional thesis committee. I wish to thank Shelley Hymel for her many words of support and her genuine enthusiasm for my work over the years. Tannis MacBeth is the reason I began down this path. She has been both my mentor and my advocate and I cannot thank her enough. I must also thank the Faculty of Graduate Studies at UBC for recognizing the importance of continuing a career while working on a Masters, and for providing me with the extensions and liberty this life-combination required. My secondary coder, Corinne Rubin, offered me her time, her patience, and her dedication to the study. A better colleague could not have been found and my heartfelt appreciation is sent to her. Without the unending support of my family my work would never have been completed. The continual teasing and praise of my parents, Sandra, Jim, and Laura, my brother Kevin, and my sister Cori meant they were proud of me, reminded me not to give up, and focused me on following my passion. To my aunt and uncle, my friends, and my cousins, who listened to me whine and asked me questions with such heartfelt interest -1 am grateful. I would like to express particular appreciation to my friend, Gordon Simpson. His sense of humour, his love, and his charitable reading and re-reading of my drafts were invaluable. No one could ask for a better friend in life than he has always been to me. Most of all, it is almost impossible to express how blessed I am to have Raeff Miles as a life partner. His loving support is immeasurable. I am so lucky. DKW 1 CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTION Television has a ubiquitous presence in our world and because of this its ability to influence our lives has been the subject of extensive research. Almost all North American homes have at least one television set, many have more, and thus understanding its impact on children's development is particularly vital. The idea that television viewing in and of itself, or by substitution over other activities, adversely affects children has been examined by a number of researchers in a number of ways, and conclusions have fallen on both sides of the argument. A surfeit of research has looked at how television might be acting as a negative force on children's behaviour, mental development, and physical well-being. To a lesser extent, researchers have studied television's positive influences. They have focused primarily on children's learning of prosocial behaviours and early academics. None of the past research links television viewing with motivation to learn. My study may be the first to suggest we consider television's potential as an extension of the formal education system in this manner. The research herein examined the motivation to learn messages offered in three educational television programs for children. The Impact of Television Quite often television is Warned, by researchers, parents, and educators alike, for undermining children's academic achievement and social adjustment. Early research suggested that children were passive receivers of televised information, often portraying them as mesmerized, or "drugged" (Postman, 1982; Winn, 1985). Without a doubt, children can appear to be completely engrossed in their viewing and most parents concur it is often difficult to pull them away from "the tube." Television has been called a baby sitter, a wasteland, a drug, and is accused of being a portal to all the evils of human society (Mander, 1978; Winn, 1985). It is thought to influence violent and antisocial behaviour (Williams, 1986). It is blamed for our 2 inactivity and health problems (Andersen, Crespo, Bartlett, Cheskin & Pratt, 1998; Dietz & Gortmaker, 1985). It is said to create or continue ethnic stereotypes (Oliver, 1994), objectify women (Signorielli & McLeod, 1994), and numb the minds of our children (Healy, 1999; Winn, 1985). Even without reading the research we could develop these opinions ourselves simply by scanning the glut of programming available today - most of which is clearly not aimed at developing the mind of the viewer. On the other hand, there are advocates for the medium who argue that television should not be condemned as the rival of learning; rather, it should be seen as an opportunity to discover new things, to be challenged or inspired.