3. Media & Learning

Question 1

REDUCTION HYPOTHESIS

Answer 1

consuming high amounts of media leads to poor academic achievement

Question 2

what is media use correlated with?

Answer 2

• Academic performance
• Test scores
• Poorer educational achievement

Question 3

time displacement

Answer 3

media takes away from intellectually beneficial activities (Media consumption replaces time spent on academic activities)

Question 4

exception of time displacement

Answer 4

screen media displaces reading in young children (impacting reading acquisition)

Question 5

why is time displacement not fully supported by data?

Answer 5

1. media displaces other media (viddy games displace TV)
2. media only affects reading for young children (choosing TV over reading) dont see this pattern in older kids

Question 6

when does reading displacement really make a difference?

Answer 6

young kids (older kids are already good at reading)

Question 7

mental effort theory

Answer 7

media use is passive, and causes passive thinking to become the norm

• Reduces our thinking
• No evidence to support this

Question 8

Attention & Impulsivity theory

Answer 8

media use shortens attention spans, and increases impulsive behaviours

• Media is fast-paced and therefore reduces our attention spans
• No evidence to support

Question 9

what are the main arguments for reduction hypothesis (3)

Answer 9

1. time displacement - little evidence
2. mental effort - no evidence
3. attention and impulsivity - no evidence

Question 10

mental effort

Answer 10

media use is passive, and causes passive thinking to become the norm (reduces our thinking)

Question 11

is there evidence to support mental effort?

Answer 11

no. when watching media with young children, they are often interacting with the material, asking questions, etc.

Question 12

explain Attention & Impulsivity

Answer 12

media use shortens attention spans, and increases impulsive behaviours (no evidence here either)

Question 13

how long per day do 2-10 yr olds spend consuming educational media

Answer 13

1hr / day

Question 14

informal vs. formal education

Answer 14

informal -> - often involves social skills and prosocial skills
- Eg: Blues Clues → problem solving, DragonTales → pro-sociality, sharing

formal -> in school

Question 15

what is the correlation between educational media and academic outcomes?

Answer 15

positive.
- Kids consuming more educational media did better in academics
- Strongest for the younger age group

Question 16

what is the correlation between entertainment media and academic outcomes?

Answer 16

negative–increase in media = poor academic performance

Question 17

in a 10 year study of 5 year olds, what was the relationship b/w educational content and academic performance?

Answer 17

positive for BOYS ONLY

Question 18

what skills does sesame street teach

Answer 18

academic and socio-emotional

Question 19

file drawer effect

Answer 19

researchers tend to not file things that don’t show effects

Question 20

who funds a lot of media research?

Answer 20

the media itself

Question 21

where else has benefits of educational media been found?

Answer 21

blues clues, dora, dragon tales, etc.

Question 22

what research design is mostly used?

Answer 22

correlational (but some experimental)

Question 23

What factors matter in whether educational media is successful?

Answer 23

1. educational goals
2. age of child
3. media features

Question 24

where has success in educational goals been seen?

Answer 24

teaching children vocabulary, spelling & literacy skills, prosocial skills

Question 25

what is not successful to teach children

Answer 25

more complex skills eg: grammar

Question 26

how does age of child impact?

Answer 26

Infants under ~17months-2years may not have the same positive effects of educational media (video deficit, unable to understand media)
- spinach effect
- less good educational tv for older kids? (not a lot fits this genre)

Question 27

media features affecting media?

Answer 27

1. moderate discrepancy
2. repetition
3. participatory cues

Question 28

Moderate discrepancy

Answer 28

children attend to and learn from media that differs moderately from what they know and understand (Don’t want to try and teach very young children algebra…)

Question 29

Participatory cues (benefits?)

Answer 29

Shows that have more engagement (Blues Clues, Dora) are more beneficial

Question 30

capacity model

Answer 30

Educational media has narrative and educational content (narrative = plot, educational = lesson)

Question 31

idea behind capacity model

Answer 31

We have limit cognitive resources, particularly working memory
- Attending to the narrative and educational content will compete for these resources
- Impacted by the distance between narrative and educational content → how well they are connected
- With further distance (between narrative and education), we may struggle to learn

Question 32

how is learning more difficult via capacity model

Answer 32

The less related the plot is to the educational component, the more it will stretch your memory and will lose the education
- If it is too hard to keep track of, we will focus on narrative rather than the educational content

Question 33

in a 10 year study of 5 year olds, what was the relationship b/w VIOLENT content and academic performance?

Answer 33

negative for GIRLS ONLY

Question 34

how is learning more difficult via capacity model

Answer 34

The less related the plot is to the educational component, the more it will stretch your memory and will lose the education
- If it is too hard to keep track of, we will focus on narrative rather than the educational content