How can educational media impact a child’s learning outcomes? This is what a recent study published in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated a correlation between educational media on tablets and phones with child development. This study has the potential to help researchers, educators, and the public better understand the tools and resources that can be used for adolescent learning and child development.
For the study, the researchers analyzed data obtained from questionnaires completed by 346 caregivers, who reported the specific apps, games, TV shows, and videos their spring semester first grader child used, which the researchers then determined which content was educational or entertainment. In the end, the researchers found that not only did educational content comprise the majority of the media use, but that STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) subject comprised the majority of the educational content. In follow-up research, it was found that PBS comprised 45.2 percent of the educational content.
“We need to know what’s out there and what children are actually using of what’s available to understand how to better diversify the content for children and make sure it’s being used by the children who need it most,” said Dr. Rebecca Dore, who is the Director of Research at the Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy at The Ohio State University and lead author of the study. “We’re all worried about what enriching activities that children might not be engaging in because they’re spending so much time using screens. So, let’s increase the quality of the screen time they’re getting.”
What new connections between educational media and child learning development will researchers make in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, EurekAlert!