Science learning in early years: Effects of the Chinese television series Big Bird Looks at the World

Abstract

Big Bird Looks at the World, a Chinese co-production with Sesame Workshop, the producer of Sesame Street, uses science as a vehicle to promote curiosity, observation, and hands-on investigation among 3-to 7-year-old children. This study assessed the educational impact of Big Bird Looks at the World in a sample of 1860 children. Preschool and Grade 1-2 classrooms in Central and Southwestern China were randomized within schools to the experimental group (watched 42 11-minute episodes of Big Bird Looks at the World over a 7-week period) or the control group (engaged in normal class activities). Children's Big Bird Looks at the World content knowledge, in terms of science vocabulary and science facts, was assessed through interviews at baseline and post-test; children's responses were coded for quantitative analyses. Consistent with our assumptions based on cultural script theory, relatively brief exposure to Big Bird Looks

A Study on the Spontaneous Representation of Animals in Young Children’s Drawings of Plant Life

“…This observation fits in well with a specific body of research concerning young children's graphical expressions on biological phenomena which accounts for a very weak variation, or even no differences at all, when it comes to comparing girls and boy's drawings on the issues of, for instance, plants [12,37], the sun [13], the structure of trees [17], the distinction of living and non-living things [32,38], ideas about micro-organisms [39], and animals [18], to name but a few.…”

“…This suggests that the existence of gender gaps, as far as the understanding of biological phenomena is concerned, should not be completely ruled out, as has been stated in other significant studies [18,19,41].…”

“…In this way, children's depictions have been utilised to explore, to name some recent relevant projects, their perceptions of the environment [15]; their understanding of different topics related to plant life [16,17], and animals [18,19]; and, also, to study their comprehension of issues linked to earth sciences [13,[20][21][22], as well as health subjects [23,24].…”

Exposure to Language in Video and its Impact on Linguistic Development in Children Aged 3-11: A Scoping Review

“…The links between participant factors and vocabulary learning were examined by 16 studies in total, with more consistent results than were observed for stimuli factors. The most common participant variable was age, with four studies reporting that older children performed significantly better on at least one targeted vocabulary measure (Rice & Woodsmall, 1988;Hsueh et al, 2017;Goldstein et al, 2021;Nussenbaum & Amso, 2016). Neulight (2012) and Oetting et al (1995) find no effect of age after controlling for pretest scores suggesting that baseline knowledge of target vocabulary may be more important for learning than age.…”