Young Children, Television & Learning: Part I. The effects of children watching a continuous off‐air broadcast

Abstract

aged between 6·6 and 7·4 years, to an uninterrupted television programme, viewed in small groups, were surveyed by individual post-viewing questioning. The indications are that the children viewed the programme passively except when something extraordinary or stimulating occurred; they recalled only isolated aspects that interested them or that they liked. They were unable to deduce the producer's intentions and gained only a vague idea of what the programme was about. Children are limited in what they can take from a broadcast by their own experiences and by how those relate to what is viewed, so teachers have a responsibility to assist young children to internalise and interpret what is viewed from educational television. Continuous 'programmes' seem unsuitable as learning media; children should view, via a videorecorder, short sequences or 'modules' of television material, linked to activities with which they are involved or familiar, to enable a three-way interaction between children, teacher and television to be established.