Research Roundup
Digital Media and Young Children
The research on screen time, digital media, and young children is of great interest to families and the librarians who work with them, as evidenced by comments in the Preschool Services Discussion online and by the large number of participants at the Preschool Services Discussion Group meeting at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Boston. As a follow-up, this column will highlight a few studies regarding children and media and will also present a selection of media mentorship resources, including some collected by the Preschool Services Discussion Group (with thanks to Sue McCleaf Nespeca and Linda L. Ernst).
Little eLit, a go-to site for research and resources on media mentorship created by Cen Campbell that developed into a grassroots, crowdsourced professional learning community of children’s librarians, is now a collaborative, web-based think tank with a large archive. Active members of Little eLit (who are also ALSC members) produced a research-based book, Young Children, New Media, and Libraries: A Guide for Incorporating New Media into Library Collections, Services, and Programs for Families and Children Ages 0–5, which was published chapter-by-chapter online from October 2014 to May 2015. This book is available for free download at http://littleelit.com/book/.
In chapter 2, “Children and Technology: What Can Research Tell Us?” Tess Prendergast gives a comprehensive survey of research studies and position statements regarding media use with children. Other chapters discuss developmentally appropriate practice, the role of new media in inclusive early literacy programs and services, evaluation of new media, using new media in storytimes, managing new media for youth services, and training and development for new media initiatives.1
Researchers Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Roberta Michnick Golinkoff have conducted research relating to children’s language and literacy. Here is a taste of their research:
When Technology Can Help Conversations
A study with Sarah Roseberry Lytle, with Hirsh-Pasek and Golinkoff, investigated “word-learning by children who were directly engaging with others on television and video-chat platforms like Skype. The study found that while children under 3 years old learn virtually nothing from hearing words on a television screen, their response to interactions on video chat were indistinguishable from in-person communication.”2
When Technology Can Hinder Conversations
In a research study so new that it has been submitted to a journal but has not yet been published, Jessica Michele Reed, Hirsh-Pasek, and Golinkoff examine what happens when parents try to teach their children two words with and without cell phone interruptions. The researchers concluded, “Children learn words in the uninterrupted condition but not in the interrupted condition. When we break the back-and-forth interaction, children do not realize the benefits of the duet. Of course, this is not to say that parents can’t take calls, but just to note that language learning doesn’t happen when conversations are interrupted.” A short description of this study might make a helpful developmental tip to parents!
More about Interruptions!
A 2013 study investigated and compared children’s literacy outcomes (language learning and story comprehension) when sharing ebooks and traditional books together. Two studies with 165 parents with a child from ages three to five revealed that parent-child dialogic reading was less and children’s reading comprehension was lower when an electronic book was used for reading together. Findings suggested that electronic stories often were interrupted by games with “bells and whistles” that disrupted the conversation. This interference with the back-and-forth discussion necessary for dialogic reading was suggested as the reason for the lower rates of reading comprehension. Lower comprehension rates were also found when comparing the reading of normal children’s books to those with manipulatives.3 &
References
- Amy Koester et al., Young Children, New Media, and Libraries: A Guide for Incorporating New Media into Library Collections, Services, and Programs for Families and Children Ages 0–5 (Little eLit: October 2014–May 2015), http://littleelit.com/book/.
- Sarah Roseberry, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, and Roberta M. Golinkoff, “Skype Me! Socially Contingent Interactions Help Toddlers Learn Language,” Child Development 85, no. 3 (May–June 2014): 956–70.
- Cynthia Chiong and Judy S. DeLoache, “Learning the ABCs: What Kinds of Picture Books Facilitate Young Children’s Learning?” Journal of Early Childhood Literacy 13, no 2 (2013): 225–41.