Multimedia Digital Stories and Science Vocabulary Learning in Preschoolers: The Role of Attention-Guiding Features

• In Event: Bridging Worlds of Words: Insights from Bilingual, Multimedia, and Meta-Analytic Research

Abstract

This study investigates how multimedia digital stories with various attention-grabbing features influence preschoolers' science vocabulary learning. Participants (N=98) were randomly assigned to watch science-content multimedia digital stories with (1) an instructional agent (aiming to direct the child’s attention with gestures (visual) and verbal cues) and a relevant interaction target (aiming to reinforce attention to a relevant component of the illustration to move to the next page), (2) an instructional agent and an irrelevant interaction target, or (3) no instructional agent and a relevant interaction target. Science vocabulary scores after watching multimedia digital stories showed that children in No Agent-Relevant Target condition scored significantly higher than those in Agent-Relevant Target; children in Agent-Irrelevant Target scored higher than those in Agent-Relevant Target.

Authors

• Claire Seung-Hee Son, University of Utah

• Kirsten Butcher, University of Utah

• Ashley Silcox, University of Utah

• Justine Hampton, University of Utah

• Gwendolyn Marie Douglas, University of Georgia