Personalized Interactive Characters for Toddler’s STEM Learning From a Video Presentation

• In Event: Opportunities and Barriers to Learning From Television

Abstract

Children's media is rooted in children's relationships with characters. In this study, 18-month-old toddlers were exposed to one of two previously unfamiliar interactive media characters for 3 months. In one condition, the character was personalized to them. In another condition, the character was not personalized to them. At age 21 months, toddlers were tested on a transfer seriation STEM task that was presented onscreen by the character. These children's seriation performance was compared to that of a 21-month-old control group. Toddlers learned significantly more from the personalized character, but not from the non-personalized character, when compared to the control group. Children in the personalized condition also increased in parasocial, nurturing behaviors directed at the character during play sessions over time, and these scores were linked to better seriation performance. The results suggest an important role for social relationships with interactive characters as a mechanism for teaching early mathematics skills.

Authors

• Sandra L. Calvert, Georgetown U

• Melissa N Richards, Georgetown U

• Courtney Kent, Georgetown U