3-179 - Can Infants and Toddlers Learn Effectively From Touchscreens?

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Children’s access to tablet devices has increased five-fold in the last two years; 38% of children under 2 years and 80% of children 2 to 4 years have used a touchscreen-enabled device (Common Sense Media, 2013). Touchscreen devices offer advantages over traditional media: they are interactive, tailorable, and can build in complexity (Christakis, 2014). However, features that toddlers can manipulate, while supportive in some contexts, may also pull attention away from educational content (Chiong & DeLoache, 2013; Tare et al., 2010); and parents focusing on these features may fail to provide efficient scaffolding (Chiong et al., 2012; Parish-Morris et al., 2013). Four empirical studies using well-established cognitive paradigms will examine learning from touchscreens during infancy and toddlerhood, as well as transfer of learning to real-world settings. The first speaker examines object search. She will discuss the importance of giving children control of the on-screen action, and the role of working memory in explaining individual differences in learning. The second speaker examines puzzle learning from an online tutorial vs. a social demonstration and will discuss how learning from the touchscreen differed as a function of the demonstrator. The third speaker examines children’s manipulations of touchscreens and will discuss the role of self-regulation in appropriate tapping and subsequent word learning. The final speaker compares the generalizability of word learning from traditional and touchscreen books, and infants’ daily experience with each. Overall the panel will discuss the cognitive complexities of transfer of learning from touchscreens and the practical implications for programmers and parents.

Sub Unit

• Cognitive Processes

Chair

• Gabrielle Strouse, University of Toronto

Individual Presentations

• Toddlers’ Object Retrieval using Touchscreens: The Role of Working Memory Skills - Presenting Author: Koeun Choi, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Heather L. Kirkorian, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Tiffany A. Pempek, N/A; Elizabeth Schroeder, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Reversing the Transfer Deficit Effect: The Role of Ghost v. Social Demonstrator - Presenting Author: Peter C Gerhardstein, Binghamton University (SUNY); Alecia Moser, Binghamton University; Herietta Lee, Georgetown University; Amanda Grenell, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities; Laura Jean Zimmermann, Georgetown University; Rachel F Barr, Georgetown University

• iTap on a Touchscreen: Factors that Affect Children’s Interaction and Learning - Presenting Author: Colleen Elizabeth Russo, Vanderbilt University; Charlotte Duncan, Vanderbilt University; Georgene Troseth, Vanderbilt Univ, Peabody College

• Infants' Learning From Electronic Touchscreen Versus Traditional Format Books - Presenting Author: Gabrielle Strouse, University of Toronto; Patricia A Ganea, University of Toronto