Tag Archives: research

In Families Matter, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop’s most recent research report (released May 2011), I take an ecological approach to chronicling how digital media are shaping childhood, parenting, and family life (Bronfenbrenner, 1977). I do so by sharing findings from two complementary studies: a national survey of parents of 3- through 10-year-olds, and in-depth case studies of two young Latina girls and their families. Gabriela Guzman and Sierra Ramirez’s cases provide rich examples of the potential…

Yes, this is another piece about the SpongeBob study. I wanted to provide my thoughts on it both from a scientific research perspective, but also as someone who has to help make production decisions even when there is not enough time and resources to do a thorough scientific study. Often we have to hypothesize about why particular content supports or detracts from children’s learning.   For the 2% of you (completely unscientific poll) who might be reading this but who…

Research Assistant Meagan Bromley reflects on our most recent time in the field for the Cooney Center’s E-Book QuickStudy. Find out what our research team has been up to lately as well as how you can get involved in our upcoming follow-up study this week! “Oh yes, I read Miss Spider on the iPad at home, and I play other games on it too.” – 5-year-old boy on the “game” of reading   When Sesame Street first began, researchers were…

Just over a week ago, I had the pleasure of assisting members of the Cooney Center staff in a two-day research study at the New York Hall of Science (NYSCI) in Queens, NY. The study, conducted in corroboration with NYSCI, focused on the interaction between children (ages 3-5) and their caregivers when reading two different science books: one regular book and one on the iPad. Would the iPad serve as a distraction to children or would it actually promote as…

We are proud to announce our Cooney Fellow for 2011! Sarah Vaala will be joining the Joan Ganz Cooney Center in October of this year from the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. Sarah will be completing her Ph.D. in Communication this summer, with various research work surrounding the issue of how to uncover ways to maximize television’s potential to teach and motivate young children.   Amid clinicians’ and psychologists’ arguments for keeping children under the age…

Editor’s Note: Want to join the Joan Ganz Cooney Center team? Apply to be the 2016-2017 Cooney Center Fellow! We are accepting fellowship applications now through April 4, 2016. I’ll be honest—I applied for the Cooney Center Fellowship for the Muppets. As a lifelong fan of Sesame Street, the idea of working in an environment that valued Bert and Ernie, Big Bird, and Grover as much as I do was extremely appealing. Upon learning more about the Joan Ganz Cooney…

Today, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center and Sesame Workshop are releasing a new report entitled Always Connected. The report is a synthesis of data from seven studies and presents a comprehensive look at young children’s media use over the past five years. As someone who is interested in research methodology, and as one of the authors, the report has encouraged me to think more carefully about the way we define and measure media use. Measurement of media use taps into…

Editor’s Note: Want to join the Joan Ganz Cooney Center team? Apply to be the 2016-2017 Cooney Center Fellow! We are accepting fellowship applications now through April 4, 2016. “This can be a pretty quirky place–do you think she would feel comfortable here?” Apparently, this is one of the questions that Michael Levine asked Bárbara Brizuela, my dissertation advisor, before I became a Cooney Fellow in 2009. I think Bárbara was particularly proud of her response: “She went to MIT, how much quirkier can…

The Sesame Workshop research team has been following the development of a game promoting intergenerational computer literacy. Mindy Brooks shares some of the lessons they’ve learned about designing an educational game that appeals to both parents and kids. How do you design a game to engage both parents and children to play together and ultimately enhance the child’s literacy skills? After hearing multiple exclamations from parents such as, “Watch out for that word!” or “No, that’s not the “t” sound!”,…

Want to join the Cooney Center Team? Apply to be the 2011-2012 Cooney Center Fellow! The Cooney Center Fellows Program encourages research, innovation, and dissemination to promote children’s learning. Fellows participate in a wide range of projects and, in doing so, develop broad exposure to scholarship, policy, and practice in the field of digital media and learning. Learn more about fellowship projects, eligibility requirements, and how to apply.