Exploring the Scientific Approach Behind Sesame Street
In the realm of children's television, few shows have made as significant an impact as Sesame Street. Produced by the nonprofit Sesame Workshop, this iconic programme has been a staple of early childhood education for over five decades.
Sesame Street employs advertising strategies to "sell" learning to children, featuring commercial-like segments that teach kids about reading, math, and other essential skills. The show's creators, including Joan Ganz Cooney, have drawn inspiration from the advertising world, hiring professionals to design segments structured like commercials to sustain interest.
Research suggests that children who were scoring in the 50th percentile on tests before viewing the show could be predicted to score in the 60th percentile after watching it. This improvement is not limited to one area; Sesame Street has been shown to help children learn in a variety of ways, including increasing literacy, knowledge of math concepts, school readiness, and emotional learning.
The show's educational benefits extend beyond cognitive skills. Sesame Street addresses social and emotional challenges, such as diversity, inclusion, and self-acceptance, through content that promotes empathy and understanding. With a global reach, Sesame Street is accessible to a wide audience, including underserved communities, making it a valuable resource for educational development.
Comparatively, other PBS programmes like SUPER WHY! and Curious George also demonstrate strong educational benefits. SUPER WHY!, for instance, has been linked to a 46% increase in standardized test scores, indicating strong literacy skills development. Curious George, on the other hand, has shown to improve understanding of science and math concepts.
However, Sesame Street stands out for its broad reach and adaptability across different cultural settings. Unlike many localized educational programmes, Sesame Street has a global impact, adapting content to diverse cultural contexts.
Moreover, the positive gains associated with watching Sesame Street match much more costly and resource-consuming interventions for young learners, such as nutrition programmes and pre-K classes.
In recent years, the future of Sesame Street seemed uncertain when the streaming service Max announced it wouldn't renew its contract with the show. However, Netflix has stepped in to save Sesame Street, with a deal that will see new episodes debuting on Netflix, PBS, and PBS Kids.
The Sesame Learning Channel, available exclusively through Discovery Education, offers ready-to-use early childhood resources for educators to support whole-child success in foundational math skills, language and literacy skills, and health and wellbeing.
In conclusion, Sesame Street's educational impact is notable for its ability to engage young learners in a comprehensive manner, addressing both cognitive skills and social-emotional development. While other PBS programmes and edutainment initiatives offer complementary benefits, Sesame Street stands out for its broad reach and adaptability across different cultural settings.
Sesame Street, with its global impact, teaches students various essential skills through advertising-like segments, leading to improvements in literacy, math, and school readiness, as well as emotional learning ( learning, school, student, teacher). Its content promotes diversity, inclusion, and self-acceptance, fostering empathy and understanding ( education-and-self-development, personal-growth, social-emotional).
Sesame Street's educational benefits are significant and cost-effective when compared to more resource-intensive interventions like nutrition programs and pre-K classes (Cost, resource-consuming interventions). Other PBS programs, such as SUPER WHY! and Curious George, also have educational benefits, but Sesame Street stands out for its broad reach and adaptability across various cultural settings (adaptability, cultural settings).
Recently, Sesame Street faced an uncertain future when its streaming contract expired, but it has been saved by Netflix, with new episodes airing on Netflix, PBS, and PBS Kids. Educators can also access ready-to-use resources through the Sesame Learning Channel on Discovery Education, supporting whole-child success in foundational skills like math, language, and health (educational resources, whole-child success, Sesame Learning Channel).
Overall, Sesame Street's impact on early childhood education is remarkable for its comprehensive approach, engaging young learners in both cognitive skills and social-emotional development (comprehensive approach, cognitive skills, social-emotional development).
