Doctoral thesis: children learn sciences from television
Watching news and nature programmes reflects positively on learning
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Following the news, documentaries, and nature and science programmes on television has a positive effect on schoolchildren’s knowledge of natural sciences, claims a doctoral thesis in pedagogics to be reviewed today at Jyväskylä University.
The author of the thesis Pasi Reinikainen would still refrain from urging pupils to spend hours watching television, for the connection between TV and learning is two-fold: the more a pupil spends time watching television, the weaker his or her grasp of natural sciences is.
Around five percent of the 1,500 elementary school pupils included in the study spend up to five hours a day in front of the sparkle-box, and their learning results were weak.
Of the various suggested television programme types, the news as well as documentaries seemed to have a positive effect on learning.
"I thought this was a terrific find, for usually television is always considered a pastime that merely passivates people. And of course the television newscasts and nature programmes act as excellent sources of information for the grown-ups as well, and the way in which such programmes distribute knowledge differs from that of textbooks", Reinikainen says.
Other programme types, such as sportscasts, animated cartoons or comedies, lacked the connection conducive to learning.
According to the pupils, a profuse number of exams and random tests has a negative effect on their learning of sciences. "Perhaps the exams burden weaker students more than those at the head of the class", Reinikainen speculates.
Working in groups failed to produce positive results in Finland. "Working in groups easily leads to a situation where only some of the pupils take part in the joint effort", Reinikainen points out.
Reinikainen’s dissertation is based on material for the third international research into mathematics and sciences that was conducted in six countries in 1999.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 26.10.2007 - TODAY |
 Doctoral thesis: children learn sciences from television |
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