Training of media sign literacy in preschool children
Final Report Abstract
The results of the project provide important contributions to the development of media sign literacy (MSL) in early childhood, which is a precursor skill of media literacy. A tablet-based training program consisting of 10 sessions was developed with the pedagogical agent "Kora Koala." The program, which serves to promote MSL in preschool-aged children, is directly aimed at children and can be carried out independently by them. The feasibility of the training was examined in a small pilot study focusing on the identification of technical and content-related issues. Subsequently, the training program was evaluated in a pre-/post-test experiment with an active and a passive control group in a large-scale study. The passive control group continued their normal preschool routine, while the active control group participated in a digital intelligence training. A total of 197 children (49.24% female) from 22 preschools were surveyed. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a portion (12.69%) of the study with both the experimental and passive control groups was conducted online in a family setting; this was comparable to the study conducted in the preschools. Overall, the training had a positive impact on MSL, literacy precursor competencies (e.g., letter knowledge), facets of intelligence, and learning from educational media (e.g., television and audiobooks) among preschool children. The online survey in the family setting confirmed these results and supported the generalizability of the training’s execution. Comparing the MSL training with the intelligence training (active control group) emphasizes that MSL and intelligence are different skills, despite a mean common variance, and that specific training programs are necessary for each skill. Further studies conducted during the project provided evidence that four-year-old children are capable of inferring the emotional states of a film protagonist. In addition, it was found that MSL based on a general understanding of symbols promotes the metaphor comprehension among preschool- and elementary school-aged children. The results further indicate that the MSL of preschool children is primarily influenced by the mother’s socioeconomic status, the diversity of the child’s media exposure, the family’s cultural capital, and practices of the family environment. A conducive home learning environment is more important for the development of MSL than the parents’ socioeconomic background. The results highlight the importance of promoting media literacy from an early age. The developed training, which can be predominantly carried out independently by children, is both effective and efficient and can be used in preschools and at home. Given the positive effects of the training program, the results found should be further investigated in future studies.
Link to the final report
https://psycharchives.org/en/item/571c37c7-fd18-4bed-a4a0-8c93906e27e5
Publications
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Entwicklung & Evaluation eines Trainings zur Förderung der medialen Zeichenkompetenz im Kindergartenalter. Poster presented at PAEPSY 2019, Leipzig, Germany.
Freudenberger, F., Hunze, M. S., Diergarten, A. K., Völkel, S., Ohler, P. & Nieding, G.
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Can young Children’s Media Sign Literacy predict Academic Skills in Primary School? Proceedings of the 12th Media Psychology Conference 2021, 134-137
Gerigk, Y., Freudenberger, F., Hunze, M. S., Möckel, T., Pietschmann, D., Nieding, G. & Ohler, P.
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The Impact of Media Sign Literacy and Symbolic Understanding on Children’s Development of Metaphor Comprehension. Paper presented at 63rd TeaP 2021, Ulm, Germany.
Freudenberger, F., Hunze, M. S., Gerigk, Y., Völkel, S., Diergarten, A. K., Ohler, P. & Nieding, G.
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The Impact of Theory of Mind and Media Sign Literacy on Children’s Development of Emotional Inferences. Paper presented at 63rd TeaP 2021, Ulm, Germany.
Hunze, M.S., Freudenberger, F., Diergarten, A. K. & Nieding, G.
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The role of familial environment in the development of media sign literacy in preschool children. Poster presented at MediaPsych 2021, Aachen, Germany.
Freudenberger, F., Hunze, M. S., Gerigk, Y., Ohler, P. & Nieding, G.
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Young Children’s Exposure to a Pedagogical Agent. Proceedings of the 12th Media Psychology Conference 2021, 139 - 143
Hunze, M. S., Freudenberger, F., Gerigk, Y., Ohler, P. & Nieding, G.
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A cross-cultural comparison of the effects of German, Iranian, and Guatemalan parental and familial environmental factors on young children’s media behavior. Poster presented at 52nd DGPs Congress 2022, Hildesheim, Germany.
Freudenberger, F., Hunze, M. S., Gerigk, Y., Mubarak, A., Dabbaghi, G., Ohler, P. & Nieding, G.
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A media training program fostering media sign literacy in preschool: An evaluation study. Poster presented at 52nd DGPs Congress 2022, Hildesheim, Germany.
Gerigk, Y., Freudenberger, F., Hunze, M. S., Nieding, G. & Ohler, P.
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Parasocial relationships with pedagogical agents in preschool years. Poster presented at 52nd DGPs Congress 2022, Hildesheim, Germany.
Hunze, M. S., Freudenberger, F., Gerigk, Y., Ohler, P. & Nieding, G.
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Der Zusammenhang von elterlicher Medienkompetenz, sozioökonomischen Status und Mediennutzungsverhalten mit der medialen Zeichenkompetenz von Kindergartenkindern. Poster presented at 19th Fachgrupptentagung Pädagogische Psychologie (PAEPS), Kiel.
Freudenberger, F., Hunze, M. S., Gerigk, Y., Ohler, P. & Nieding, G.
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Die Auswirkung eines Trainingsprogramms zur medialen Zeichenkompetenz auf das Lernen von Kindergartenkindern aus Bildungsmedien. Paper presented at 19th Fachgrupptentagung Pädagogische Psychologie (PAEPS), Kiel
Hunze, M.S., Freudenberger, F., Gerigk, Y.K., Ohler, P. & Nieding, G.
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Preschoolers’ ability to build inferences about a film protagonist’s emotional state. Cognitive Development, 69, 101414.
Hunze, Marie Sophie; Freudenberger, Franziska; Gerigk, Yvonne; Nieding, Gerhild; Ohler, Peter & Diergarten, Anna-Katharina
