This research project used a conceptual framework to study television viewing as a process of communication rather than as a one way transfer of information from the set to the person. Children's own definitions of experience of television viewing/behavior were used to shape the direction and concerns of the project. As background to, and in…

This report summarizes a five-volume research report on the classroom use and impact of ThinkAbout, an instructional television series designed to strengthen the reasoning skills of fifth and sixth graders and to review and reinforce language arts, mathematics, and study skills. It describes results of a 1979-80 research study which used three…

Three case studies describe and analyze the events occurring in three classrooms in the St. Louis metropolitan area during the first year (1979-1980) of the use of ThinkAbout, a series of 60 15-minute programs designed to strengthen the reasoning skills of fifth and sixth graders, and to review and reinforce language arts, mathematics, and study…

A formative evaluation was conducted of the instructional television program "Brad's Journey through Stress," from the Coping with Stress unit of "On the Level," a series of 12 lessons designed to aid secondary school students in dealing with personal and social growth. The evaluation involved 291 students in 9 classes in…

A formative evaluation was conducted of the instructional television program "Alone vs. Lonely," from "On the Level," a series of 12 lessons designed to aid secondary school students in dealing with personal and social growth. The program is designed to teach that loneliness is normal and is felt by everyone, and to suggest…

To describe the development of an experiential learning program for mass communication students, this report presents the results of a year-long experiment designed to help students gain in professionalism by both managing a cable channel and producing programs for it. The first section of the report describes the experiment, which was the result…

A study used 18 television commericals, selected as representative of a variety of executional styles and products, and generated scores for each of them on 18 dimensions of structural variation. In addition, a multivariate analysis was used to examine the relations both among the dimensions and between these dimensions and some common measures of…

What is television doing to our society and our culture? What has it done to education? Television has had a great impact on human behavior but rather than communicating, it dictates a philosophy of life, moral judgments and a lifestyle. Television presents a violent image of society where fantasy and reality are often confused. It is a system…

Drawing on international studies concerning leisure attitudes, media consumption, and parental impact on the television viewing decisions of 4- to 14-year olds, this paper focuses on the importance of developing a coherent media education policy for pre- and primary-school children, parents, elementary school teachers, and television station…

Some studies have suggested that TV encourages a variety of problems such as malnutrition, drug consumption, poor consumer habits, and violence. Others have argued that TV is a window to the world, promoting knowledge, cultural experiences and positive social values. This article examines some of these controversial claims and evaluates the impact…

The Anik-B Project is part of the two-year communications experiments for which the Anik-B satellite is being used. The project was designed to explore the possibilities of using Interactive Instructional Television (IITV) to provide distance postsecondary education for people living in widely scattered and sometimes inaccessible areas of British…

Increasing interest in the concept of parents as educators of their children and the increasing availability to public groups of television air time make possible unique opportunities for teacher training. This paper describes the "Just for You" program, a television series for preschool children and their parents. The program is produced with the…

The early development, prebroadcast research, early production concepts, formative research, summative research, evolution of production, and promotion and outreach activities of "The Electric Company" (TEC) are presented. Conclusions discuss (1) the uncertainty of the future of TEC despite its success and positive reception as an…

THIS CONFERENCE REPORT INCLUDES THE TEXTS OF 21 PAPERS ON TOPICS IN THE AREAS OF (1) IMPROVEMENT OF THE QUALITY OF INSTRUCTION IN HIGHER EDUCATION, (2) PREPARATION OF JUNIOR COLLEGE FACULTY, (3) EXPERIMENTAL COLLEGES, (4) PROGRAMMED INSTRUCTION, (5) TELEVISED INSTRUCTION, (6) STUDY SKILLS CENTERS, AND (7) COOPERATIVE INTERCOLLEGIATE PROGRAMS. (WO)

Violence and advertising are the most visible of many issues receiving attention in the formulation of policy by govermental agencies, the television industry, and advocacy groups. The role in policy formulation of empirical research that identifies relationships between television viewing, individual thought, and behavior is growing in several…