{"id":963292,"date":"2021-06-06T17:20:25","date_gmt":"2021-06-06T21:20:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/education\/daniel-tiger-empathy\/"},"modified":"2023-09-27T02:53:41","modified_gmt":"2023-09-27T06:53:41","slug":"daniel-tiger-empathy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/education\/daniel-tiger-empathy\/","title":{"rendered":"How Daniel Tiger Teaches Empathy"},"content":{"rendered":"

A recent study by Eric E. Rasmussen et al. tried to determine the level to which\u00a0<\/span>Daniel Tiger\u2019s Neighborhood<\/span><\/i>\u00a0teaches\u00a0children\u00a0to use\u00a0empathy\u00a0responses at appropriate times.\u00a0Let\u2019s break it down:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Social and emotional development has consistently predicted\u00a0children\u2019s success in kindergarten (and beyond). As\u00a0<\/span>Mister Roger\u2019s Neighborhood<\/span><\/i>\u00a0focused on social development, its ridiculously cute successor,\u00a0<\/span>Daniel Tiger\u2019s Neighborhood<\/span><\/i>, focuses its curriculum on social-emotional development.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"daniel<\/span>One major focus of the study that we need to focus on is\u00a0<\/span>active mediation<\/span><\/b>. We always try to encourage parents to participate in co-viewing, which is simply watching quality programming with their kids, but active mediation takes the process a step further.\u00a0Active mediation is adult-child discussion of programming. Active mediation has been found to help children understand the\u00a0important parts of the program, the overall message, and difference between fiction and non-fiction.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To take it even further, we can engage in what the researchers call\u00a0<\/span>positive mediation<\/span><\/b>, which is the active mediation where the adult actively praises and endorses the program being watched. In this study, the researchers wanted to see\u00a0if active and positive mediation would increase the levels of empathy\u00a0being taught.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s move on to the method:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The researchers used two different DVDs for the study: one had ten episodes\u00a0<\/span>Daniel Tiger\u2019s Neighborhood<\/span><\/i>, and the other had a nature documentary. The researchers collaborated with a producer on\u00a0<\/span>Daniel Tiger<\/span><\/i>\u00a0to choose the episodes of the show.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There were four groups:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The active mediation group.<\/strong> Parents watched <\/span>Daniel Tiger<\/span><\/i>\u00a0with their kids and discussed the show as much as possible over the next few weeks.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. The co-viewing group.<\/strong> Parents in this group watched <\/span>Daniel Tiger<\/span><\/i>\u00a0with their kids but didn\u2019t discuss it afterward.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. The viewing alone group.<\/strong> Kids watched <\/span>Daniel Tiger<\/span><\/i>\u00a0in this group without any adults.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. The control group.<\/strong> These kids watched the nature documentary with their parents without being given any particular instruction on how to interact with their kids during or after the program. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Before, during, and after a few weeks of viewing, the children were tested for empathy\u00a0by asking their parents how the children react to certain scenarios that would typically induce an empathetic response. The results of their tests were then compared with each other so that the researchers could gauge how well\u00a0<\/span>Daniel Tiger\u2019s Neighborhood<\/span><\/i>\u00a0taught empathy responses to its audience.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    The results were nothing short of astounding.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Daniel Tiger\u2019s Neighborhood<\/span><\/i>\u00a0was successful in improving the empathy scores of the children, but the empathy scores were only significant in the group where the parents participated in active mediation. Without the parent being there to actively legitimize the show, it lost a lot of\u00a0its\u00a0positive benefits.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    These findings are\u00a0really significant\u00a0because it\u2019s evidence of the importance of active mediation. Not only does this emphasize the importance of watching and endorsing prosocial programming like\u00a0<\/span>Daniel Tiger<\/span><\/i>\u00a0with kids, but it also legitimizes the use of programs like\u00a0<\/span>Daniel Tiger<\/span><\/i>\u00a0to develop social and emotional skills.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    That said, Daniel Tiger has proven himself to be an incredible teacher for social and emotional development\u2014but he can\u2019t do it alone. The inclusion of parents and\/or adults in the viewing experience is proving to be\u00a0absolutely vital\u00a0to the success of the programming and, more importantly, the child.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Check out the study for yourself.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

    Or some great resources on co-viewing here:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n