This is an initial examination of findings from laboratory and field studies done in Israel on the cognition-cultivating functions of media. The studies reasoned that highly explicit presentations of film-mediated operations can be imitated by observers, and that once imitated, they are internalized and can serve as modified mental skills. Two…

Research examined the learning effects that encouraging Israeli mothers to co-observe Sesame Street with their five-year-olds had. The mechanism which mediated such effects was also investigated. A total of 93 kindergarten children, drawn about equally from lower and middle class families, was divided between mothers' encouraged and non-encouraged…

Little is known about the teaching effectiveness of instructional media, particularly film and television. Accumulated research evidence applies to a generalized "average student," and thus to no one. There has been little concern for individual differences in interaction with instructional-media variables. The problem lies with the design of…

The airing of "Sesame Street" on Israeli television in 1971 provided an opportunity to study the effects of a sophisticated media format on a media naive audience. Samples of 93 kindergarteners and 224 second and third graders of mixed socioeconomic background were pre- and posttested for cognitive skills and media literacy. After…