Conclusion
The important thing for us to acknowledge as developmental psychologists is that our theories and our intuitions about how young children learn were virtually all full-blown before television became a major component of early childhood experience. Because children did not learn from “passive” stimuli before (when there were indeed few such stimuli available to him) we have been too sure that theycannot learn this way. Sesame Street has led a lot of us to make concessions about this, but more significant shifts in our thinking may still be in order.
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Additional information
Barbara R. Fowles is associate director of research for the Children's Television Workshop and adjunct assistant professor of psychology and education, Ferkauf Graduate School, Yeshiva University. Gilbert Voyat is associate professor of psychology in the Graduate Faculty, City University of New York.
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Fowles, B.R., Voyat, G. Piaget meets big bird: Is TV a passive teacher?. Urban Rev 7, 69–80 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02223209
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02223209