|
Tooey, Grandpa Nat and
Molly - MOLLY OF DENALI "Grandpa's Drum." Courtesy of PBS.
|
PBS KIDS' Molly of Denali, the first U.S. nationally distributed
children's series with an Alaska Native lead, continues its groundbreaking
work in childhood development with the release of the first-ever
study that connects children's understanding of informational text
to digital media.
Informational text, or text meant to inform, can be challenging
for young readers to understand as they are more familiar with narrative
stories. However, when digital media is intentionally designed to
have characters solve real-world problems using informational text,
early learners' engagement and comprehension skills are more likely
to increase.
The action-adventure show follows 10-year-old Molly Mabray, voiced
by Sovereign Bill (Tlingit and Muckleshoot), who helps her parents
at their trading post and goes on daily adventures with her friends
and dog in the fictional village of Qyah, Alaska. Throughout the
show, Molly uses various forms of informational text in her everyday
life and applies her new knowledge to craft DIY projects, follow
recipes to sharing her vlog.
In the report,
"Mahsi'choo for the Info! Molly of Denali Teaches Children About
Informational Text," revealed positive findings in children's ability
to access and retain cognitive skills. Researchers from the Education
Development Center (EDC) and SRI
International, a nonprofit research institute, conducted two
case studies with over 260 children across the country. Participants
average age was 7 years old and came from mostly non-Native, low-income
families. Both studies took place over nine weeks, and students
were separated into a treatment (pre-loaded resource tablets) and
control (blocked resource tablets) groups.
"The team wanted to create a positive experience for families.
We adapted to collecting data remotely and conducting the study
over Zoom," said EDC Senior Vice President Shelley Pasnik. She further
explained that the research team worked with the show's Alaska Native
advisors to ensure cultural appropriateness and the design of what
to access.
Ultimately, children that spent more time with Molly of Denali
resources performed better, which showcases that quality educational
media supports at-home learning and short-term interventions (an
hour a week) fostered reading skills "a first grader typically experiences
over three months."
|
Dine sisters watching
the episode of Dr. Begay. Courtesy of LeAnn Orsby.
|
"I would love to see a continued grounding from parents and strengthening
connection between home and school life. In the series itself, there's
a nice complement of resources. There are many high-quality resources
that teachers can incorporate into their teaching practices," said
Pasnik, who believes more adults should get involved in the learning
experience to cultivate curiosity and have conversations with younger
kids.
While the show takes place in rural Alaska, researchers found that
students from urban settings still responded well to the activities
and found Molly's character relatable.
"Children need a rich array of characters they can relate to. What's
been appealing about Molly is that there's been positive reception
in Alaska and in rural communities," Pasnik claimed.
The PBS show was purposefully co-created with Alaska Natives communities
and is full of cultural representation and Native language.
Earlier this month, PBS hosted a panel
discussion with show developers and researchers to delve into
the impact media content has on access, inclusion and equity for
young students. The discussion touched on the case study findings,
digital and alternative supplemental resources for low-income and
rural families, kids' relationship to racial identity and the overall
commitment to collaborating with Native communities.
"People really see themselves in the show. Many hands and many
hearts have touched this show, and it's really like a family that
we've grown," maintained Rochelle Adams (Gwich'in/Koyukon), a culture
bearer and member of the Alaska Native advisory team. The mother
of three has been involved since 2016.
Some of Molly's storylines are based off of the show's cultural
advisors' real-life experiences, such as the plot of "Grandpa's
Drum." During the episode, Molly investigates the reason her Grandpa
Nat refuses to sing at a local event and learns about his boarding
school experience through his old acquaintance. Nat used to love
to sing, but while at school, he was forbidden from practicing his
culture and language, so he gave his drum away. In the end, Molly
returns the drum and Grandpa Nat feels free to sing again.
The episode was inspired
by Lower Tanana Athabascan tribal elder, chief and advisor Luke
Titus. At age 12, Titus was sent to boarding school and, like countless
Native children, was traumatized into silence. He abused alcohol
and drugs during his younger years until sobering up in the 1980s.
Titus attended Alcoholics Anonymous and participated in healing
ceremonies to address his assimilation experience. Like Nat, hope
returned as he realized there was no one to punish him and he started
singing again. Molly of Denali offered a platform to tell his unique,
but all too familiar, perspective and encourage younger generations
to return to their Native languages and traditions.
"Every time I watch 'Grandpa's Drum' I get teary-eyed, because
it was so beautifully portrayed. It's something that's so difficult
for us to talk about as Indigenous people and as people living here
in this country. We don't really acknowledge some of our historical
trauma and boarding school era," Adams said.
Season two will premiere this fall with 23 half-hour episodes,
formatted in its usual two 11-minute animated sections and live-action
segment featuring Alaska Native communities and landscape.
Adams said, "For so long, people have thought that Alaska is pretty
much just one image of Eskimos living in igloos, but we have such
beautiful, vibrant and so many cultures from Alaska. It's really
great that we're able to educate people in that way."
SRI International
We are a 75-year pioneering research institute with a rich history
supporting government and industry. SRI International (formerly
Stanford Research Institute) is organized around broad disciplines
and capabilities, from research and development divisions and labs
to groups who excel at identifying new opportunities, developing
products and creating custom solutions. Our organization is driven
by impact delivering unique solutions for the world's important
challenges and transforming ideas into reality for clients are partners.
https://www.sri.com/
Education
Development Center (EDC)
When equal expression, opportunity, and supports exist for all people,
society can reach its full potential. Individuals are empowered.
Communities can create enduring solutions to pressing problems.
Nations can foster peace.
https://www.edc.org
|