41 Learning Methods That Benefit a Lifetime

Chapter 21 There is no direct relationship between watching TV and academic performance

Scholar Bu Wei, based on investigations and research, came to the conclusion that the length of time children's media use cannot independently determine the quality of children's academic performance.The basis is: ①Different media types (such as TV, radio, books, electronic game consoles, etc.) and different media contents (such as documentary content and entertainment content, etc.) have different effects on children's learning activities; The quality of performance is affected by many factors, such as teachers' attitudes towards children, family relationships, children's achievement needs, children's self-acceptance, children's peer relationships, and so on.

Bu Wei compared the media exposure time of supernormal children and normal children, and found that there was no significant difference in the contact time between the two groups of children in TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, tape recorders, game consoles, etc., but supernormal children were exposed to more printed media than normal children. Media, prefer news, scientific knowledge, science fiction, adventure and other media content.Some people may say that because supernormal children are smart, they watch the same amount of TV, but their grades are better than normal children, but this just shows that the length of watching TV is not the only factor that determines children's academic performance.

So, for children with the same intelligence, what is the relationship between the length of media exposure and their academic performance?Bu Wei's survey found that the longer the exposure to TV, the lower the children's academic performance, and other media such as newspapers, books, radio, etc. may be directly proportional to children's academic performance, or have no effect on academic performance.However, when other factors that affect children's academic performance are considered, the effect of the length of TV exposure is so low that it is almost negligible.

In this study, the most influential factors on children's academic performance were peer relationship, class teacher's attitude towards children, children's achievement needs, children's self-acceptance, and cognitive needs in learning.In contrast, other factors, including time spent on all media, had no significant effect on children's academic performance.

Bu Wei explained that for most children, it is unrealistic to rely on limiting children's exposure to media to improve academic performance.Developing children's self-confidence, interest in learning, and an attitude toward achievement may be more important than limiting their media time.

Correct guidance makes TV a good tool for learning
In fact, TV is a double-edged sword, which can make children smarter or dumber.People are often warned that watching TV is not good for children and that it will set them back in learning, but we are often amazed at what children learn from that flickering screen.Although today's TV programs are dazzling, it is really difficult for children to decide what to watch, but as long as teachers and parents are good at guiding, the positive effects of TV can be brought into full play to a greater extent.You can give your children some advice, formulate rules for watching TV, and suggest that parents should watch TV with their children.Doing so can not only effectively supervise, but also trigger some discussions, help children recognize what is high-quality goods and what is garbage, and form a correct aesthetic view.In addition, it is necessary to combine watching TV with reading, visiting, games and other activities, so that children's various knowledge can be connected with each other, more systematic and easier to remember.

If children can be properly guided, in fact, TV can also be a great learning tool, such as "Sesame Street", "The Electric Company" and "Mr. still helps children learn to read, count, learn socialization and sensory bonding in childhood; and nature programming on public television teaches children all aspects of the world and the creatures that live in it.

Watching TV also affects mental and physical health

But now, you know what?Bud We should not only care about the impact of watching TV on the mind, but also start to worry about the lifestyle and physical health affected by long-term watching TV.

Studies have shown that children who spend hours a day watching TV or playing video games have unhealthy problems with weight, attention span, reading skills and socialization.Studies have found that when children watch less TV, their physiques are thinner, stronger and stronger, and when children grow up in homes free of junk food, they are less likely to pester their parents to buy the commercials they see on TV When you grow up, you will be less likely to smoke and drink alcohol, and you will also like to go outdoors, get in touch with nature and learn more about wild places.

Watching TV is a relatively passive activity of the mind.When you watch too much TV, you deprive your child of the time to spend on creativity, self-reliance, learning, and social interaction.Studies have found that children who watch 10 or more hours of television a week perform worse in reading and academic performance than children who spend less time watching television.Studies have pointed out that children's brain structure, watching TV for more than 2 hours a day will directly damage the brain.Watching TV can easily cause the development of "inertial thinking" in the brain, increase aggressive behavior, reduce tolerance, reduce concentration time, and replace the development of the left brain language center.

Principles for the management of television viewing at home
It appears that families should have certain principles governing TV viewing.Faced with the physical and mental impact of so many children watching excessive TV, how can parents and teachers help their children improve these negative impacts? start.Teachers and parents can share information about their children's TV viewing behavior with the following suggestions, provided by the Washington State TV Shutdown Coalition and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

① Set family rules.It stipulates how many hours (no more than 2 hours) of TV children can watch every day and when to watch it.Ask parents and teachers to say, "Let's turn off the TV! So we can go to... (read, ride a bike, play with friends)" instead of saying "You can't watch TV!" But when the rules are set, To be strictly enforced.

②Do not use TV as a reward or punishment item.This will only increase the value of television in the hearts of children.

③ Do not let children watch TV while eating or doing homework.Watch the program you want to watch after recording it.

④ Avoid turning the TV into a child's nanny.Arrange work and rest time at home and take the children to learn to do housework together, so as not to let the TV to comfort the children for fear of making troubles.

⑤ Use the program table and program rating information to select or arrange programs that children can watch.Turn off the TV when the selected program is finished.Or look for other excellent audio-visual programs to watch.It can be selected by referring to the excellent program information provided by non-governmental organizations.

⑥ Find opportunities to watch programs with your child and discuss with him what you see.Make sure the child understands that TV shows are constructed or fictional (such as plays or cartoons).Do not allow children to watch cartoons, shows or news that are too violent and sexual.If your child watches commercial television, explain the existence of commercials and discuss their function and purpose.

⑦ Adults self-discipline the habit of watching TV, and use their own example as a model for children.You might even consider setting aside one day of the week as a "No TV Day."

If we can do this and guide the children correctly, then we can apply this learning method correctly and get good results.

Programmed learning is also known as programmed learning.It is a learning method proposed by the famous modern American learning psychologist Skinner (BFSkinner), who arranges the learning materials to suit his own learning speed, so as to achieve the learning goals more easily.It is now believed that the program learning method is an effective learning method when it is used to cultivate habits and correct behaviors.

(End of this chapter)