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Children’s Television: Emotional and Social Learning

Author: Sara Lindey, Ph.D.

Related Videos:
Milton Chen:  Social and Emotional Learning (PDF Transcript)
Dorothy Singer: Prosocial Behavior (PDF Transcript)
Dorothy Singer: The Social and Emotional Focus of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (PDF Transcript)
Mister Rogers: Dealing with Disappointment
Mister Rogers: It’s You I Like
Mister Rogers: Dealing with Anger
Mister Rogers: Growing on the Inside
Mister Rogers: Biting

Discuss the connection between emotional and social learning to cognitive learning.  When might these abilities develop together? Use the clip, “Milton Chen: Social and Emotional Learning,” from the Fred Rogers Oral History Project interviews to launch the discussion. Here, Milton Chen, senior fellow of The George Lucas Educational Foundation, discusses the importance of children’s development of their own sense of self in accompanying their development of cognitive skills.

Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood has been said to concentrate on emotional and social child development.  Discuss when emotional and social learning is separate from cognitive development. Show the video clip, “Dorothy Singer: The Social and Emotional Focus of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” from the Fred Rogers Oral History Project interviews to spark discussion.  Here, Dorothy Singer, faculty of Yale University in the Yale Child Study Program, testifies to the connection and admiration Fred Rogers inspired in his viewers especially because the show helped children understand their own emotions, feel special, and interact with Mr. Rogers.

In the clip, “Dorothy Singer: Prosocial Behavior,” from the Fred Rogers Oral History Project interviews, Dorothy Singer defines and discusses pro-social behavior, especially as it relates to children watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and Sesame Street.

Consider showing the following Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood clips to elucidate what Dorothy Singer suggests - “Mister Rogers: It’s You I Like,” “Mister Rogers: Mad Feelings,” “Mister Rogers: Growing,” and “Mister Rogers: Biting.”.

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