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Final innovation project v5

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Shay-Jahen Merritté
Shay-Jahen Merritté

Sesame Street was created in the 1960s through a collaboration between children's television pioneers and researchers to develop an educational children's program. It combined both education and entertainment using a revolutionary format developed through scientific research on child development and learning. This involved short segments featuring live and puppet characters incorporating educational themes. Sesame Street has since become the longest-running children's television program known worldwide for its educational impact and Muppet characters.

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Innovation In Children’s Educational Programing Christina Han Marc Lippman Angela Zugay 1 Shay-Jahen Merritté
8 Introduction Sesame Street is an American educational children’s television series and a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard, combining both education and entertainment. Sesame Street is well Million Weekly Viewers known for its Muppets characters created by Jim Henson. It premiered 40 on November 10, 1969, and is the longest running children’s program on television. In 1966, The Carnegie Institute hired Joan Ganz Cooney to study how the media could be used to help young children, especially those from low-income families, learn and prepare for school.Cooney proposed Continuously Running Seasons using television’s “most engaging traits”, including high production values, sophisticated writing, and quality film and animation, to reach 140 the largest audience possible. Sesame Street was built around a single, breakthrough insight: that if you can hold the attention of children, you can educate them. Country Broadcasts 2
First children’s show to incorporate an early childhood curriculum. Studied how kids learn from TV, developed format based on findings and experimentation. Format developed through scientific research in cognitive development. Resulting format: 30-90 second clips featuring interaction of live & imaginary characters, incorporating educational themes 30-90 Sec. 3
Spun off from philanthropic nonprofit Carnegie Corporation In the mid-1960’s: Lloyd Morrisett, VP studying cognitive development and the education gap affecting underprivileged children is inspired by his 3-year-old daughter’s ability to memorize commercial jingles. Forms hypothesis that television, now in 97% of U.S. homes, can be used to educate children. He then contacts TV producer Joan Ganz Cooney and commissions her to do a 3-month study, producing the report “The Potential Uses of Television in Pre-School Education,” which becomes basis for development. Carnegie partners with The Ford Foundation and secures additional funding from U.S. Dept of Education to form “Children’s Television Network” as a development and production company for what will eventually be Sesame Street. 4
The Children’s TV Market Before Sesame Street Primarily entertainment-focused • With proliferation of TV in 1950’s, children’s programs were mostly live-action variety shows, most notably puppet-hosted “Howdy Doody” . • By the 1960s, live action was almost entirely replaced by animation: The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Space Ghost. • Some popular live-action host-centered shows remained; Captain Kangaroo, from 1955, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood introduced 1968. • While some of these shows had elements of education, none focused on a preschool education curriculum. Howdy Doody Mr. Rocky & Rogers Bullwinkle 5
Process Purpose: Study how the media could Goals & Priorities For Each Season be used to help young children, • Symbolic especially those from Representation low-income families, learn • Physical and prepare for school. Environment • Social Environment. 6
• Curriculum planning seminars. • Producers and writers with a crash course in child development, psychology, and preschool education. • Involved entertainment people, educators and psychologists. The Muppet characters were created to fill specific curriculum needs. For example, Oscar the Grouch was designed to teach children about their 7 positive and negative emotions.
Test episodes for testing whether children (preschoolers) found them comprehensible and appealing. Used laboratory-oriented research. Results were “generally very positive. Children paid more attention to the Muppet segments than the street segments with the humans that all of the learning took place. Decision to defy the recommendations of their advisers. Henson and his team created Muppets (BigBird and Oscar) that could specifically interact with the human actors, and that preschoolers are more sophisticated television viewers than originally thought. This testing was strongly influenced by behaviorism which was a prominent movement in psychology in the late 1960s. The Distractor Method • Two children at a time were brought into the laboratory and shown an episode on a television monitor and a slide show next to it. • The slides would change every seven seconds, and researchers recorded when the children’s attention was diverted from the episode. Eyes on the Screen Method • Modified distractor method • Collected data from larger groups of children simultaneously. • Tested for more “natural” distractions, or the distractions that other children provide in group viewing situations. • Engagement measure, which recorded children’s more active responses to an episode, like laughing and dancing to the music. 8
Evolution 1960s Prevailing understanding thinks kids have short attention spans. Magazine format, tells a story in 30-second segments. Cognitive psychologists recommended never to mix Muppets and people, it could confuse the kids. The lessons were in the ‘street scene’ portion of the show with humans (about 10min of lessons took about 45 minutes to tell due to these interludes). 1990s Radically redesign format, ratings decline, competing programs. Traditional magazine-format was not the most effective way to hold their attention. How children’s viewing habits had changed in thirty years. Show was produced for three to five year olds, children began watching it at a younger age. As a result, the target age for Sesame Street shifted downward, from four years to three years. 2000s Short segment that targeted the developmental age of the show’s newer viewers began to be shown at the end of each episode. Used traditional elements (animation, Muppets, music, and live-action film). Depended heavily on repetition. Took place in a stylized crayon-drawing universe. Elmo was chosen as the host because he had always tested well with them. 9 Interludes Lessons Elmo’s World
Spin-Offs Other Shows Tickle Me Elmo is one of the most successful toy fads ever. Over a million of the dolls have been sold Videos & since its introduction in 1996. It proved so popular that shortages led to price gougers selling the $30 Movies Merchandising toy for more than $1500. Theme Park Video Games Books Toys Clothes 10
Supportive Studies Studies on Sesame Street’s educational influence Most recent longitudinal study published in early 2000 which was based on a low-income neighborhood in Kansas City: • Showed a positive effect on the vocabulary and math skills of preschoolers who watched an average of two hours a week. • Showed positive effects on readings and achievement lasted through high school. • Showed that kids as young as 2 can count 1 to 20 and up to 100 if counting by 10s. 11
Societal Impact Sesame Street is the first show to present a number of social issues to children for the first time, several of these include: Low income Race Mixing AIDS (in Africa) Single motherhood Military Families Kosovo and ethnic differences Religion Pregnancy Healthy eating/public health Environmental Awareness World Awareness Home Fires Adoption Terrorism Death 12
Sustainable Points of Competitive Differentiation • First Mover Advantage • Brand Strength • Viewer Loyalty • “Customer” Centricity • Intelectual Property 13
Double Bottom Line Sesame Street needs to meet a double bottom line. Not only must it stainability maintain and grow its viewer base and secure funding to maintain its financial viability, it must also show that it meeting its social goals of educating youth who have limited educational opportunities. 14
Viewership Trends by Decade In Relation to Show Format. 12Million 10Million 9Million 8Million 7Million 1969 1979 1989 1999 2009 15
Financial Data Trends 145M | 140M % Royalties & % Donations & Grants Licensing Revenues revenues | expenses 63M | 60M 27M | 17.6M 8M | 8M 1969 1973 1984 2009 16
Innovation Framework: 3 Types Transformative Incorporating Pre-School Curriculum & Applying scientific method to children’s educationl television. Transitional Altering the show’s format. Incremental Introducing new characters. 17
Innovation Framework: Game Changer Inspiring Leadership Motivating Connected Purpose & Culture Values Customer Consistent Centric Stretching & Reliable Innovation Goals Systems Game Changing Enabling Choiceful Structure Strategies Unique Core Strengths 18
Thank You. What Questions Do You Have? 19
Sources Alexander, Allison. “Children And Television. The Museum of Broadcast Communications. Web. 8 Mar. 2010. ” “History of Sesame Street |. History of Things. Web. 08 Mar. 2010. <http://www.historyofthings.com/history-of-sesame-street>. ” Borgenicht, David. Sesame Street Unpaved: Scripts, Stories, Secrets, and Songs. New York: Hyperion, 1998. Print. Davis, Michael. Street Gang: the Complete History of Sesame Street. New York: Penguin, 2008. Print. Fisch, Shalom. Children’s Learning From Educational Television: Sesame Street and Beyond. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlaum Associates Inc, 2004. Print. Gardner, Elysa. “At 40, ‘Sesame Street’ Is in a Constant State of Renewal. USA Today. 10 Nov. 2009. Web. 22 Feb. 2010. <www. ” usatoday.com>. Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point. NYC: Little, Brown and Company, 2000. Print. Guernsey, Lisa. “‘Sesame Street’ The Show That Counts. Newsweek. 23 May 2009. Web. 22 Feb. 2010. <www.newsweek. ” com>. Salamon, Julie (2002-06-09). “Children’s TV catches up with how kids watch” New York Times. http://www.nytimes. . com/2002/06/09/arts/children-s-tv-catches-up-with-how-kids-watch.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2010-03-05. “Sesame Street: Forty Years of Sweeping the Clouds Away. Sesame Workshop. Web. 08 Mar. 2010. ” Sesame Street and the Reform of Children’s Television. Johns Hopkins Univ Pr, 2008. Print. Wilson, Craig (2009-01-02). “’Sesame Street’ is 40 but young at heart” USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/ . news/2008-12-30-sesame-street_N.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-05. 20

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Final innovation project v5

  • 1. Innovation In Children’s Educational Programing Christina Han Marc Lippman Angela Zugay 1 Shay-Jahen Merritté
  • 2. 8 Introduction Sesame Street is an American educational children’s television series and a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard, combining both education and entertainment. Sesame Street is well Million Weekly Viewers known for its Muppets characters created by Jim Henson. It premiered 40 on November 10, 1969, and is the longest running children’s program on television. In 1966, The Carnegie Institute hired Joan Ganz Cooney to study how the media could be used to help young children, especially those from low-income families, learn and prepare for school.Cooney proposed Continuously Running Seasons using television’s “most engaging traits”, including high production values, sophisticated writing, and quality film and animation, to reach 140 the largest audience possible. Sesame Street was built around a single, breakthrough insight: that if you can hold the attention of children, you can educate them. Country Broadcasts 2
  • 3. First children’s show to incorporate an early childhood curriculum. Studied how kids learn from TV, developed format based on findings and experimentation. Format developed through scientific research in cognitive development. Resulting format: 30-90 second clips featuring interaction of live & imaginary characters, incorporating educational themes 30-90 Sec. 3
  • 4. Spun off from philanthropic nonprofit Carnegie Corporation In the mid-1960’s: Lloyd Morrisett, VP studying cognitive development and the education gap affecting underprivileged children is inspired by his 3-year-old daughter’s ability to memorize commercial jingles. Forms hypothesis that television, now in 97% of U.S. homes, can be used to educate children. He then contacts TV producer Joan Ganz Cooney and commissions her to do a 3-month study, producing the report “The Potential Uses of Television in Pre-School Education,” which becomes basis for development. Carnegie partners with The Ford Foundation and secures additional funding from U.S. Dept of Education to form “Children’s Television Network” as a development and production company for what will eventually be Sesame Street. 4
  • 5. The Children’s TV Market Before Sesame Street Primarily entertainment-focused • With proliferation of TV in 1950’s, children’s programs were mostly live-action variety shows, most notably puppet-hosted “Howdy Doody” . • By the 1960s, live action was almost entirely replaced by animation: The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Space Ghost. • Some popular live-action host-centered shows remained; Captain Kangaroo, from 1955, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood introduced 1968. • While some of these shows had elements of education, none focused on a preschool education curriculum. Howdy Doody Mr. Rocky & Rogers Bullwinkle 5
  • 6. Process Purpose: Study how the media could Goals & Priorities For Each Season be used to help young children, • Symbolic especially those from Representation low-income families, learn • Physical and prepare for school. Environment • Social Environment. 6
  • 7. • Curriculum planning seminars. • Producers and writers with a crash course in child development, psychology, and preschool education. • Involved entertainment people, educators and psychologists. The Muppet characters were created to fill specific curriculum needs. For example, Oscar the Grouch was designed to teach children about their 7 positive and negative emotions.
  • 8. Test episodes for testing whether children (preschoolers) found them comprehensible and appealing. Used laboratory-oriented research. Results were “generally very positive. Children paid more attention to the Muppet segments than the street segments with the humans that all of the learning took place. Decision to defy the recommendations of their advisers. Henson and his team created Muppets (BigBird and Oscar) that could specifically interact with the human actors, and that preschoolers are more sophisticated television viewers than originally thought. This testing was strongly influenced by behaviorism which was a prominent movement in psychology in the late 1960s. The Distractor Method • Two children at a time were brought into the laboratory and shown an episode on a television monitor and a slide show next to it. • The slides would change every seven seconds, and researchers recorded when the children’s attention was diverted from the episode. Eyes on the Screen Method • Modified distractor method • Collected data from larger groups of children simultaneously. • Tested for more “natural” distractions, or the distractions that other children provide in group viewing situations. • Engagement measure, which recorded children’s more active responses to an episode, like laughing and dancing to the music. 8
  • 9. Evolution 1960s Prevailing understanding thinks kids have short attention spans. Magazine format, tells a story in 30-second segments. Cognitive psychologists recommended never to mix Muppets and people, it could confuse the kids. The lessons were in the ‘street scene’ portion of the show with humans (about 10min of lessons took about 45 minutes to tell due to these interludes). 1990s Radically redesign format, ratings decline, competing programs. Traditional magazine-format was not the most effective way to hold their attention. How children’s viewing habits had changed in thirty years. Show was produced for three to five year olds, children began watching it at a younger age. As a result, the target age for Sesame Street shifted downward, from four years to three years. 2000s Short segment that targeted the developmental age of the show’s newer viewers began to be shown at the end of each episode. Used traditional elements (animation, Muppets, music, and live-action film). Depended heavily on repetition. Took place in a stylized crayon-drawing universe. Elmo was chosen as the host because he had always tested well with them. 9 Interludes Lessons Elmo’s World
  • 10. Spin-Offs Other Shows Tickle Me Elmo is one of the most successful toy fads ever. Over a million of the dolls have been sold Videos & since its introduction in 1996. It proved so popular that shortages led to price gougers selling the $30 Movies Merchandising toy for more than $1500. Theme Park Video Games Books Toys Clothes 10
  • 11. Supportive Studies Studies on Sesame Street’s educational influence Most recent longitudinal study published in early 2000 which was based on a low-income neighborhood in Kansas City: • Showed a positive effect on the vocabulary and math skills of preschoolers who watched an average of two hours a week. • Showed positive effects on readings and achievement lasted through high school. • Showed that kids as young as 2 can count 1 to 20 and up to 100 if counting by 10s. 11
  • 12. Societal Impact Sesame Street is the first show to present a number of social issues to children for the first time, several of these include: Low income Race Mixing AIDS (in Africa) Single motherhood Military Families Kosovo and ethnic differences Religion Pregnancy Healthy eating/public health Environmental Awareness World Awareness Home Fires Adoption Terrorism Death 12
  • 13. Sustainable Points of Competitive Differentiation • First Mover Advantage • Brand Strength • Viewer Loyalty • “Customer” Centricity • Intelectual Property 13
  • 14. Double Bottom Line Sesame Street needs to meet a double bottom line. Not only must it stainability maintain and grow its viewer base and secure funding to maintain its financial viability, it must also show that it meeting its social goals of educating youth who have limited educational opportunities. 14
  • 15. Viewership Trends by Decade In Relation to Show Format. 12Million 10Million 9Million 8Million 7Million 1969 1979 1989 1999 2009 15
  • 16. Financial Data Trends 145M | 140M % Royalties & % Donations & Grants Licensing Revenues revenues | expenses 63M | 60M 27M | 17.6M 8M | 8M 1969 1973 1984 2009 16
  • 17. Innovation Framework: 3 Types Transformative Incorporating Pre-School Curriculum & Applying scientific method to children’s educationl television. Transitional Altering the show’s format. Incremental Introducing new characters. 17
  • 18. Innovation Framework: Game Changer Inspiring Leadership Motivating Connected Purpose & Culture Values Customer Consistent Centric Stretching & Reliable Innovation Goals Systems Game Changing Enabling Choiceful Structure Strategies Unique Core Strengths 18
  • 20. Sources Alexander, Allison. “Children And Television. The Museum of Broadcast Communications. Web. 8 Mar. 2010. ” “History of Sesame Street |. History of Things. Web. 08 Mar. 2010. <http://www.historyofthings.com/history-of-sesame-street>. ” Borgenicht, David. Sesame Street Unpaved: Scripts, Stories, Secrets, and Songs. New York: Hyperion, 1998. Print. Davis, Michael. Street Gang: the Complete History of Sesame Street. New York: Penguin, 2008. Print. Fisch, Shalom. Children’s Learning From Educational Television: Sesame Street and Beyond. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlaum Associates Inc, 2004. Print. Gardner, Elysa. “At 40, ‘Sesame Street’ Is in a Constant State of Renewal. USA Today. 10 Nov. 2009. Web. 22 Feb. 2010. <www. ” usatoday.com>. Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point. NYC: Little, Brown and Company, 2000. Print. Guernsey, Lisa. “‘Sesame Street’ The Show That Counts. Newsweek. 23 May 2009. Web. 22 Feb. 2010. <www.newsweek. ” com>. Salamon, Julie (2002-06-09). “Children’s TV catches up with how kids watch” New York Times. http://www.nytimes. . com/2002/06/09/arts/children-s-tv-catches-up-with-how-kids-watch.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2010-03-05. “Sesame Street: Forty Years of Sweeping the Clouds Away. Sesame Workshop. Web. 08 Mar. 2010. ” Sesame Street and the Reform of Children’s Television. Johns Hopkins Univ Pr, 2008. Print. Wilson, Craig (2009-01-02). “’Sesame Street’ is 40 but young at heart” USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/ . news/2008-12-30-sesame-street_N.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-05. 20