Parents Support Preschoolers' Use of a Novel Interactive Device

Abstract

Past research has found that preschool children's ability to learn educational content from interactive media may be hindered by needing to learn how to use a new interactive device. However, little research has examined the instructional supports parents provide while their children use interactive media. Forty‐six preschool children and their parents participated in a 30‐min interaction with a novel interactive device. Children were assessed before and after the interaction on knowledge of letters and numbers and device skills. Children improved from pre‐ to posttest on device skills, but not content knowledge. In general, parents used a wide range of strategies during the interaction. Specific parental support for using the device did not result in increased device skills; however, parents who focused their support on content had children who performed better on content assessments. The findings are discussed in terms of the effectiveness of different parent support strategies for children's use of interactive devices and learning of educational content during the preschool years. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.