Teaching your kids how to count can be a very exciting moment for parents, but it might also seem hard for new parents as well.
Jinjing Jenny Wang, an assistant professor of cognitive psychology at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, conducted a study on infants to explore whether watching counting videos on screen could offer cognitive benefits similar to in-person interactions.
Let's find out more!
An unusual study on teaching and technologies
Wang's curiosity was sparked by observing her own daughter's positive reaction to a counting video at 10 months old.
The study involved 81 babies aged 14 to 19 months and found that when shown videos with counting and interaction, similar to a previous in-person study, the babies responded by looking longer when objects disappeared from a box.
When videos lacked counting and engagement, the babies became distracted, mirroring the earlier in-person study.
The study suggests that well-designed counting videos resembling real-life interactions can provide cognitive benefits to babies, potentially helping bridge learning disparities before they start school.
Wang designs research to understand how babies perceive the world and learn words and numbers.
The study was conducted virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with webcam videos replacing in-person observations.
Why it's important
Wang highlighted the need for future research to assess potential negative impacts of screen exposure on infants and recommended determining appropriate usage of counting videos for optimal learning outcomes.
