Learning Through Media: A Comparison of 4-8 Year Old Children's Responses to Filmed and Pictorial Instruction

Murphy and Wood (1981) present an analysis of young children's abilities to use pictorial information. Using the same task and situation, the responses of another group of children to filmed instruction were observed. This paper compares the effects of different visual media on the learning abilities of 4-8 year old children. Three learning conditions are examined: videofilm, pictures and non-instruction. One hundred and ten children, from 4 to 8 years of age, were asked to construct a three-dimensional toy under one of three conditions: forty children viewed a filmed demonstration of the procedure; 40 children were provided with a series of photographs depicting critical stages in the construction; a third group of thirty children acted as controls and were asked to attempt the task without instruction.

There was a general improvement in performance from non-instruction through pictorial instruction to filmed demonstration. It is suggested that there is an age and sex difference in the relative effectiveness of the two forms of visual media. Filmed demonstration is of most asisstance to boys and the youngest children: the performances of girls and five year old children, though improved by filmed instruction, are quite efficient after pictorial teaching.