In Summer-Fall 2023, researchers from Rockman et al Cooperative evaluated a pilot of a multimedia family program being developed by Twin Cities Public Television as part of a five-year U.S. Department of Education Ready-to-Learn grant. The SkillsvilleTM Family Program includes television, digital, and analog activities, with content centered on three curricular pillars: Executive function skills, self-regulation strategies, and career exposure.
Through caregiver surveys, family interviews, and program observations, we learned what resonated with caregivers and children, and how they talked about and applied their learnings together as a family. The first blog highlights two strategies families practiced in the program, and how they used those strategies in their own lives. The second blog discusses four aspects of cognitive flexibility, an executive function skill, and how families thought about and modeled that skill during and after programming.
What strategies have you found to be most effective for you or those you live or work with? What aspects of flexible thinking have you noticed children using? We’d love to hear your thoughts based on your own experiences.
The contents of this program were developed under the Ready to Learn grant from the U.S. Department of Education (PR S295A200002) awarded to Twin Cities PBS. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.