Evaluating Information-Based vs. Modeling Media Parental Support on Parent- Child Interactions During a Preschool Engineering Activity

It is important to understand how different types of media resources (informational vs. modeling) influence discourse between parents and their children during subsequent play. This evaluation investigated the effect of two types of vide media resources—information-based and modeling-based—on parent-child interactions during a preschool engineering activity. This formative evaluation aimed to inform the development of family engagement programs by comparing how media resources influence the types of questions parents ask young children, particularly during an engineering activity at a large children’s museum. This study invited museum visitors with children aged 2-5 to participate and dyads were randomly assigned to either an Information Only condition, where they viewed a Sesame Street video explaining ramp concepts, or a Modeling condition, where they viewed a video explaining ramps that also demonstrated parent-child interaction strategies. Following the video, pairs engaged in a 5-minute ramp-building activity. Researchers coding the types and frequency of questions asked during the parent-child ramp building activity to compare discourse across conditions. After the parent-child play session, participants completed a brief computer-based assessment to evaluate their understanding of key ramp concepts.