Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Parents Invited To Participate in PBS Kids Research

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT:  George Hazimanolis
June 10, 2013 412-622-1366
ghazimanolis@wqed.org



WQED INVITES PITTSBURGH-AREA FAMILIES TO PARTICIPATE IN PBS KIDS RESEARCH PROJECT SELECTED TO ASSESS MATHEMATICS PROGRESS
IN PRE-K AND KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS

WestEd Study will Engage Pre-K and Kindergarten Students with Math Games to
Test and Refine Progress-tracking Tools for Parents
Local Parents Invited to Participate

PITTSBURGH—WQED will act as the exclusive a testing site for formative research that will assist in the development of new PBS KIDS cross-platform content the “PBS KIDS Progress Tracker.”. The current research study, being conducted in conjunction with by WestEd, is focused on tracking Pre-K and Kindergarten students’ mathematics abilities while playing eight PBS games related to counting and numeracy. WQED’s crowd sourcing work and PBS KIDS’ “big data” collection methods will provide insight into the patterns of interactive game play that Pittsburgh children use to learn math.

WQED’s crowd sourcing work using “big data” collection methods will provide insight into the patterns of play that Pittsburgh children use to learn math.

Families in the Pittsburgh area who participate in this research will get to test drive some of PBS KIDS’ newest innovations. Local parents interested in participating with their Pre-K and Kindergarten children This data will help PBS make improvements to the PBS KIDS Progress Tracker before the final version is released to the public next year. Open testing for area parents will take place now through June 30, 2013. Parents along with their Pre-K and Kindergarten students are are invited to visit  http://research.pbskids.org/wested/wqed/  and register to participate..  Testing will take place through June 30.

This formative research is part of a Ready To Learn Initiative being developed by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS with funding from  by the U.S. Department of Education through the Ready To Learn Initiative, a program that supports the creation of innovative educational television and digital media targeted at preschool and early elementary school children and their families.

The U.S. ranks 25th in math on the most recent PISA study, an international scan of proficiency in reading, math and science.  “Investing early and often in a child’s reading and math skills is paramount to success in school and in life.   WQED is thrilled to assist parents of young children with their developing math skills,” says Jennifer Stancil, Executive Director of Educational Partnerships. “The PBS KIDS Progress Tracker will be a game changer; it is built to help every learner, regardless of socioeconomic position, get the shot they deserve at learning the most fundamental skills.”

When the PBS KIDS Progress Tracker launches nationally in fall 2014, kids will login to the PBS KIDS website and play the games they love while parents will be able to track their progress in mathematics and literacy.

WQED Pittsburgh has a proud history of honors, including 134 National and Mid-Atlantic Emmy® Awards, an Academy Award, and many, many others, including two Emmy® Awards for Station Excellence. WQED was founded in 1954 as the nation’s first community-supported broadcaster.  The people of WQED create, produce and distribute quality programs, products and services to engage, inform, educate and entertain the public within their community and around the world. It is the parent company of WQED-TV (PBS); WQED: The Neighborhood Channel; WQED: The Create Channel; WQED Showcase; Classical WQED-FM 89.3/Pittsburgh; Classical WQEJ-FM 89.7/Johnstown; the Pittsburgh Concert Channel at WQED-HD2 (89.3-2FM) and online at  www.wqed.org/fm; local and national television and radio productions; WQED Interactive (www.wqed.org) and iQ: smartmedia, WQED’s Educational initiative (www.wqed.org/edu).

About CPB
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government's investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,300 locally-owned and -operated public television and radio stations nationwide, and is the largest single source of funding for research, technology, and program development for public radio, television and related online services.

PBS KIDS, the number one educational media brand for kids, offers all children the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television, online, mobile and community-based programs. Kidscreen- and Webby-award winning  pbskids.org provides engaging interactive content, including the PBS KIDS video player, now offering free streaming video accessible on computer- and mobile-device-based browsers. For more information on specific PBS KIDS content supporting literacy, science, math and more, visit  pbs.org/pressroom, or follow PBS KIDS on  Twitter and  Facebook.

WestEd, a national nonpartisan, nonprofit research, development, and service agency, works with education and other communities to promote excellence, achieve equity, and improve learning for children, youth, and adults. WestEd has  16 offices nationwide, from Washington and Boston to Arizona and California. Its corporate headquarters are in San Francisco. More information about WestEd is available at  WestEd.org.

The contents of this release were developed under a grant from the Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

The project is funded by a Ready To Learn grant (PR/AWARD No. U295A100025, CFDA No.84.295A) provided by the Department of Education to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
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