An important lesson in the moral education of children could be as close as the book in their hands. Stories can play a role in changing the importance of particular moral values in young audiences, according to the result of a new study.
“Media can greatly influence separate moral values and get kids to place more or less importance on those values depending on what is uniquely stressed in that content,” says Lindsay Hahn, PhD, a professor in the University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences.
Hahn is first author of the new study, which adds an important part to a body of literature that explores how media content affects children. While many previous studies have focused on broad conceptualisations (概念化), like positive or negative effects of specific content, Hahn’s study looks at how reading of content featuring specific moral values might influence the weight kids place on those values.
Do children reading about particular moral characteristics absorb those qualities as building blocks for their own morality? The findings suggest so, and further support how this indirect approach to socializing children’s morality can add to the direct teaching of moral principles kids might receive through formal instruction.
For the study, Hahn and her colleagues took the main character from a teenager story and edited the content to reflect in each version (版本) the study’s focus on one of four moral values. A fifth version was changed in a way that featured an amoral main character. The stories were shared with about 200 participants between the ages of 10 and 14. The team then measured the importance kids place on moral values to find out how participants might be influenced by specific stories.
“Measuring these effects can be difficult,” says Hahn. “That’s why one purpose of this research was to develop a measure of moral values for kids”.
1. What can be inferred from the results of the study?| A．Good virtues can carry children through hard times. |
| B．Good morals in stories help shape children’s values. |
| C．Teaching moral principles directly to kids seems useless. |
| D．Reading stories is a better approach than formal instructions. |
| A．The response of the public to Hahn’s study. |
| B．The difference between Hahn’s study and previous studies. |
| C．The big contribution of Hahn’s study to children’s literature. |
| D．The branches of the research on media influences on children. |
| A．They adapted a character and created five stories. |
| B．They tested different moral principles in children. |
| C．They created a chain story out of an old character. |
| D．They illustrated the study for younger participants. |
| A．A textbook. |
| B．A social report. |
| C．A medical report. |
| D．An education magazine. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Language learning apps are very popular now and offer opportunities to learn vocabulary and practice grammar. But there has been a discussion about just how effective such apps can be.
Among the most popular apps are Duolingo and Busuu. A former research found positive results on the use of them. But it mainly concentrated on studies with learners who had signed up for language courses and these apps worked as an after-class support, so the results were not always reliable. A recent study of 4,095 Busuu users has been carried out to find out if users can actually learn a language with an app.
Busuu provides learning materials for 12 different languages. It offers special models where some contents are ready for use for free while some contents are not. We find that its users are an even mix of men and women. More than half consider themselves to be at the beginner level because there is a reduction in users as their language levels go up. Most people use the app because of personal interest, or because they want to study or live abroad. Female users are likely to use it less often but for longer periods of time than male users.
Feedback in the app is highly thought of. More than 92% of the users say that the app has met their expectations and 86% consider the app as very good or good. In fact, more than 80% of the users surveyed strongly agree that using the app has helped them improve their knowledge of the language they are learning.
Besides, language learning apps also create an environment where mistakes are only known to the users, and this can address the performance nervousness that many learners suffer from when asked to speak a foreign language. So language teachers should encourage their students to use them to do the grammar work, leaving precious class time for more language communication.
1. What's the reason why the results of the former research weren't always reliable?| A．It only considered users of a limited kind. |
| B．It just focused on positive results. |
| C．It was only carried out before class. |
| D．It used out-of-date methods. |
| A．It's used by more advanced learners. |
| B．. All the contents are free to use. |
| C．Most users consider it satisfying. |
| D．It's more popular with female learners. |
| A．cause | B．solve |
| C．increase | D．practice |
| A．Language learning apps are very popular with most language teachers. |
| B．Students won't suffer nervousness in learning languages by using Busuu. |
| C．Language learning apps are effective and satisfactory to language learners. |
| D．Students should be required to use apps for homework after class. |
In 2012, there were more than 4,000 American students completing bachelor's, master's and doctor's degrees in Germany. The Institute of International Education (IIE) says that the number of U.S. students completing college degrees in Western Europe increased by about 5 percent from 2010 to 2012. American students choose to study in another country for two main reasons. First, international experience is becoming more important in the modern job market. Second, the cost of higher education has continued to rise in the United States. Rising tuition (学费) costs make education abroad—particularly in countries that charge no tuition-attractive to American students, says the IIE.
Many American students choose Germany because of the low cost of education there. German public universities do not charge tuition fees. And many universities in Germany offer courses in English, too. College education in the US is seen as a privilege and expected to cost money but in Germany it is seen as an extension of a free high school education where one expects it to be provided.
The German government has been eager to encourage students to come to Germany for another reason. Like many countries in Western Europe, German's population is becoming older, and fewer young people are entering college and the job market. The German government hopes to attract skilled foreign students who will stay in Germany.
1. Which country attracted American students most in the 2011-2012 school year?
| A．Germany. | B．France. | C．Britain. | D．Italy. |
| A．many universities there offer courses in English |
| B．the cost of education is relatively low there |
| C．studying abroad matters in their job hunting |
| D．it is much easier to find a job than in the USA |
| A．Overseas education. | B．High school education. |
| C．College education. | D．Public education. |
| A．More and more US students choose colleges overseas. |
| B．Reasons why more students study in foreign countries. |
| C．Western Europe manages to attract foreign students. |
| D．Advantages and disadvantages of German education. |
【推荐3】When teaching, always assume the worst! No, that’s not some world-weary call to pessimism, but actually a positive strategy for supporting students in the classroom. Consider the problems that can arise when you don’t do this, and instead take as your starting assumption that things are probably, basically okay:
Teacher: Did you get on all right with the homework questions?
Student: Er, yes…
Teacher: Are there any you want to go through?
Student: Er, no—it’s fine…
What’s going on here? The student clearly feels that “yes” is the expected answer to the first question, but having said that, they’re then more or less forced into answering “no” to the second. Any problems they might have experienced are buried, and consequently go unresolved.
A much better approach is to assume the worst, to the point of setting up failure as the starting point. Then, if necessary, the student can be in the happy position of bringing you good news, which gives the impression of placing them in a more powerful position. Let’s imagine that same exchange again:
Teacher: Those homework questions were hard. Did you manage any of them?
Student: Yes, I did the first one, but I couldn’t do any of the others.
Teacher: Okay—do you want to go through the others?
Student: Yes, please.
This time, we’ve made it easy for the student to admit their difficulties. There’s no pretense (借口) around everything being fine when it isn’t, and no shame in the student admitting to having problems, as that’s clearly the teacher’s starting assumption.
It takes no longer to frame things this way round, but makes it so much easier for the student to be honest. Paradoxically, it’s also much more positive in that the student is constantly exceeding the teacher’s expectations— “You managed question one? Well done! Now, let’s look at the others…”
Every counsellor knows that if they ask a client “Did you have a good week?”, they’re more likely to get a positive response, because it’s a leading question that doesn’t communicate a strong interest in hearing the truth. Instead, a more neutral question like “How was your week?” is much more likely to elicit an honest response.
The same applies in the classroom. We want to avoid fakery and being told what we want to hear. Instead, we have to probe for the problems, the difficulties, the things that make no sense to the student, and make it easy for them to tell us those things.
1. Which question is preferred according to the author?| A．Did you manage any of the hard questions in the homework? |
| B．Did you get on all right with the homework questions? |
| C．Do you have any questions you want to go through? |
| D．Do you think the homework questions are hard? |
| A．promote communications | B．should be based on honesty |
| C．reveal different assumptions | D．ought to make others happy |
| A．parents | B．teachers | C．students | D．researchers |
【推荐1】Leisa Duckwall has worked for four years as a food nutrition service worker at the school, serving students breakfast and lunch. But not once had she ever seen a student say “hello”, or “good morning”, or even “thank you”, Duckwall is deaf. But now, the entire school is learning sign language, the students specifically to better communicate with Duckwall. No more point-ing, now, there are words, including “hello”, “good morning”, and “thank you”. When asked how it’s made her feel, Duckwall got straight to the point. “Happy,” she said.
Before spreading to the entire school, it started in Kari Maskelony’s fourth-grade classroom. Maskelony grew up with hard-of-hearing family members. She knows sign language, but throughout her life, she has witnessed her loved ones’ frustrations when people are unable to understand them. “I noticed that all the kids realized that Ms Duckwall couldn’t hear them,” Maskelony said. So she asked her students, “Do you guys want to learn how to sign to Ms Duckwall what you want for lunch instead of pointing?” They said yes. The class started with the basics of what they would need to know for interactions with Duckwall. They started with the main dishes, learning the sign language words for chicken, fish and other typical school cafeteria cuisines.
Next, the students learned to sign letters. It didn’t take long before principal Janet Wright Davis heard about what was going on. “Is it just Ms Maskelony’s class who are doing it? Let’s teach the whole school,” Janet said. “Let’s teach the whole school sign language.”
“Not only is it great for the kids because they can learn a new skill that they can carry with them and actually use with other people that they meet, but I think it is great because equal inclusivity (包容性) and equal access is so important,” Janet said. “It’s just something that we don’t often see.”
The teachers claim their students love sign language. The adults claim the kids think it’s “fun”, and they agree. Every single fourth-grader in Maskelony’s class gave sign language a positive review. And they all liked their collective hard work, if for nothing else, to make Duckwall feel included.
1. What can we know about Leisa Duckwall?| A．She was often misunderstood. |
| B．She feels sad to be pointed at. |
| C．She serves students three meals a day. |
| D．She was unable to interact with students well before. |
| A．Her students’ requests. |
| B．The principal’s suggestion. |
| C．Her hard-of-hearing families. |
| D．Leisa Duckwall’s desire. |
| A．She gave a big prize to Maskelony. |
| B．She decided to promote the practice. |
| C．She began to learn sign language too. |
| D．She praised the fourth-grade students. |
| A．Sign language benefits students’ study. |
| B．It’s important for students to learn more skills. |
| C．Students should communicate more with others. |
| D．Learning sign language helps students have better values. |
【推荐2】Tips for Teaching Kids Responsibility
Your best friend has a teenager who helps with housework without being asked. Your cousin has a one-year-old child that puts her bottle in the sink when she finishes the milk, but no reminders are needed.
Let kids help you. Don't complain when its time to do housework. Smile and invite your son to help.
Teach your child consequences (后果). Learning to take care of his things also helps a child develop a sense of responsibility for his actions. Get your son to clean up after an art project, and inform him that he won't be able to play with his crayon the next day if he leaves a messy table.
| A．Offer specific praises on purpose. |
| B．Show kids how to fulfill responsibility. |
| C．Teaching responsibility to kids needs to start early. |
| D．Where do these wonderful children come from? |
| E．When your child is invited to participate, he feels valued. |
| F．Then take away his supplies if he does not take his responsibility. |
| G．You'll be surprised how quickly these actions become a habit for kids. |
【推荐3】An important lesson in the moral education of children could be as close as the book in their hands. Among all kinds of books, stories matter. They can play a role in building moral values in young audiences, according to the results of a new study.
Lindsay Hahn is the first author of the new study, which mainly explores how media content influences children. Many studies done before have focused on broad conceptualizations (概念化), like positive or negative effects of specific content, but Hahn’s study looks at how reading of content featuring specific moral values might influence the kids’ values. Do children reading particular moral, characteristics take in those qualities and build their own morality? The findings suggest so.
“Parents, caregivers, and teachers are often wondering how media can be used for good,” says Hahn. “How can it be used for good things? How can it discourage bad habits? How can it educate?” Answering those questions begins with a better understanding of how to use media. “When parents are considering what media they might want to select for their children, they can further deliberate what particular moral value is being stressed by the main character, and how the main character is treated because of those actions,” she says.
For the study, Hahn and her workmates took the main character from a young adult novel. They wrote the content to reflect the study’s focus on moral values. Those stories were shared with about 200 participants between the ages of 10 and 14. This is a favorable range for media research because it’s more difficult to introduce the understanding of stories to younger kids, while challenging to hold the attention of older teenagers, who become bored with basic storylines, according to Hahn.
1. What kind of book helps children develop their own moral values according to the new study?| A．A poetry collection. | B．A travel guide. |
| C．A storybook. | D．A reference book. |
| A．The response of the public to Hahn’s study. |
| B．The difference between Hahn’s study and previous studies. |
| C．The big contribution of Hahn’s study to children’s literature. |
| D．The negative effects of broad conceptualizations. |
| A．Describe. | B．Improve. | C．Title. | D．Consider. |
| A．A fashion magazine. | B．A sports report. |
| C．An education magazine. | D．A medical report. |
