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Formative research was critical to the development of an educationally effective and Emmy award-winning early childhood television series.

Background and Objective:

Producers faced the challenge of creating a character-driven, educational television series for young children focused on early literacy acquisition. Formative research was instrumental in assessing the series’ appeal and comprehension and involvement with WordWorld.

Design and Methodology:

Over a three-year period, during the series’ development, fifty plus episodes of WordWorld were tested with thousands of three- to five-year old children.

Findings:

Children’s identification with WordWorld characters combined with age and developmentally appropriate story lines were critical for achieving educational goals. Additionally, for learning to occur, it was essential that the educational content be seamlessly integrated into the series’ narrative.

Strategic Solutions:

WordWorld producers cite over six hundred changes in episode format, character design, plot, narrative, and curriculum integration — all a direct result of the formative research.