Knowledge dissemination in the Dinosaur Train animated series. How to popularise palaeontology for pre-school children


Abstract


Paleontology is “the science of prehistoric life – of the fauna and flora of the geologic past” (Schindewolf 1993, p. 1), thus it is a complex, hybrid domain that combines methods of analysis from a wide range of disciplines, from the hard sciences (ex., biology, zoology, geology, chemistry, etcetera). Paleontology is also a discipline that is extremely popular among the general public, since “dinosaurs embody the drastic changes that life on Earth has undergone. Chasing after dinosaurs is really a quest to fill in part of our own backstory […]” (Switek 2014). Such popularity creates specific expectations in the public, who wants to receive reliable as well as enjoyable representations of their favorite prehistoric creatures. Children in particular are enthusiastic about dinosaurs as it is demonstrated by merchandise of all sorts, dedicated exhibitions, narrative and syllabus books, movies, websites, and TV shows. The present study investigates the animated series Dinosaur Train, chosen since it contains animated episodes and live action segments in which a real paleontologist gives scientific facts about the dinosaurs seen in each episode. Sample episodes are analysed verbally and visually: the verbal features are examined to identify the strategies of knowledge dissemination (KD) present in the series, while visual patterns were investigated through a multimodal analysis (Kress, van Leeuwen 2006; Baldry, Thibault 2006). In particular, the study considers the way(s) in which the series presents dinosaurs that are already well-known and those that are more unfamiliar. Results show that the popularity of the series is due to the structure of the episodes, composed of several phases, which make the series dynamic, thus suitable to young children’s attention span, as well as to an accessible language that makes the stories interesting, also thanks to the representation of everyday situations lived by the dinosaurs that are already familiar to the viewers.

DOI Code: 10.1285/i22390359v40p95

Keywords: knowledge dissemination; Palaeontology; multimodal discourse analysis; pre-school children; dinosaurs; ESP

References


“About Dinosaur Train,” Dinosaur Train for Parents. http://www.pbs.org/parents/dinosaurtrain/about (3.7.2019).

Baldry A. and Thibault P. 2006, Multimodal Transcription and Text Analysis. A Multimedia Toolkit and Coursebook with Associated On-Line Course, Equinox, London.

Bartlett C. 2009-2017, Dinosaur Train, TV Series, The Jim Henson Company.

Bhatia V.K., Chiavetta E. and Sciarrino S. (eds.) 2015, Variations in Specialised Genres. Standardisation and Popularisation, Narr Verlag, Tübingen.

Bruti S. and Manca E. 2019, The popularization of environmental issues in children magazines: A cross-cultural corpus analysis, in Meng Ji (ed.), Translating and Communicating Environmental Cultures, Routledge, London, pp. 183-201.

Buckingham D. and Scanlon M. 2005, Selling Learning: Towards a Political Economy of Edutainment Media, in “Media, Culture & Society” 27 [1], pp. 41-58.

Calsamiglia E. and Van Dijk T.A. 2004, Popularisation Discourse and Knowledge about the Genome, in “Discourse & Society”15 [4], pp. 369-389.

Cappelli G. 2016, Popularization and accessibility in travel guidebooks for children in English, in “Cultus” 9 [1], pp. 68-89.

Cappelli G. and Masi S. 2019, Knowledge dissemination through tourist guidebooks: Popularization strategies in English and Italian guidebooks for adults and for children”, in Bondi M., Cacchiani S. and Cavalieri S. (eds.), Communicating Specialized Knowledge: Old Genres and New Media, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, pp. 124-161.

Cesiri D. 2019, Knowledge Dissemination in Palaeontology. A Case Study from the Animated Series Dinosaur Train, in Maci S.M. and Michele S. (eds.), Representing and Redefining Specialised Knowledge: Variety in LSP, CERLIS Series, Bergamo, pp. 223-244.

Curtis A. 1998, A Curriculum for the Preschool Child, Routledge, London and New York.

Diani G. 2015, Exploring Knowledge Dissemination Strategies in English and Italian Newspaper Articles for Children: A Focus on Legal Issues, in “Textus” 28 [2], pp. 109-126.

Diani G. 2018, Popularization of Legal Knowledge in English and Italian Information Books for Children, in Engberg J., Luttermann K., Cacchiani S. and Preite C. (eds.), Popularization and Knowledge Mediation in the Law, Lit Verlag, Münster, pp. 291-316.

Diani G. and Sezzi A. 2019, The EU for children: A cross-linguistic study of web-mediated & dissemination, in Maci S. and Sala M. (eds.), Representing and Redefining Specialised Knowledge: Variety in LSP, CERLIS Series, Bergamo, pp. 203-223.

Djonov E.N. 2008, Children’s website structure and navigation, in Unsworth L. (ed.), Multimodal Semiotics: Functional Analysis in Contexts of Education, Continuum International, London, pp. 216-236.

Engberg J. and Luttermann K. 2014, Informationen auf Jugend-Webseiten als Input für Wissenskonstruktion über Recht, in Kersten S. (ed.), Zeitschrift für Angewandte Linguistik, De Gruyter, Berlin, pp. 67-91.

Fusaro M. and Smith M.C. 2018, Preschoolers’ Inquisitiveness and Science-Relevant Problem Solving, in “Early Childhood Research Quarterly” 42, pp. 119-127.

Giannoni D.S. 2008, Popularising Features in English Journal Editorials, in “English for Specific Purposes” 27 [2], pp. 212-232.

Gotti M. 2013, Investigating Specialised Discourse, Peter Lang, Bern.

Hong S.-Y. and Diamond K.E. 2012, Two Approaches to Teaching Young Children Science Concepts, Vocabulary, and Scientific Problem-Solving Skills, in “Early Childhood Research Quarterly” 12, pp. 295-305.

Kermas S.A. and Christiansen T.W. (eds.) 2013, The Popularization of Specialised Discourse and Knowledge across Communities and Cultures, Edipuglia, Bari.

Kress G. and van Leeuwen T. 2006, Reading Images. The Grammar of Visual Design, Routledge, London.

Masi S. 2019, Disseminating Knowledge through TED Talks for Children, presented at the conference CLAVIER 2019 – Knowledge Dissemination and Multimodal Literacy: Research Perspectives on ESP in a Digital Age, University of Pisa, Italy, November 28-29, 2019.

Montessori M. 1912, The Montessori Method. Translated by Anne Everett George, New York, Frederick A. Stokes Company.

Myers G. 1989, Science for women and children: the dialogue of popular science in the nineteenth century, in Christie J.R.R. and Shuttleworth S. (eds.), Nature Transfigured, Manchester University Press, Manchester, pp. 171-200.

Myers G. 2003, Discourse Studies of Scientific Popularisation: Questioning the Boundaries, in “Discourse Studies” 5 [2], pp. 265-279.

Schindewolf O.H. 1993, Basic Questions in Palaeontology. Geologic Time, Organic Evolution, and Biological Systematics, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.

Sorrentino D. 2014, Strategien der Vermittlung juristischer Begriffe in journalistischen Kinderartikeln. Ein Vergleich aus dem deutschsprachigen und dem italienischsprachigen Bereich, in Nardi A. and Knorr D. (eds.), Gelebte Sprachen. Leben mit und für Mehrsprachigkeit, Peter Lang, Bern, pp. 83-101.

Switek B. 2014, Why do we love dinosaurs so much?, in “The Guardian”, 05.09.2014.

Unsworth L. 2005, Comparing school science explanations in books and computer-based formats: the role of images, image/text relations and hyperlinks, in “International Journal of Instructional Media” 31 [3], pp. 283-301.


Full Text: pdf

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.
کاغذ a4

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Non opere derivate 3.0 Italia License.