Beginning in fall 2003, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., under contract with PBS, conducted an impact study to measure the effects of Ready To Learn workshops on more than 1,000 parents and early childhood educators and the children in their care.

By way of background, a Ready To Learn workshop consists of training intended to help adults extend the educational value of PBS children's programming using the Ready To Learn Learning Triangle (View, Do, and Read) to provide children the opportunity to practice and repeat important concepts.

Preliminary findings from the impact study conducted at 20 Ready To Learn stations, which included UNC-TV, indicate that Ready To Learn workshops are having a positive impact on the short-term behavior of parents and early childhood educators.

According to the early findings, three months after attending a Ready To Learn workshop, parents and early childhood educators were significantly more likely than the control group to discuss a program with the children in their care while watching. Parents who attended a Ready To Learn workshop were also significantly more likely than a control group of parents to discuss characters from a program with their children and to view children's television programs along with their children. Early childhood educators who attended a Ready To Learn workshop were also significantly more likely than a control group of educators to do activities with the children in their care, related to a program they had watched and to read a book with the children in their care related to a program they had watched.

Preliminary findings also indicate that positive behaviors are sustained over time. Three months after attending a Ready To Learn workshop, 68 percent of parents report reading to their children at least once a day; six months after attending a workshop, 57 percent of parents are still reading to their children at least once a day. Three months after attending a Ready To Learn workshop, 43 percent of parents and early childhood educators report implementing the Learning Triangle (View-Read-Do) about once a week; six months after attending a workshop, 42 percent are still implementing the Learning triangle on a regular basis.