Five Questions with Marie-Louise Mares

Growing up in Australia, Marie-Louise Mares didn't have a television. Even then, she still got the occasional glimpse of "Sesame Street." Now an associate professor of communication arts at UW-Madison, Mares and her colleague Zhongdang Pan, professor of communication arts, recently performed a meta-analysis of 24 studies of "Sesame Street's" impact around the world. Their research indicates that watching international co-productions of the program has a positive effect on children's learning and is an "enduring example of a scalable and effective early childhood educational intervention." Inside UW-Madison recently asked Mares about the show's global appeal - and what it means to its viewers. Inside UW: How does "Sesame Street" draw viewers in? Marie-Louise Mares: From existing research, it's clear: all of these different co-productions carry the trademark Sesame style. The interaction between humans and Muppets, and adults and kids, is immensely appealing. Music, sounds and short clips also help create a unique and recognizable format that's standard across all of these co-productions. Those qualities are proven winners for drawing kids' attention.