Keith W. Mielke Papers
Abstract
In June 1977, Mielke became the Executive Director of Research for the Children's Television Workshop (CTW). Over the next twenty years Mielke held various positions in the research department including executive director for 3-2-1 Contact, vice-president for research, and senior research fellow. At CTW Mielke helped develop the Program Evaluation Analysis Computer (PEAC) system which utilized a wireless response unit for moment-by-moment responses to test material with automated analysis of data. He also commissioned the first comprehensive evaluations of Sesame Street since the Educational Testing Service first reviewed the show from 1969 to 1971. The collection deals with the policies and goals of CTW, corporate reports evaluating the effectiveness of shows, research into educational television, and reports to outside organizations on work done at CTW.
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This collection is open for research use.
Keith W. Mielke Papers, Special Collections, University of Maryland Libraries.
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Historical Note
Born on November 15, 1933 in Perry, Oklahoma, Keith W. Mielke is best known for his influential research in children's television and for his role in Children's Television Workshop's planning activities. Mielke began his college education at Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma where he received his undergraduate degree in 1956. He went on to Syracuse University where he earned his Masters in Television and Radio and to Michigan State where he earned a Ph.D. in Communications.
Mielke began his professional career in 1964 at Indiana University where he was hired as a lecturer in the Department of Radio-Television. In February 1965 he became an assistant professor in that department. Over the next twelve years Mielke moved to various posts eventually becoming a full professor in 1973 in the Department of Telecommunications. At Indiana Mielke held various positions including chairman of the Department of Radio-Television from July 1970 to May 1973. He was also the Chairman of the Mass Communications Program from July 1966 to August 1971. He served on posts outside the university as a research consultant for the Center for Research on Children's Television at Harvard University and with the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) in New York.
In June 1977, Mielke moved to CTW as Executive Director of Research. Over the next twenty years Mielke held various positions in the research department including executive director for 3-2-1 Contact, vice-president for research, and senior research fellow. At CTW Mielke helped develop the Program Evaluation Analysis Computer (PEAC) system which utilized a wireless response unit for moment-by-moment responses to test material with automated analysis of data. He also commissioned the first comprehensive evaluations of Sesame Street since the Educational Testing Service first reviewed the show from 1969 to 1971. Mielke also served as Chairman of the Research Advisory Committee for CTW's production of Feeling Good from 1974 to 1975.
During his thirty year career at Indiana and CTW Mielke was bestowed with numerous honors highlighting his achievements in children's television. In 1975 he received the Annual Book Award from the National Association of Educational Broadcasters. Michigan State University and Phillips University honored their former graduate with distinguished alumni awards in 1987 and 1985 respectively. In 1991, Mielke was awarded the Distinguished Service Award from the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT).
Throughout his professional career Mielke remained active with various organizations that supported the research and funding of children's television. He led various workshops on research in children's television and was a consultant for industry periodicals such as the AV Communication Review and the Journal of Broadcasting. Mielke served as a research consultant with many projects of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the U.S. Department of Education, and the National Institute of Education.
Mielke's writings have appeared in numerous publications including Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Public Telecommunications Review, and Educational Broadcasting Review. He has also contributed to seven book-length works on children's and instructional television including "G" is for Growing: Thirty Years of Research on Children and Sesame Street, and Learning from Television: Psychological and Educational Research.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
Materials in the Keith W. Mielke Papers range from 1968 to 1990 and contains some undated material, with the bulk dating from 1970 to 1977. The collection deals with the policies and goals of CTW, corporate reports evaluating the effectiveness of shows, research into educational television, and reports to outside organizations on work done at CTW. This information is collected through reports, studies, audiocassettes, articles, and books. All of these materials were collected during his time as a consultant with CTW.
Custodial History and Acquisition Information
The Keith W. Mielke Papers was donated to the National Public Broadcasting Archives, University of Maryland Libraries by Keith W. Mielke in July of 1999.
Processing Information
Processed by Mark Baxter and Karen E. King, October 2002
EAD markup created using EAD database in Microsoft Access. Markup completed by Scott Prouty and Karen E. King, May 2005.
Arrangement of Collection
Organized as four series.
Detailed Description of the Collection
Series 1: CTW - Administrative Files, 1967-1987 and undated (0.25 linear foot)
This series contains policy and planning documents of the Children's Television Workshop. In addition, documents contain details concerning personnel policies and other general company information from 1973 to 1983. The documents are arranged chronologically.
| Description | Series | Box / Reel | Folder / Frame | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planning Documents, 1967-1969, undated | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Goals Meeting., 1968, undated | series 1 | box 1 | folder 2 | |
| Early Memos and Background Materials., 1968-1970 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 3 | |
| Early Memos and Background Materials., 1968-1970 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 4 | |
| CTW Personnel Policies and Practices., 1973-1983 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 5 | |
| Children's Television: A Broadcaster's Workshop., June 1-3, 1975 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 6 | |
| Children's Television Workshop. Corporate Review, 1979 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 7 | |
| Children's Television Workshop. Corporate Profile, 1987 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 8 | |
Series 2: Children's Television Workshop Programming, 1968-1994 (0.75 linear foot)
This series documents the programming of the Children's Television Workshop. The primary topic is Sesame Street which is documented in meeting notebooks, the Educational Testing Service Test Battery, bibliographies, reports and studies. Other shows documented in the series are The Electric Company, Feeling Good and Ghostwriter. Documents concerning Sesame Street are filed first in chronological order.
| Description | Series | Box / Reel | Folder / Frame | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sesame Street -- Notebooks, 1968-1970 | series 2 | box 1 | folder 9 | |
| Sesame Street -- Notebooks, 1968-1970 | series 2 | box 1 | folder 10 | |
| Sesame Street -- Notebooks, 1968-1970 | series 2 | box 1 | folder 11 | |
| Sesame Street -- Children's Television Workshop. ETS [Educational Testing Service] Test Battery, circa 1969-1970 | series 2 | box 2 | folder 1 | |
| Sesame Street -- Children's Television Workshop. ETS [Educational Testing Service] Test Battery, circa 1969-1970 | series 2 | box 2 | folder 2 | |
| Sesame Street -- Flores, Beatriz. The Observation and Testing Report on the Sesame Street Program, circa 1972 | series 2 | box 2 | folder 3 | |
| Sesame Street -- Sesame Street at Five: The Changing Look of a Perpetual Experiment., October 1974 | series 2 | box 2 | folder 4 | |
| Sesame Street -- Sesame Street Research. Bilingual Study., October 9, 1974 | series 2 | box 2 | folder 5 | |
| Sesame Street -- Schramm, Wilbur. Book Review of The Second Harvest of Two Research-Producing Events: The Surgeon's General Inquiry and Sesame Street. Proceedings of the National Academy of Education. Vol. 3: pp. 151-219, 1976 | series 2 | box 2 | folder 6 | |
| Sesame Street -- Children's Television Workshop. Research Division. Sesame Street Research Bibliography: Selected Citations Relating to Sesame Street,, 1969-1989. 1990 | series 2 | box 2 | folder 7 | |
| Sesame Street -- Children's Television Workshop. Sesame Street Research: A 20th Anniversary Symposium., 1990 | series 2 | box 2 | folder 8 | |
| Children's Television Workshop. Research Bibliography. [Sesame Street, The Electric Company], 1976 | series 2 | box 2 | folder 9 | |
| Mielke, Keith W. and James W. Swinehart. Evaluation of the Feeling Good Television Series., 1976 | series 2 | box 2 | folder 10 | |
| Children's Television Workshop. Ghostwriter and Youth-Serving Organizations. Report to Carnegie Corporation of New York., October 1994 | series 2 | box 3 | folder 1 | |
Series 3: Children's Television Programming: Articles, Reports and Studies, 1968-1995 (0.50 linear foot)
This series documents funding and research of children's television programming. Topics include science education, the effects of television on the developing brains of young children and the federal role in funding children's television programming. Materials are arranged in chronological order.
| Description | Series | Box / Reel | Folder / Frame | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mielke, Keith W. Policy Brief: "Decision-Oriented Research in School Television", September 27, 1973 | series 3 | box 3 | folder 2 | |
| Mielke, Keith W., et al. The Federal Role in Funding Children's Television Programming. Vol. I: Final Report., April 30, 1975 | series 3 | box 3 | folder 3 | |
| "The Ecology of Education: Television." The National Elementary Principal. Vol. 56, No. 3., January/February 1977 | series 3 | box 3 | folder 4 | |
| Nelson, Bernadette, et al. Assessment of the ESAA-TV Program: An Examination of its Production, Distribution and Financing., 1980 | series 3 | box 3 | folder 5 | |
| Television and the Preparation of the Mind for Learning: Critical Questions on the Effects of Television on the Developing Brains of Young Children. Conference Proceedings., October 2, 1992 | series 3 | box 3 | folder 6 | |
| Mielke, Keith W. and Jon D. Miller. "The Influence of Informal Science Education on the Development of Scientific and Mathematical Literacy"., February 21, 1995 | series 3 | box 3 | folder 7 | |
Series 4: Audio Recordings, 1974-1975 and undated (18 audiocassettes)
This series contains audio cassettes of interviews and discussions Mielke conducted for his work on The Federal Role in Funding Children's Television Programming. The interview cassettes are arranged in alphabetical order, followed by a partial discussion of the Federal Advisory Group concerning Emergency School Aid Act (ESAA) television projects.
| Description | Series | Box / Reel | Folder / Frame | Item | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interviews for The Federal Role in Funding Children's Television Programming, 1974-1975, nd | series 4 | box 4 | folder 1 | ||
| Aida Barrera, Carrascolendas, December 11, 1974 | series 4 | box 4 | folder 1 | item 1.0 | |
| Dave Berkman, ESAA., January 29, 1975 | series 4 | box 4 | folder 1 | item 2.0 | |
| Bilingual Children's Television, Inc., undated | series 4 | box 4 | folder 1 | item 3.0 | |
| Bilingual Children's Television, Inc., undated | series 4 | box 4 | folder 1 | item 4.0 | |
| Bilingual Children's Television, Inc., undated | series 4 | box 4 | folder 1 | item 5.0 | |
| Bilingual Children's Television, Inc., undated | series 4 | box 4 | folder 1 | item 6.0 | |
| Bilingual Children's Television, Inc., undated | series 4 | box 4 | folder 1 | item 7.0 | |
| Peggy Charren, Action for Children's Television., December 19, 1974 | series 4 | box 4 | folder 1 | item 8.0 | |
| Peggy Charren, Action for Children's Television., December 19, 1974 | series 4 | box 4 | folder 1 | item 9.0 | |
| Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB): Donald R. Quayle, Douglas F. Bodwell, Barbara Fenhagen., January 30, 1975 | series 4 | box 4 | folder 1 | item 10.0 | |
| Malcolm P. Davis, US Office of Education., January 31, 1975 | series 4 | box 4 | folder 1 | item 11.0 | |
| Hartford Gunn, PBS., January 30, 1975 | series 4 | box 4 | folder 1 | item 12.0 | |
| Elam Hertzler, U.S. Office of Education., January 30, 1975 | series 4 | box 4 | folder 1 | item 13.0 | |
| Tom Kennedy, CTW., undated | series 4 | box 4 | folder 1 | item 14.0 | |
| Lee Polk, ABC., January 11, 1974 | series 4 | box 4 | folder 1 | item 15.0 | |
| Chris Sarson., February 11, 1975 | series 4 | box 4 | folder 1 | item 16.0 | |
| Chris Sarson., February 11, 1975 | series 4 | box 4 | folder 1 | item 17.0 | |
| Federal Advisory Group discussion re: Emergency School Aid Act (ESAA) television projects, sides 5 and 6, April 11, 1975 | series 4 | box 4 | folder 2 | ||
Related Material
Related documents to Mielke's work on The Federal Role in Funding Children's Television Programming including correspondence and interview transcripts are located in Box 2 of the Archives of the Children's Television Workshop.
For other related archival and manuscript collections, please see the following subject guides.
Selected Search Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the University of Maryland Libraries' Catalog. Researchers desiring related materials about these topics, names, or places may search the Catalog using these headings.
Subjects
- Children's Television Workshop -- Archival resources.
- Educational television programs.
- Television broadcasting -- United States -- Archival resources.
- Television programs for children.
Names (Added Entries)
- Charren, Peggy.
- Children's Television Workshop.
- Gunn, Hartford.
- Sarson, Chris.