Dora the Explorer

Multifaceted Intelligences

In Dora the Explorer's first season, the audience becomes familiarized with Dora and her friends and also is introduced to the 30-minute show's format. The episodes focus on psychologist Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, which are: (1) linguistic, (2) logical-mathematical, (3) musical, (4) bodily kinesthetic, (5) spatial, (6) interpersonal, and (7) intrapersonal.

Education is important to the producers and Dora the Explorer teaches children to be active by asking them to “Stand up! Stand up!” or “Wiggle, Now Wiggle!” or “Jump! Jump!” Repetition is key to learning math, colors, Spanish words, and active words throughout the episodes. Dora teaches children the need for direction and successful arrival. For example, in each episode there is a starting point and a destination at which one needs to arrive in order to win a race, rescue a princess, or arrive to a party. Dora is aided in her quests by Map, who lets the explorers know where to go and how to navigate themselves through jungles, forests, mountains, and, in one episode, outer space. Preschool educator James R. Carter notes that through Dora the Explorer preschoolers learn geography and how to use maps. Additionally, Carter argues that even though viewers may occasionally see stereotypical images of Latina/os, those images should be seen in comparison to the stereotypical images of life in other communities and countries, such as in Paris, a village in Tanzania, a winter in Russia, and children in China playing beside the Great Wall. As Dora facilitates a discussion of how to negotiate space within the televisual landscape, educators note, she is configured with a fair amount of power that has historically been denied Latina/os.

Exploring Different Cultures and Languages

In the second season of Dora the Explorer more episodes are introduced with Spanish titles. The producers’ advocacy of bilingualism is evident in the naming of the episodes, as well as in the use of language within all the episodes.

Dora the Explorer‘s producers’ advocacy of bilingualism is evident in the naming of the episodes in the development of the series as well as the use of language in the episodes. Dora's character develops the intention to educate children on various cultures, educational strategies, and communication skills through numerous episodes that enhance the understanding of different cultures and languages. For example, the fourth season of the series introduces more cultural markers and more relevance to bilingualism, as in how friendships are made, even when the characters are monolingual in their native languages.

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