counselor education professor Christopher Belser served as an educational consultant on the new animated series “Skillsville,” which premiered earlier this month on PBS Kids.
Skillsville is intended for kids ages 4 to 8. The series focuses on three kids who immerse themselves in a video game world to try out different careers, learning helpful strategies along the way. As a content expert in career development and child development, Belser and other experts consulted with the writing team to ensure that episode scripts accurately represented careers in a developmentally appropriate manner and that social-emotional strategies were presented effectively.
Belser is an associate professor in the School of Education, coordinator of the counselor education graduate programs, and a former school counselor.
“For each episode, the writing team first sent a ‘scene-by-scene,’ which was a synopsis of each scene with minimal to no dialogue,” Belser said. “From there, the writing team developed the full scripts, which went through two rounds of reviews. At each stage, I or another consultant would read through the scene-by-scene or script and make recommendations.”
The series was developed by Twin Cities Public Television in Minnesota through a U.S. Department of Education Ready to Learn Grant for distribution through PBS. For more information on Skillsville, click .
