<P> Nickelodeon researcher Daniel R. Anderson called the structure of Blue's Clues a game that presented its viewers with increasingly challenging and developmentally appropriate problems to solve . Early episodes focused on basic subjects such as colors and numbers, but later the programs focused on math, physics, anatomy, and astronomy . The show's producers believed that comprehension and attention were strongly connected, so they wrote the episodes to encourage and increase their viewers' attention . They used content and production characteristics such as pacing which gave children time to respond, as well as "camera techniques, children's voices, musical cues, sound effects, clear transitions, repeatable dialogue, and visuals ." Participation, in the form of spoken or physical response from the audience, and the mastery of thinking skills were encouraged by the use of repetition, both within the structure of individual episodes and across multiple episodes . The producers used a variety of formal features, which were auditory, and content features, which consisted of invitations given to the audience, such as "Will you help?" The features were also in the form of both recurrent and unique formats and content . The purpose of the recurrent formats and content, which were similar in every episode, was to increase viewers' attention, comprehension, and participation during key educational lessons . </P> <P> Nickelodeon originally aired the same episode daily for five days before showing the next one . The producers believed this telecast strategy empowered young children by giving them many opportunities to master the content and problems presented to them . </P> <P> The creators' and producers' goals were to "empower, challenge, and build the self - esteem of preschoolers" while entertaining them . Kessler, Santomero and Johnson were influenced by Sesame Street, the first children's television program to utilize a detailed and comprehensive educational curriculum developed from research . "We wanted to learn from Sesame Street and take it one step further," Santomero said . Like Sesame Street, formative research which the producers called their "secret sauce," was used during all aspects of the creative and decision - making process during the production of Blue's Clues . In addition to a curriculum that emphasized reasoning skills relevant to preschoolers' everyday lives, the producers wanted to include audience participation, called by Variety its "call and response style," that encouraged mastery of the information presented, positive reinforcement, and prosocial messages . In their first brainstorming sessions in 1994, Santomero, Kessler, and Johnson decided to promote mastery rather than rote learning or memorizing, make sure that their viewers knew the answers to the puzzles with which they were presented, and include elements of surprise and play . By 2001, the show's research team consisted of head researcher Alice Wilder, Alison Sherman, Karen Leavitt, and Koshi Dhingra . The research team and creators worked collaboratively . </P> <P> Unlike Sesame Street, which tested a third of its episodes, the Blue's Clues research team field tested every episode three times with children aged between two to six in preschool environments such as Head Start programs, public schools, and private day care centers . There were three phases of testing: content evaluation, video evaluations, and content analysis . In their tests of the pilot, conducted throughout the New York City area with over 100 children aged from three to seven, the show was "immediately successful ." They found that as the pilot progressed, children's attention was not only captured and sustained, but they became excited and actively participated with what they saw, to the point that they stood up to get closer to the television and spoke back to the host . The producers and researchers also consulted outside advisers, who were chosen based on their expertise and the needs of each script . As Anderson stated, the formative research team served "as a liaison between the feedback provided by the preschoolers and outside advisers and the production team, including writers, talent, producers, directors, element artists, and animators ." </P>

What kind of dog is blue from blues clues