A Professor of Psychology at Temple University and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, Hirsh-Pasek was declared a “scientific entrepreneur” by the American Association of Psychology. Writing 15 books and 250+ publications, her Einstein Never Used Flashcards won the Book for a Better Life Award in 2003 with her Becoming Brilliant (2016) reaching the NYTimes Best Sellers List in education. Co-founder of the global Learning Science Exchange Fellowship, she brings together scientists, journalists, policy makers and entertainers, to put learning science in the hands of educators.  Her newest initiative Playful Learning Landscapes re-imagines cities and public squares as places with science infused designs that enhance academic and social opportunities. Her book Making Schools Work: Bringing the Science of Learning to Joyful Classroom Practice (2022) was co-written by teachers, school administrators, and scientists to bring about joyful teaching and deeper learning. An updated edition of her award-winning book, Einstein Never Used Flashcards, was released on January 20, 2026.  
Guided play advances cognitive skills like language and reading, as well as social skills like emotion regulation.
In the last 20 years, advances in the sciences of infant development have allowed us to view the processes of early word learning for the first time.
Investment in early childhood is a moral imperative that also saves society from 7 to 14 dollars for every dollar spent.
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DR. KATHY HIRSH-PASEK

A Professor of Psychology at Temple University and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, Hirsh-Pasek was declared a “scientific entrepreneur” by the American Association of Psychology. Writing 15 books and 250+ publications, her Einstein Never Used Flashcards won the Book for a Better Life Award in 2003 with her Becoming Brilliant (2016) reaching the NYTimes Best Sellers List in education. Co-founder of the global Learning Science Exchange Fellowship, she brings together scientists, journalists, policy makers and entertainers, to put learning science in the hands of educators.  Her newest initiative Playful Learning Landscapes re-imagines cities and public squares as places with science infused designs that enhance academic and social opportunities. Her book Making Schools Work: Bringing the Science of Learning to Joyful Classroom Practice (2022) was co-written by teachers, school administrators, and scientists to bring about joyful teaching and deeper learning. An updated edition of her award-winning book, Einstein Never Used Flashcards, was released on January 20, 2026.  

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The latest tweets on Science & Learning

kathyandro1 KathyandRo @kathyandro1 ·
30 Aug 2024

A fabulous overview article by our very own @blhassinger who shows the collective power of Playful Learning Landscapes! #playfullearning @playfullearng @JournalUrbanism

kathyandro1 KathyandRo @kathyandro1 ·
29 Aug 2024

AI is an exquisitely good synthesizer but not an exquisitely good thinker. Thank you @Makai Allbert for this article.

kathyandro1 KathyandRo @kathyandro1 ·
13 Aug 2024

We are so excited to launch in Santa Ana! @UCIrvine @playfullearng @Bustamante_AS #PlayfulLearningLandscapes

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Kathy's work appears in news publications around the world.
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Some of Kathy's books include:

  • Einstein Never Used Flash Cards, Revised Edition
    How Our Children Really Learn--And Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less
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  • Making Schools Work
    Bringing the Science of Learning to Joyful Classroom Practice
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  • User’s Manual for the Quick Interactive Language Screener™: English–Spanish (QUILS™: ES)
    A Measure of Vocabulary, Syntax, and Language Acquisition Skills in Young Bilingual Children
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  • User’s Manual for the Quick Interactive Language Screener™ (QUILS™)
    A measure of Vocabulary, Syntax, and Language Acquisition Skills in Young Children
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  • Becoming Brilliant:
    What Science Tells Us About Raising Successful Children
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View Complete List of Publications >

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Kathy is a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, where she contributes articles to her Blog on a regular basis.

Kathy's Brookings Institution Blog