Kathy is the Stanley and Debra Lefkowitz Faculty Fellow in Psychology at Temple University and is a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution.  Director of Temple University’s Infant Language Laboratory, Kathy is the recipient of the Simms/Mann Whole Child Award, the AERA Outstanding Public Communication for Education Research Award, American Psychological Association’s Bronfenbrenner Award for Lifetime Contribution to Developmental Psychology in the Service of Science and Society, the American Psychological Association’s Award for Distinguished Service to Psychological Science, the American Psychological Society’s James McKeen Cattell Award for “a lifetime of outstanding contributions to applied psychological research,” the Society for Research in Child Development Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Child Development Award, and the Temple University Great Teacher Award and University Eberman Research Award.  She was a finalist for 2013 Best Professor of the year for the American Academy of Education Arts and Sciences Bammy Awards.
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

Kathy is the Stanley and Debra Lefkowitz Faculty Fellow in Psychology at Temple University and is a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution.  Director of Temple University’s Infant Language Laboratory, Kathy is the recipient of the Simms/Mann Whole Child Award, the AERA Outstanding Public Communication for Education Research Award, American Psychological Association’s Bronfenbrenner Award for Lifetime Contribution to Developmental Psychology in the Service of Science and Society, the American Psychological Association’s Award for Distinguished Service to Psychological Science, the American Psychological Society’s James McKeen Cattell Award for “a lifetime of outstanding contributions to applied psychological research,” the Society for Research in Child Development Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Child Development Award, and the Temple University Great Teacher Award and University Eberman Research Award.  She was a finalist for 2013 Best Professor of the year for the American Academy of Education Arts and Sciences Bammy Awards.

Learn more about Kathy >

  • “Online pre-K may be better than nothing” – the Ledger

    Canned vegetables aren’t as good as fresh vegetables. But they’re better than none. That’s the premise some experts share about the merits of online prekindergarten, although most agree in-person is best. “There’s no such thing as online pre-K. Even though learning is happening, it can’t be what they can learn in a classroom,” said GG Weisenfeld, assistant research professor at the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). That’s because humans are wired to learn from other humans. Read More…

  • “Baby Talk: Learning Your Baby’s Language with Communication and Play” – Lovevery, Apple Podcast

    Ever get the feeling like you are babbling more than your baby? It turns out that going gaga over your baby actually serves a purpose. It helps them with language acquisition! Their brains are taking in loads of information from these back-and-forth interactions. Jessica Rolph talks to Kathy in this episode to explore the characteristics of this early communication. Listen Here…

     

  • “Avoiding the COVID Slump” – WGN9 Chicago

    A short piece on “Avoiding the COVID Slump” chalk full of tips for overworked, overtired parents… Watch Here….

  • “A Deep Dive into Curiosity and Creativity” – free virtual panel in Slate School’s Education Idea Lab

    On Thursday, May 21, 2020, Kathy participated in the free virtual panel in Slate School’s Education Idea Lab, “A Deep Dive into Curiosity and Creativity,” with Miguel Gonzalez (School Director, Embark Education), Ulcca Joshi Hansen (Chief Strategy Officer, Boundless),  Wendy Ostroff (Associate Professor of Cognitive & Developmental Science, Hutchins School of Liberal Studies, Sonoma State University), and Young Zhao (Foundation Distinguished Professor, School of Education, University of Kansas)…. Read More…

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A science-based family wellness guide by @mediatrician and colleagues at the new Harvard Digital Wellness Lab!… https://t.co/iDkFOqzWFQ
To start playing together or not to start playing together? That is the question! Great resource by @PerriKlass for… https://t.co/2h246syxcn

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

  • 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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  • A Mandate for Playful Learning in Preschool:
    Presenting the Evidence
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  • Celebrate the Scribble:
    Appreciating Children's Art
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  • Play = Learning:
    How Play Motivates and Enhances Children's Cognitive and Social-Emotional Growth
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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