“Resilience is a popular term in modern psychology that, put simply, refers to the ability to recover and move on from adverse events, failure or change…. ‘I think a lot of […]

“Deena Weisberg is an associate professor of psychological and brain sciences at Villanova University and a fellow of the Learning Sciences Exchange. She studies imagination and science learning in young […]

“There is growing momentum to prioritize play-based learning in U.S. education policy. In July, New America reported on three states that formalized their investment in play-based learning through legislation. These […]

“…Millions of people are visiting #dolltiktok and specific TikTok accounts that feature all kinds of doll-centric storylines – from NSFW Sylvanian figurines to Barbie re-enactments of iconic scenes from pop culture. It’s coinciding with a […]

“As we enter fall, children across the country have headed back to school. For decades, researchers have investigated the “summer slide—when children’s achievement scores are lower in the fall than […]

“Earlier this year, a Fortune Magazine headline proclaimed that “The next era of work will be about skills – not pedigree,” suggesting that employers are moving away from standard indicators […]

With the support of the LEGO Foundation, we are bringing an evidence based and integrated whole child approach of playful learning to elementary classrooms in a select number of states […]

Who would have guessed that 25% of the toy market goes to adults buying kid toys for adults. It’s a new trend – kidadults? Check out this podcast where Kathy […]

“Temple professor Kathy Hirsh-Pasek sees an educational crisis in the U.S. that saps joy out of learning and turns students into rote memorizers.” READ MORE…

“Over the course of her career, Temple University’s Kathy Hirsh-Pasek has spent a lot of time worrying not just about how to increase playtime in school, but also how to […]

“Neuroscientists, educators and psychologists like Kathy Hirsh-Pasek know that play is as an essential ingredient in the lives of adults as well as children. A weighty and growing body of […]

“A recent advisory from the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy warned of the risks of social media usage for youth’s mental health—including sleep deprivation, depression and anxiety. The data that led […]

“In recent years Philadelphia has emerged as a leading national Playful Learning City. Dozens of Playful Learning Landscapes across the city have transformed public spaces into culturally relevant, playful learning […]

“On a tiny triangular lot in the city’s Belmont neighborhood, kids waiting with their parents for the No. 40 bus can also work on their executive functioning skills, playing a hopscotch variation […]

“Almost 400 million search results appear when you search parenting books. Parenting apps? Nearly 200 million. Parenting blogs? 53 million. There are, quite literally, millions of outlets telling us how […]

Check out Kathy’s Webinar which is for educational policy leaders, school administrators, teachers, learning scientists, and parents. The webinar cuts through the noise about what’s wrong with schools and talks […]

“Toys are occasionally marketed to “children of all ages.” In recent years, market research has shown the number of toy-buyers over 12 years old is growing.The demographic, sometimes called “kidults,” […]

Playful learning landscapes are NOT just another playground, but built environments, everyday environments that are intentionally created to spark intergenerational interactions and support children’s learning. With a strong research base, […]

“The grant will enable the director of Temple’s Infant and Child Lab to implement her Active Playful Learning model—an evidence-based pedagogical approach to joyful deeper learning—for grades K through four […]

“MU’s Center on Research and Evaluation (CORE) in the Simmons School of Education and Human Development will join Temple University and seven other universities in a “Learning through Play” national […]

“All parents want the best for their children. And there is no shortage of advice on parenting, which has become a multibillion-dollar industry with investors capitalizing on parents’ innate desire […]

Temple University in Philadelphia has announced a five-year, $19.98 million grant from the LEGO Foundation in support of the work of professor Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and her team.

“Toys are occasionally marketed to “children of all ages.” In recent years, market research has shown the number of toy-buyers over 12 years old is growing. The demographic, sometimes called […]

In April 2023, Kathy received the Friends of Kids Award by the Association of Children’s Museums – an award once given to Fred Rogers and Marion Wright Edelman as well […]

This piece in NYT featured the importance of Children’s Museums and the various ways in which they are growing. READ MORE…

With the rapidly accelerating integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in our work, life, and classrooms, educators all over the world are re-evaluating the purpose of education in light of these […]

Check out the Link for a video of the webinar as well as resources!!  

“Many days of the week, John Smith in his job as an administrative assistant to a college faculty member, will look up the professor’s availability to set up daily appointments. […]

Hot off the press Brookings Institute Blog on the Age of Creativity and a way to education…

Learn how collaborations across sectors can unleash creative solutions to wicked problems by harnessing the science of learning HERE!!!

“Kindergarten is an important year for children and their families. For some, it is their first experience in formal education. Some children may be away from their parents or caregiver […]

“ChatGPT is a game-changer. The AI bot released in November1 writes sonnets like Shakespeare2 and lyrics in the style of the Beatles,3 all in a matter of seconds. And each can be carefully […]

“As technology advances, psychologists can find new opportunities to innovate in the field and in education. But the introduction of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI)—the simulation of human […]

“4-year-olds truly have minds of their own. They may be in preschool, have an intrinsic curiosity surrounding them with every move they make and — we’ll bet — adore toys, […]

In the new Temple University PPL Policy Brief.  “ChatGPT: Educational Friend or Foe,” authors Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Elias Blinkoff explore the potential for AI programs like ChatGPT to improve students’ […]

“Toys are occasionally marketed to “children of all ages.” In recent years, market research has shown the number of toy-buyers over 12 years old is growing. The demographic, sometimes called […]

“A little more than three years ago, the Grand Rapids Public Museum hosted “Outsmarting the Robots: Redesigning education from the classroom to the halls of Lansing.” The conference was organized […]

“When Ted Page became a grandfather in 2014, he wanted to hear other men’s stories, “real experiences that hopefully would guide newcomers,” he recalled. “We’re shifting into a different part […]

“ChatGPT, the cutting-edge chatbot from OpenAI that was released in November 2022, can solve math equations, write a history term paper, compose a sonnet and almost everything in between. So it’s […]

“Artificial Intelligence is booming, particularly the text-generator ChatGPT! On this episode, Randi and her guests discuss why everyone is talking about ChatGPT and why it matters.” LISTEN HERE…

Everyone is talking about the metaverse. Its diverse applications include gaming, real estate and entertainment among others. Few are addressing how this relatively new technology might impact education for good […]

Kathy talked about the Metaverse at Learning & Teaching Expo 2022 hosted by Hong Kong Education City Limited. Watch the Video HERE…

“The invention of the telephone in 1876 was met with simultaneous amazement and trepidation. Critics wondered if phones would disrupt face-to-face communication in ways that made us either too active or lazy. […]

“In the spring of 2022, reports showed that only 67 percent of third graders were reading at grade level in the aftermath of the pandemic. Following on the heels of the recently […]

“Children’s play should be seen as an essential vehicle for learning and early education, not a distraction from it, say early childhood experts. That’s the message delivered at a webinar […]

“Ahead of the U.S. midterms, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “The upcoming election will be decided at the kitchen table, as America’s families determine who they trust to fight for them […]

“In 1966, when psychiatrist Dr. Stuart Brown was assigned to a commission to investigate what led University of Texas student Charles Whitman to kill 12 people in one of the […]

“The final results of the 2022 midterm election in the United States are in. Journalists tell us that a key issue for voters was preservation of democracy. A recent NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll showed that while […]

“Experts say such play time should not just happen outside of school or at recess, but should be a necessary part of teaching and learning. Supporting the most beneficial play […]

“We are gathered today to mourn the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)scores. The headlines rang forth as the New York Times proclaimed, “The Pandemic Erased Two Decades of Progress […]

On November 9, the Center for Universal Education hosted an online event to discuss the release of Kathy’s new book “Making Schools Work: Bringing the Science of Learning to Joyful […]

If we teach in the way that human brains learn, both students and their teachers will thrive! This book aligns evidence from the learning sciences on how and what students […]

“How do we educate children today for a world of tomorrow – for a world filled with new technological tools that can port them to diverse realities, for a world […]

“Sometime in the past year or two, you’ve likely heard the word “metaverse.” It’s the future, the next big frontier of the internet, if you ask technology CEOs or researchers.” […]

“In the past decade, portable devices such as smartphones and tablets have become one of the most ubiquitous and irreplaceable tools for communication, entertainment, and education. Indeed, 98 percent of children under […]

“More than half of the world’s children are growing up in cities. Yet, children and families are often invisible to urban planners, developers, and architects when implementing policies and practices […]

“I have been fortunate to be a teacher at different educational levels, from preschool to higher education, and for teacher training. Advising and exchanging knowledge became my passion. Today’s teachers […]

Kathy joins Emily Chang to discuss the potential of the metaverse for education, the importance of making sure it is safe and why it needs to be rolled out in […]

“’Play’ is critically important, and different types of play matter in different ways. Most research on play, historically, has been focused on free play. As the name implies, free play […]

“On Tuesday, August 3, The Hunt Institute’s Dan Wuori and Trust for Learning’s Ellen Roche cohosted a webinar spotlighting the role of play in ideal learning environments. “Play is a […]

“Schools are full of talk; in every classroom, it’s a vital learning tool. But because it’s ingrained in our lessons, and teachers are great at enabling talk, it is not […]

“The Jacobs Foundation, New America, and the internationally recognized research duo of Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Roberta Golinkoff announce the third cohort of the Learning Sciences Exchange (LSX) Fellows. These top-level, […]

It takes work to learn how to play. That’s the message early childhood experts delivered Wednesday during a webinar on the importance of play in early education settings, hosted by […]

“On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled on one of the most controversial issues in the last 50 years. It overturned Roe v. Wade, the […]

“It’s the latest sign that Big Tech sees education as a key piece of the rush to build a metaverse, the immersive Internet of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality… This […]

On June 28, the Center for Universal Education and the Yidan Prize Foundation  co-hosted a virtual event to consider a path for bringing the best educational practices into the metaverse, […]

This piece, which is an excerpt from Chapter 5 in Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth Through Age 8, Fourth Edition (NAEYC 2022), suggests that defining play on a […]

“Meta, the parent company of Facebook, made waves last fall when it announced the so-called metaverse. In a few years, this metaverse could be interoperable networks of virtual reality (VR) […]

Research on the educational benefits of play is nothing new; however, findings have been mainly focused on Early Childhood Development because of how important the early years are for a young developing brain. “Children’s free play […]

“The way that children begin to understand themselves and the world around them is mediated through play. The value of play is in the way that children learn to navigate […]

“Researcher Kathy Hirsch-Pasek has a challenge she would like to see lawmakers in the U.S. Congress take on—call it a dare. She wants all 535 of them to spend a […]

“There are many life skills that can be taught through play. Here are five ways in which you can teach your child important life lessons while having fun.”

The Hunt Institute and Trust for Learning invited experts on the power of play in early children’s development for this Webinar, “Creating Ideal Learning Environments Through Play”.

“I had a hard truth delivered to me this week, and it came at the hands of a pint-sized human at the ripe age of 6 years old. This child, […]

“Young said he wasn’t surprised by the study’s findings, adding they show VR and the metaverse can be helpful tools in education. “I think it is very hopeful. Of course, it’s […]

A long history of research suggests that early informal STEM learning experiences such as block play, puzzles, visiting zoos and science museums can build a strong foundation for STEM learning […]

Virtual and augmented reality tools are gaining traction in both K-12 and higher-ed institutions, but experts say more planning and collaboration are needed to make the content practical and useful.

“Learning can happen anywhere. That’s the philosophy behind the Playful Learning Landscapes project, which studies and creates educational activities for public spaces. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to rethink […]

Check out Temple University’s College of Liberal Arts Public Policy Lab’s Lab Report (Issue 2), titled “Child poverty in America: Where do we go from here?” and Kathy’s section titled […]

“Pondering the potential of the metaverse in educational spaces, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, a psychology professor at Temple University and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, imagines infinite possibilities for learning […]

Kathy is happy to be have helped the team create Amazon Glow! “Amazon has officially launched Amazon Glow, a kid-friendly, interactive device designed to erase the miles and bring loved ones […]

“What happens when you stop teaching young children via direct instruction and instead set up purposeful opportunities to play? They could learn just as much—or more— when it comes to […]

“Research on the learning benefits of play is nothing new; however, findings have been mainly focused on Early Childhood Development.” READ MORE….

Check out Kathy’s comments during the second half of the show!

“The recent evaluation of the Tennessee pre-K program by Kelley Durkin and colleagues found that by the end of sixth grade, children who attended the public statewide pre-K program in Tennessee actually did […]

“Education is key for helping children understand the structural inequality perpetuated in our most powerful institutions…”

“Talk of the metaverse is everywhere, even though the new, more immersive internet isn’t exactly here yet. Even so, some educators are trying to get ahead of the curve to […]

A challenge to Meta (Facebook’s new name), Google, Microsoft, and Amazon regarding the ways in which the metaverse can dovetail with education if done right. Check out Kathy and colleagues’ […]

Check out this piece including research by Kathy and colleagues…

Check out Kathy’s latest ECE Webinar HERE….

“The Build Back Better bill has stalled. On one point, we agree with Senator Joe Manchin that it is time for Congress to start with a “clean sheet of paper” […]

As the third calendar year of the pandemic begins, 2022 promises to be an important one—especially for education. Around the world, education systems have had to contend with sporadic closures, […]

Are you interested in learning more about PLLAN? Want to stay up to date on all of our latest projects? Then click to join Kathy and her colleagues’ quarterly newsletter!

“Never confuse fantasy and “realty”. It’s a sentence that has floated, jokingly, around my family ever since my father’s colleague uttered the bungle to him years ago. We New Yorkers, […]

Check out Isabelle Hau’s newsletter featuring a quote from Kathy…

“I support a whole-child approach to teaching, but how do schools integrate it when we have so many different subjects to cover?”… READ MORE…

“Perhaps most importantly, write scholars Elana Herbst, Roberta M. Golinkoff and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, the legislation has reignited a necessary conversation about the role of gendered toys in perpetuating stereotypes harmful […]

“When it comes to early childhood education, child’s play may well be serious business. Fun and games bring more than just joy. They may be the key to helping children […]

Encantos, the global creator platform empowering Storyteachers from around the world to help kids learn 21st-century skills, today announced that award-winning educator and pioneer in the science of playful learning […]

“Most people know Smith Memorial Playground for its giant wooden slide, the analog-age attraction that has amused generations of Philadelphia kids. But the Fairmount Park destination has a serious side, […]