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  • Remaking Tomorrow Podcast

    Roberta Golinkoff, author and Unidel H. Rodney Sharp chair and professor in the School of Education at the University of Delaware, joins Ryan Rydzewski and guest host Kathy Hirsh-Pasek to […]

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  • 2024 ECE Leaders Summit

    Roberta gave a talk on children’s play at the 2024 Catherine Hershey Schools for Early Learning ECE Leaders Summit in April 2024.

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  • Hirsh-Pasek, Golinkoff, and team awarded $20M Lego Foundation grant

    Roberta and collaborator in the field, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, are working to transform schools with a new $20M Lego grant.

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  • Can We Make Schools Work Better? The Science Says Yes!

    Drs. Golinkoff and Hirsh-Pasek present the theory and playful learning principles behind Making Schools Work, their new book.

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  • A safe, engaging, digital space for Ukrainian children and their parents to read books and much more!

    Dr. Golinkoff and her team created Stories with Clever Hedgehog funded by the  Jacobs Foundation grant. Ebooks, fun facts, and music are available on the site in Ukrainian and English.

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  • New Jacobs Foundation Grant!

    Fostering Language Development and Literacy in Times of War:  Access to E-Books for Ukrainian Children After food, shelter, and safety, parents worry about their children’s education in wartime. We received […]

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  • The X International Congress of Language Acquisition Conference

    Roberta’s talk was titled, “What Do I See? How Language Learners View the World’s Events”. This conference took place in Girona, Spain from September 7-9, 2022.

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  • Learning Sciences Exchange Meeting in Zurich, Switzerland

    Learning Sciences Exchange

    A meeting of the Learning Sciences Exchange (LSX) took place in June of 2022. Pictured left to right: Roberta with Elise Franchino, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Cathrin Jerie, and Lisa Guernsey.

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  • Roberta in Corpus Christi

    Texas School Ready Early Childhood Institute

    Corpus Christi, TX welcomed Roberta in June of 2022 to speak at the Texas School Ready Early Childhood Institute about why playful learning makes for a superior educational experience.

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  • Ah Verona!

    BabyQUILS

    Roberta went to Verona, Italy in May of 2022 to consult with faculty at the University of Verona about making an Italian version of the BabyQUILS.

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  • Roberta Goes Global!

    Roberta was recently featured in a video that won a Cannes Lions award! The video describes a campaign, “H is for Handwashing” that teaching children the importance of handwashing from […]

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  • National Academy of Education Newly Elected Member

    Roberta was recently elected to membership in the National Academy of Education!  The Academy consists of U.S. members and international associates who are elected on the basis of outstanding scholarship […]

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  • A New Path to Education Reform: How Playful Learning Promotes Learning in School and Beyond

    Roberta recently presented a talk on new pathways to educational reform as a part of the Distinguished Lectures in Humanities at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

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  • New Research Ignites Debate on the ’30 Million Word Gap’

    Roberta was recently featured in an article in Edutopia by Connor Williams for her work on the consequences of denying the 30 million word gap!

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  • Effects of Bilingualism on Infants’ Sensitivity to Ground Information

    Roberta recently presented a talk on the effects of bilingualism on infants’ sensitivity to ground information at the Experiments in Linguistic Meaning conference, hosted virtually by the University of Pennsylvania. […]

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  • Worldwide Orphans Foundation’s September Virtual Event- “Get to Know WWO: The Power of Play”

    Roberta was recently a guest panelist for WWO’s September Virtual Event, where she spoke about the transformative power of play. Click “Read Full Story” to see the event!

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  • The Learning Sciences Exchange Summit tackles research communication gap, reflects on inclusion with new creative products

    Roberta and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek recently helped organize the Learning Sciences Exchange Summit. The summit featured the Learning Sciences Exchange fellows’ projects, which aimed to tackle the communication gap between researchers and […]

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  • Should schools reopen? Balancing COVID-19 and learning loss for young children

    In their piece for the Brookings Institution, Roberta, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, and and Michael Yogman discuss the risk-benefit calculus of opening schools for Fall 2020.

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  • Children Have Insights On The Benefits And Challenges Of Remote Learning: Just Ask Them

    Roberta and Marcia Halperin wrote a piece for Child and Family Blog on young children’s opinions of remote learning.

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  • Avoiding the COVID-19 slump: Making up for lost school time

    Roberta, Helen Shwe Hadani, and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek wrote a piece for the Brookings Institution on recovering from learning losses due to COVID-19 and school closures.

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  • Kids home? Tell them, as your mother used to say, ‘Go outside and play!’

    Roberta’s opinion piece in the News Journal details the benefits of taking play outside and provides ideas of how adults and children can engage in educational and entertaining outdoor activities.

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  • There are policy solutions that can end the war on childhood, and the discussion should start this campaign season

    In their blog post for The Hechinger Report, Roberta and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek outlined steps policymakers in the United States could take to end the “war on childhood” and reduce inequality.

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  • For answers about the opioid crisis, look to cycles of family trauma

    Roberta and Alexandra Tabachnick, a UD Psychological and Brain Sciences doctoral student, wrote an opinion piece in the News Journal on the opioid crisis and cycles of family trauma.

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  • Children’s Books on Racism and Resources on How to Talk with Children about Race

    Black lives matter.  Racism is a pandemic.  We all bleed the same color blood.   These words were seen on signs held up during the protests sparked by the horrendous […]

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  • Playful Learning

    Listen to Roberta talk about the importance of playful learning while in Stavanger, Norway to present at the University of Stavanger’s Filorium conference!

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  • To the Stars and Beyond from a Tower of Blocks

    The building block has been such a fact of American childhood for so long, it’s easy to dismiss the humble little cube as irrelevant, particularly in light of fancy newer […]

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  • Your baby is a genius

    Did you know your baby is a genius? It’s a serious question, one that University of Delaware professor Roberta Michnick Golinkoff has been asking parents since she arrived on campus […]

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  • How Did “Play” Become a Four-Letter Word?

    The pressure to over-program kids often seems endless – so much so that a simple, old-fashioned idea has fallen to the side: Children should play. Roberta Michnick Golinkoff & Kathy […]

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  • E is for Educator: Sesame Street Celebrates 50 Years of Quality Early Learning

    Roberta and her collaborator, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, partnered with Sesame Street to create “Esme and Roy,” a Sesame Workshop series for HBO on guided play!

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  • Neglect of children at the border has long-term consequences

    Roberta recently wrote a blog post with Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Virginia Rauh on the consequences of the treatment of the children at the border for the Brookings Center for Universal […]

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  • Best Toys for Baby!

    Research Roberta and her colleagues conducted on parental language differences when playing with a traditional or electronic shape sorter toy was recently featured in a video from Child Trends!

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  • AERA Newly Announced Fellow

    The American Educational Research Association (AERA) recently announced Roberta as 1 of 10 scholars selected as 2019 AERA Fellows, recognizing her notable and sustained research achievements.

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  • Cognitive Science Society Newly Elected Fellow

    Roberta was recently elected a fellow of the Cognitive Science Society, recognizing the impact and excellence of her research in cognitive science.

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  • Introducing The QUILS: Screening For Early Language Knowledge

    Roberta gave a seminar at the University of California, Berkeley, Graduate School of Education. She discussed the exciting new language screener, the QUILS (Quick Interactive Language Screener), that she developed […]

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  • UC Davis Developmental Brown Bag Series

    Roberta spoke at the University of California, Davis as part of their Developmental Psychology Brown Bag Series!

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  • The importance of play: how to build healthy brains while having fun

    Roberta was recently on the podcast uh-Parent-ly talking about how unstructured play helps children learn and grow on the way to adulthood.

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  • How psychological science is benefiting the world

    Roberta and her longtime collaborator, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, were recently featured in a special edition of Perspectives on Psychological Science detailing their success at designing public spaces to foster learning.

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  • The 30 Million Word Gap

    Roberta appeared on the podcast, Your Parenting Mojo, and discussed the concept of the 30 Million Word Gap and the importance of child-directed speech.

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  • Let Kids Play

    Roberta and her collaborators published a report with the American Academy of Pediatrics on the benefits of play for children that was recently featured in the New York Times.

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  • Fostering Healthy Relationships between Siblings

    Roberta appeared on Morning Dose, a nationally syndicated live TV morning show, to discuss how to foster healthy relationships between young siblings. Check out Morning Dose at facebook.com/morningdosetv and @morningdosetv . […]

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  • Congressional Briefing Organized by Zero to Three

    Roberta was recently invited to Washington, DC to give a congressional briefing. Called for by Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut and Congressman Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee, the briefing was organized […]

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  • Should Kids Have Cell Phones? Experts Pick Sides

    WalletHub

    Just as we have rules for watching media and playing video games, we can have rules for cell phone usage. Discussing these with children and occasionally negotiating too, helps them […]

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  • University of Delaware Presidential Inauguration Academic Symposium

    UDaily

    Roberta was invited to speak at the inauguration of the new University of Delaware president, Dennis Assanis, on December 7th, 2016. The academic symposium, titled “Ideas that Dare to Change the […]

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  • Good math skills begin at home

    The Philadelphia Inquirer

    Early math needs to be promoted in the same way that early language and emergent literacy have been promoted over the past decades. We need to foster the ABCs and […]

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  • An Oasis of Bipartisan Support: Why Early-Childhood Ed Matters

    Education Week

    Access to universal Pre-K, while critical in early childhood education — is not enough to raise floor for every child.  With overwhelming public support and political will, it is time […]

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  • Roberta launches book at the Brookings Institution

    The Brookings Institution

    Dr. Roberta Golinkoff and Dr. Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek’s book, Becoming Brilliant: What science tells us about raising successful children just launched at The Brookings Institution.  Click here to learn more about this achievement!

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  • How To Raise Brilliant Children, According To Science

    NPR

    “Why are traffic lights red, yellow and green?” When a child asks you a question like this, you have a few options. You can shut her down with a “Just […]

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  • Making Science ‘Edible’

    Association for Psychological Science

    Today, parents wanting the best for their children’s intellectual development can turn to a number of “educational” digital apps, a variety of “brain-based” teaching strategies and curricula, and a never-ending […]

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  • Four ways to tell if an educational app will actually help your child learn

    The Joan Ganz Cooney Center

    Imagine someone telling you that a new technology would be available in five years that has the potential to revolutionize childhood and early education. But the downside is that you […]

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  • The building blocks of learning, literally

    Science Daily

    With the advent of tablet apps for children, parents may be tempted to forgo purchasing those blocks and puzzles that have been staples in children’s toy chests for centuries. A […]

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  • The Case for Play

    The Chronicle of Higher Education

    Lucas Sherman and Aniyah McKenzie are building a house in Central Park. It is small, even by Manhattan standards, and the amenities leave something to be desired. But Lucas, who […]

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  • The Ultimate Block Party: Play is serious business

    The Science Network

    “We’ve always assumed play and learning are divorced— but really, they’re really not.  As opposed to saying ‘Learning vs. Play,’ we should be saying ‘Learning via Play.’”  Here more of […]

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  • CONTACT
    Roberta Michnick Golinkoff Ph.D.
    School of Education
    University of Delaware
    Newark, DE 19716
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    Office Fax: (302) 831-4110
    Lab Phone: (302) 831-2073
    Email: roberta@udel.edu
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