Brenna Hassinger-Das
Associate Professor
Psychology Department, Pace University
Research
Biography
Brenna Hassinger-Das, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Pace University.
Her research examines children’s play and learning in home, school, and community contexts, particularly for children experiencing poverty. Her areas of expertise encompass executive functioning, early number sense, and vocabulary acquisition. She is particularly interested in investigating the effects of both play and digital media on caregiver-child interactions and child learning. She is committed to translating her research for use by the public through community-based research projects as well as blog posts and commentaries featured in outlets such as The Conversation and The Huffington Post, as well as additional local outlets.
Learning at School:
Mathematics,
Language, &
Executive Function
Investigating general vocabulary, mathematical language, early number sense, and executive function through developmental and intervention studies.
Selected Publications & Presentations
Purpura, D. J., Logan, J. A. R., Hassinger-Das., B., & Napoli, A. R. (2017). Why do early mathematics skills predict reading development? The role of mathematical language. Developmental Psychology, 53, 1633-1642.
Hassinger-Das, B.*, Toub, T. S.*, Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R. M. (2017). A matter of principle: Applying language science to the classroom and beyond. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 3, 5-18. *Co-first author.
Hassinger-Das, B., Ridge, K., Parker, A., Golinkoff, R., Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Dickinson, D. K. (2016). Building vocabulary knowledge in preschoolers through shared book-reading and game-play. Mind, Brain, and Education, 10, 71-80.
Hassinger-Das, B., Jordan, N. C., & Dyson, N. (2015). Reading stories to learn math: Mathematics vocabulary instruction for children with early numeracy difficulties. The Elementary School Journal, 116, 242-264.
Hassinger-Das, B., Jordan, N. C., Glutting, J., Irwin, C., & Dyson, N. (2014). Domain general mediators of the relation between kindergarten number sense and first-grade mathematics achievement. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 118, 78-92.
Learning at Home:
Digital Media
Investigating how children learn from and interact with digital media, particulary in the areas of literacy skills and cognitive processes.
Selected Publications & Presentations
Hassinger-Das, B., Quinones, A., DiFlorio, C., Schwartz, R., Talla, N. C. T., & Zosh, J. M. (2021). Looking
deeper into the toy box: Understanding caregivers’ toy selection decisions. Infant Behavior and Development, 62, 101529.
Hassinger-Das, B., Brennan, S., Dore, R. A., Golinkoff, R. M., & Hirsh-Pasek, K. (2020). Children and
screens. Annual Review of Developmental Psychology, 2, 3.1-3.24.
Hassinger-Das., B., Dore, R. A., Aloisi, K., Hossain, M., Pearce, M., & Paterra, M. (2020). Children’s reality status judgements of digital media: Implications for a COVID-19 world and beyond. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1-10.
Dore, R. A., Hassinger-Das, B., Brezack, N., Valladares, T., Paller, A., Vu, L., Golinkoff, R, M., & Hirsh-Pasek,
K. (2018). The parent advantage in children’s e-book comprehension. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 44, 24-33.
Learning in the Community:
Playful Learning
Investigating how to collaborate with communities to foster learning through play.
Selected Publications & Presentations
Hassinger-Das, B., Zosh, J. M., Bustamante, A. S., Golinkoff, R. M., & Hirsh-Pasek, K. (2021). Translating cognitive science in the public square. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 25(10), 816-818.
Hassinger-Das, B., Palti, I., Golinkoff, R. M., & Hirsh-Pasek, K. (2020). Urban Thinkscape: Infusing public spaces with STEM conversation and interaction opportunities. Journal of Cognition and Development, 21(1), 125-147.
Hassinger-Das, B., Bustamante, A. S., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Golinkoff, R. M., Magsamen, S., Robinson, J. P., & Winthrop, R. (2018). Learning Landscapes: Can urban planning and the learning sciences work together to help children? Global Economy and Development Working Paper 124. Washington D.C.: The Brookings Institution.