About

Jennifer M. Zosh, Ph.D., is a Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at The Pennsylvania State University’s Brandywine campus. She directs the Brandywine Child Development Lab, where she studies how infants and young children learn about the world around them. Her expertise and publications focus on playful learning, the impact of technology on children, working memory, mathematical cognition, and language acquisition. A notable contribution includes her role as co-lead author on a 2015 publication in Psychological Science in the Public Interest, which emphasized integrating educational research into the design of educational apps to enhance children's learning experiences. Dr. Zosh regularly presents at professional meetings such as the Society for Research in Child Development, International Congress on Infant Studies, and the National Academy of Sciences Children and Screens colloquium, among others. She is deeply committed to disseminating and translating scientific discoveries to the public through blogging and media appearances, with her work featured on platforms including The Conversation, PBS Parents, the Brookings Institution, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, NPR Radio Times, and The Alliance for Early Childhood. Additionally, she contributes to developmental research dissemination through involvement with Living Laboratories in children’s museums and advisory roles for organizations like Ultimate Block Party, Urban ThinkScape, Philadelphia Playful Learning Cities, and Learning Landscapes. Dr. Zosh also serves as a speaker for ReadyNation's Brain Science Speakers Bureau. She earned her bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Delaware and her Ph.D. in Psychological and Brain Sciences from Johns Hopkins University.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Psychology
• Social psychology
• Sociology
• Developmental psychology
• Mathematics
• Applied psychology
• Multimedia
• Linguistics
• Art
• Internet privacy
• Mathematics education
• Statistics
• Visual arts
• Pedagogy
• Engineering
• Communication

Selected publications

• In the Living Room and Across the Screen: Intergenerational Play Between Infants and Grandparents

  Infancy · 2026-01-01

  articleOpen access

  In-person co-play between infants and adults develops rapidly during infancy, but little research has examined how families play together over video chat. Research demonstrates that video chat may support family connections, especially with grandparents and other family members separated by physical location. However, video chat interactions also place significant socio-cognitive demands on infants that may impact the frequency and variety of family play. The present study examines predictors of intergenerational virtual play compared to in-person play. We conducted an OSF pre-registered secondary analysis of data from a longitudinal study of 47 infant-parent-grandparent triads who recorded up to three naturalistic Zoom video chats and a session when they met in person. All instances of attempted infant-grandparent play were coded for playful activity type (e.g., dancing, hide & seek), duration, and whether the infant was successfully engaged in play (e.g., responded by smiling, vocalizing or imitating). Descriptive analyses revealed variability in play between families and across sessions. To capture the variety of ways in which grandparents, parents and infants played together, we fit growth models to predict the frequency of play bouts, the number of different types of playful activities observed (play repertoire), the proportion of time engaged in play, the proportion of play bouts for which infants were positively engaged, and the proportion of play bouts initiated by infants during video chat sessions. Across analyses, age was the strongest predictor of infant play on video chat. We then compared video chat play to play during the in-person session and found that play repertoire was significantly greater on video chat than in person. This study highlights the potential of digital tools to enhance intergenerational family relationships and social interactions through play. Video chat may serve as a high-quality supplemental activity for separated families.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Mutual Sensitivity Between Caregivers Predicts Infant Affective State During Video Chat

  Infancy · 2026-01-01

  articleOpen access

  Infancy is an extraordinary period of human development, in which babies turn sensory and environmental information into meaning in the cradle of their caregivers' affective and attentional cues. Babies express what they are thinking and feeling through smiles and gazes long before they develop expressive language. Most developmental research focuses on mother-infant dyads within a controlled lab environment, despite the complexity of young children's caregiving ecosystems, which range far beyond the mother-child dyad and include caregivers at a distance via technology like video chat. This study uses a novel state space approach to examine relations between the sensitivity of two caregivers-what we call "mutual sensitivity"-and infants' real-time affective and attentional states during video chat sessions. In this analysis of recorded semi-naturalistic video chat interactions from 47 triads (parent, infant, and on-screen grandparent), we find that mutual sensitivity toward the infant is associated with concurrent infant positive, alert affective states (low-medium arousal and positive valence). However, contrary to our second hypothesis, we did not find associations between mutual caregiver sensitivity and infants' real-time likelihood that they would concurrently engage in joint attention across the video chat screen. We discuss the implications of these discrepant findings across affective and attentional domains and the utility of this newly described mutual sensitivity variable to understand children's caregiving ecosystems beyond the dyad.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Look at Grandma! Joint visual attention over video chat during the COVID-19 pandemic

  Infant Behavior and Development · 2024-03-12 · 11 citations

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Video Chat: A Tool for Young Children’s Engagement and Early Social Learning

  2024-01-01 · 1 citations

  book-chapter
  PublisherDOI

• Children's perspectives of learning through play in the majority world: Findings from Bangladesh, Colombia and Uganda

  Children & Society · 2024-11-10 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract As efforts to use learning through play (LtP) expand globally, it is important to explore how children's perspectives impact the efficacy and experience of this pedagogical approach. LtP has been conceptualized as a spectrum from free play to guided play to teacher‐directed play. This spectrum describes different ways in which play happens—with varying levels of adult support—and acknowledges that children's agency is characterized by choice and the ability to direct, participate in, and/or initiate play. Previous research has primarily focused on adult perceptions of LtP for preschool children in high‐resource contexts. We present the perspectives on LtP of children (3–12 years) in Bangladesh, Colombia and Uganda. We photographed learning activities in community centres and schools that incorporated play‐based practices. In group discussions, we used these photographs to elicit children's perspectives on the difference between play and learning in the classroom, the factors that influence their construction of play and learning, and the role that teachers play in these activities. Conceptualizations across the three research sites and ages were similar: Children associated learning with play if the activity was fun and social; distinctions between play and learning were defined by content, modality, materials and location; and teachers were seen as involved in play under limited conditions. We discuss the implications of our findings for the implementation of LtP in majority‐world contexts. By moving teachers from a primarily teacher‐directed approach to more guided‐play approaches, we are not only asking teachers to give up some control but are also asking children to think about adults in fundamentally different ways. This research highlights that we may need to couple professional development for teachers with approaches that support children to change their perceptions of agency and choice in the classroom.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Applying the science of learning to teacher professional development and back again: Lessons from 3 country contexts

  Trends in Neuroscience and Education · 2024-05-19 · 8 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Teacher RePlay and Children ReAct: pilot testing a formative toolkit to support playful learning in the classroom

  Frontiers in Education · 2024-02-16 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Playful learning has seen a resurgence of interest in the past decade, particularly in contexts where play is not traditionally part of a teacher’s repertoire. Teachers interested in exploring the integration of play in their classrooms need formative tools and resources that help them to reflect and assess their own practice and their ability to create a playful learning experience for their students. This study presents the results of two rounds of pilot testing in three countries for Teacher RePlay, a new open-source toolkit designed to support teachers interested in reflecting on and deepening their learning through play practice. The toolkit includes the main Teacher RePlay observation protocol for teachers, as well as Children ReAct, a complementary protocol for a photo-elicited focus group discussion with children, intended to directly assess children’s experiences and reflections on learning through play. Upon observation, teachers receive customized coaching suggestions and tips designed to strengthen their learning through play practice. Initial results from the piloting indicate that the toolkit holds strong potential for teachers interested in better understanding and deepening their playful learning practice. This paper discusses the development, validation, successes, and challenges of the Teacher RePlay toolkit, and identifies future directions for its use.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Teacher Perspectives on the Usefulness of a Formative Assessment Tool to Support Their Implementation of Learning Through Play

  Journal of Research in Childhood Education · 2024-11-19 · 1 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Recalling Autobiographical Memories of Childhood and Adulthood Play and Shopping:Effects on Play Attitudes and Purchase Intentions for Toys and Games

  2024-11-22

  article
  Publisher

• Immersive Horizons: Navigating the Impacts of Virtual Reality on Children and Families

  2024-12-05 · 1 citations

  book-chapterOpen access

  Abstract Virtual reality (VR) is an emerging, immersive, multisensory technology with the potential to become a widely used tool for children of all ages. Although the majority of official guidelines typically recommend its use for individuals over 10–13 years old, younger children have started to adopt this technology. Given its highly experiential nature and the limited research available, further investigation is needed to assess both the positive and negative impacts of VR on children of all ages. In this chapter, we examine existing knowledge on its use across various settings and discuss its promising aspects (e.g., expanding educational opportunities, pain relief in clinical environments) as well as potential concerns (e.g., ethical issues related to data collection and the possibility of exploitation). As VR is still a nascent technology, we can draw insights from current research and the effects of screen media on children. The power of VR could significantly influence children’s daily lives and families, but it is essential to understand how this novel technology may affect child development differently from adults, considering various ages and developmental stages.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Kathy Hirsh‐Pasek

  Temple University

  30 shared

• Roberta Michnick Golinkoff

  25 shared

• Brenna Hassinger‐Das

  17 shared

• Georgene L. Troseth

  12 shared

• Gabrielle A. Strouse

  12 shared

• Rachel Barr

  Georgetown University

  11 shared

• Lisa Feigenson

  Johns Hopkins University

  10 shared

• Lauren J. Myers

  10 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Psychological and Brain Sciences

  Johns Hopkins University

  2009

• B.A., Psychology

  University of Delaware

  2003

Awards & honors

• Penn State University’s Brandywine campus Distinguished Teac…