EMILY HOPKINS
I am an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Scranton and the director of the Play and Learning Lab. My work focuses on the role of play and fiction in early childhood. I typically teach Lifespan Development, Research Methods & Statistics, and Fundamentals of Psychology.
MY LATEST RESEARCH
Our Language for Reading classroom program was highly effective at teaching vocabulary in low-income preschools. Our results show that play was just as effective as shared book-reading, which has long been used as the primary method for vocabulary instruction.
Can children learn from fictional media? Our recent review of the literature suggests that they can, but with some important caveats. Children sometimes learn incorrect or impossible information when stories are inaccurate or fantastical.