D Y S O N Y E A R I N R E V I E W • 2 0 1 7 – 2 0 1 8
24
Serious about Play
Professor Brenna Hassinger-Das bridges
children's learning with play in the inner cities.
Assistant Professor of Psychology Brenna Hassinger-Das is making
waves in the field of education. She is the driving force behind
Urban Thinkscape, which creates fun and engaging spaces for
"playful learning" in inner-city environments, such as puzzles on
the back wall of a bus stop. Funded by a $500,000 grant, the project
was piloted in West Philadelphia. Pace students have been working
with Hassinger-Das to enter and analyze data to determine whether
engagement in Urban Thinkscape spaces translates to school
success and benefits mental, emotional, and physical health.
The work has caught the attention of Harvard University's
Center on the Developing Child, which now includes it in its portfolio
of projects. In May 2018, Hassinger-Das and her team received a
Top Idea in Early Childhood Innovation Prize by Gary Community
Investments and OpenIDEO. Looking ahead, she plans to expand the
program by creating similar projects in New York and other cities.
