Research
Cognitive ToyBox was founded in 2015 out of a National Science Foundation I-Corps for Learning grant at NYU. Co-founders Tammy Kwan and Dr. Brenden Lake are committed to developing evidence-based technology solutions to support early childhood educators, parents and children.
Assessment Platform
The assessment platform enables teachers to conduct standardized and structured observation-based and direct assessments for children ages birth to five. The platform is aligned to the goals described in the Head Start Early Learning Child Outcomes Framework: Ages Birth to Five and supports assessment of the five central developmental domains: Approaches to Learning, Social and Emotional Development, Language and Literacy, Cognition, and Perceptual, Motor and Physical Development.
Please see below for research on Cognitive ToyBox, including the reliability and validity of the tool and its usability for instructional adjustment and individualization. More research is forthcoming in this area, and this page will be updated on an ongoing basis.
Assessment Platform
The assessment platform enables teachers to conduct standardized and structured observation-based and direct assessments for children ages birth to five. The platform is aligned to the goals described in the Head Start Early Learning Child Outcomes Framework: Ages Birth to Five and supports assessment of the five central developmental domains: Approaches to Learning, Social and Emotional Development, Language and Literacy, Cognition, and Perceptual, Motor and Physical Development.
Please see below for research on Cognitive ToyBox, including the reliability and validity of the tool and its usability for instructional adjustment and individualization. More research is forthcoming in this area, and this page will be updated on an ongoing basis.
- Cognitive ToyBox (2021). Use Case: Technology-Based Tools Enable Greater Collaboration Between Head Start and Public Schools. New York, NY: Author.
- Navta, N. (2020). Use Case: Using Cognitive ToyBox at Home during Covid-19 School Closures. New York, NY: Author.
- Tripathy, R., Burke, R., & Kwan, T. (2020). Case Study: Implementing Cognitive ToyBox alongside a Traditional Observation-Only Approach to Assessment in the Early Childhood Classroom. New York, NY: Author.
- Lewis, M., Cristiano, V., Lake, B. M., Kwan, T., & Frank, M. C. (2020). The role of developmental change and linguistic experience in the mutual exclusivity effect. Cognition.
- Flynn, K. & Patel, R. (2019). Cognitive ToyBox Subject Matter Expert Review. San Francisco, CA: WestEd.
- Hull, S. & Kwan, T. (2019, October 4). Measuring school readiness through games: A focus on reliability, validity and outcomes. New York, NY: Author.
- White, J. (2019, May 24). Cognitive ToyBox: Achieving early literacy in Davie County. Mocksville, NC: Mebane Charitable Foundation.
- Subramanyam, A. & Kwan, T. (2019). The Promise of Game-Based Assessment in Early Childhood Education. New York, NY: Author.
- White, J. (2018, August 23). Cognitive ToyBox: Data-based assessment tool to accelerate progress in early childhood literacy. Mocksville, NC: Mebane Charitable Foundation.
- Carvalho, P.F., & Smith, L.B. (2018) Week-long practice matching 2D objects by shape improves 3D shape bias and accelerates children vocabulary growth. Poster presented at 40th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.