Books
Cohen, L.E. (April 2026). Exploring the Potential of Artificial Intelligence in Early Childhood Education: New Learning Experiences for Young Children. New York, NY: Routledge.
Cohen, L.E. & Waite-Stupiansky, S. (December 2023) Theories of early childhood: Developmental, Behaviorist, and Critical. (2nd Ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Cohen, L.E. & Waite-Stupiansky, S. (2020) STEM for Early Childhood Learners: How Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Strengthen Learning. New York, NY: Routledge.
Cohen, L.E. & Waite-Stupiansky, S. (March 2017) Theories of early childhood: Developmental, Behaviorist, and Critical. New York, NY: Routledge.
Cohen, L.E. & Waite-Stupiansky, S. (2013). Learning Across the Early Childhood Curriculum, Advances in Early Education and Day Care (Vol. 17). United Kingdom: Emerald Group Publishers.
Cohen, L. E. & Waite-Stupiansky, S. (2011). Play: A polyphony of research, theories , and issues. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.
Book Chapters
Cohen, L.E. & Kalthoff, A. (2021). Engaging all learners in quality early childhood teacher education. In J. Burris, D. Karno, & D. Rosen (Eds.). Empowering Early Childhood Educators with Technology. IGI Global.
Cohen, L.E. (2021). Large blocks, unit blocks as building materials. In D. Bergen (Ed.). Handbook of Developmentally Appropriate Toys. Rowman & Littlefield.
Cohen, L.E. & Emmons, J. (2018). Block play: Spatial language with preschool and school-aged children. In D. Wisneski & J. Nicholson (Eds.), Towards Social Justice and Equity: Reconsidering the Role of Play in Early Childhood, New York: Taylor & Francis.
Cohen, L.E. & Waite-Stupiansky, S. (2016). Play for all ages: An exploration of intergenerational play. In M. Patte & J. Sutterby (Eds.), Celebrating 40 Years of Research: Reflecting on our Past, Exploring the Present, and Playing into the Future, Play and Culture Studies, Vol. 13, Lanham, MD: Hamilton Books.
Cohen, L.E. (2016). Economic differences in play. In D. L. Couchenour & J.K. Chrisman. (Eds.). The Sage Encyclopedia of Contemporary Early Childhood Education, (pp. 512-513). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781483340333.n138
Cohen, L.E. (2015). Play through a Bakhtinian Lens. In S. Eberle, T. ,Henricks, J.E. Johnson, & D. Kushner (Eds.), The Handbook of the Study of Play, Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Cohen, L.E. & Friedman, D. (2015). The Early Development Instrument: A bioecological view of school readiness. In W. Parnell & J.M. Iorio (Eds.), Rethinking Readiness in Early Childhood Education: Implications for Policy and Practice, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Cohen, L.E. (2014). Effects of schooling on language development. In P. Brooks & V. Kempe (Eds.). Encyclopedia of Language Development (pp. 188- 189). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication.
Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
Cohen, L.E. (June 2026). Whose words are these anyway? Bakhtinian pedagogy with emergent bilingual learners. International Journal of Early Childhood Research, 32(1)
Cohen, L.E. (2023). Vygotskian framework for observing and teaching bilingual and English-only players. American Journal of Play, (13), 3, 333-358.
Parrott, H. & Cohen, L.E. (2021). Advantages of mixed-age free play at an elementary school: Perceptions of students, teachers, and parents. International Journal of Play
Parrott, H. & Cohen, L.E. (2020). Advocating for play: The benefits of unstructured play in public schools. School Community Journal, 30(2), 229-254.
Cohen, L.E. (2017). Preschool discourse interactions: Playful meaning making from a carnival lens. Knowledge Cultures, 5(3), 59-70. doi: 10.22381/KC5320175.
Cohen, L.E. & Emmons, J. (2017). Block play: Spatial language with preschool and school-aged children, Early Childhood Development & Care, 187 (5-6), 967-977
Cohen, L.E. (2015). Layers of discourse in children’s play: An exploration of double-voicing in children’s social interactions. International Journal of Early Childhood, Springer Publishing.
Cohen, L.E., Kramer-Vida, L., Frye, N., & Andreou, M. (2014). The effect of bilingual instruction and play on preschoolers’ English proficiency. International Journal of Play. doi: 10.1080/21594937.2013.876573.
Cohen, L.E. (2011). Bakhtin’s carnival and pretend role play: A Comparison of social contexts. 4(2). American Journal of Play. Rochester, NY: The Strong Museum.
Cohen, L.E., Kramer-Vida, L., & Frye, N. (2012). Using dialogic reading as professional development to improve students’ English and Spanish vocabulary. NHSA Dialog, 15(1), 1-22. doi:10.1080/15240754.2011.636490.
Cohen, L.E., Kramer-Vida, L., & Frye, N. (2012). Implementing dialogic reading with culturally, linguistically diverse preschool children. NHSA Dialog, 15(1), 1-7.doi: 10.1080/15240754.2011.639965.
Cohen, L.E. & Uhry, J.K. (2010). Naming block structures: A multitmodal approach. Early Childhood Education Journal, 39(1), 79-87. doi: 10.1007/s10643-010-0425-x.
Cohen, L.E. (2009). The heteroglossic world of preschoolers’ pretend play. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 10(4).
Cohen, L.E., Kurstedt, R. & May, M. (2009). Fluency, text structure, and comprehension: A complex relationship. Reading Horizons Journal, 49(2).
Cohen, L.E. (2009). Exploring cultural heritage in a kindergarten classroom. Young Children, 64(3).
Grants
NAECTE Foundational Established Career Teacher Educator Research Grant – 2025 -2026 – Project – Artificial Intelligence Curriculum and KIBO
Faculty Research Grant – Project: A comparison of traditional and technology based numeracy-related contexts. An investigation comparing preschool use of the traditional board game, Chutes and Ladders with online version on I-Pads.
Wyandanch Early Childhood Curriculum Project – Wyandanch Union Free School District – Long Island University Partnership: Universal Pre-K Program – 2008-2014
Rauch Foundation – Project: Implement Tools of the Mind Curriculum to three early childhood classrooms in Wyandanch Union Free School District.
Faculty Research Grant – Project – Bilingual Fairy Tales Supported with Play Props.
Faculty Research Grant – Project – Dialogic Reading with Preschoolers.
Presentations (Most Recent)
Cohen, L.E. (June 2026). Enhancing Sociodramatic Play with Play Props: Creating Authentic Engagement in Preservice Teaching Programs. National Association for Early Childhood Teacher Educators. (Virtual conference).
Cohen, L.E. (April 2026). Organized a symposium – Exploring the Potential of Artificial Intelligence in Early Childhood Education American Educational Research Association (AERA), Los Angeles
Agurkis, A. & Cohen, L.E. (April 2026). Preparation and Support for One-to-One Professionals. American Educational Research Association (AERA), Los Angeles, CA.https://aera26.ipostersessions.com/Default.aspx?s=80-09-25-E5-DD-27-AF-0C-ED-22-7E-E9-46-2E-81-DC
Cohen, L.E. (Feb 2026). Block Building and Engineering. A Scoping Literature Review. The Association for the Study of Play. Georgetown, TX.
Cohen, L.E. (November 2025). Preservice Teachers’ Perspectives through the Lens of Inservice Teachers. National Association for Early Childhood Teacher Educators.
Cohen, L.E. (June 2025). Power, Emotions, and Friendship. Dialogue in Play, National Association for Early Childhood Teacher Educators.
Cohen, L.E. & Agurkis, A. (April 2025). Gender Comparisons of Children’s Discourse in Block and Dramatic Play. American Educational Research Association (AERA), Denver, CO. https://aera25-aera.ipostersessions.com/Default.aspx?s=35-B1-A1-62-5F-61-12-9D-65-9D-5C-7C-C7-46-6D-97
Cohen, L.E. (April 2025). Cross dialogue between senior researchers and early career researchers. 11th Annual Mentoring Session at Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Denver, CO.
Cohen, L.E. (June, 2024). Invited speaker. Developing strategies to promote block play. Great Neck Community School, Great Neck, New York.
Cohen, L.E. (June,2024). Constructionism and play in higher education. National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators Spring Conference. Virtual conference.
Cohen, L.E. (April 2024). Cross dialogue between senior researchers and early career researchers. 10th Annual Mentoring Session at Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Philadelphia, PA., April 2024.
Cohen, L.E. (March 2024). Computational thinking as an agent of change in teaching and learning. The Association for the Study of Play, Rochester, New York
Cohen, L.E., Baboolal, K., Curcio, T., Olsen, C. (May 2023). An intergenerational project to look at play across the decades. The Association for the Study of Play, NYC.
Cohen, L.E. (2023). Gender comparisons of children’s discourse in play. Association for the Study of Play. NYC.
Cohen, L.E. (2023). Toward Consequential Research in Language and Social Processes. Mentoring Session at Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Chicago. Ill., April 2023.
Cohen, L.E. & Kalthoff, A. (November 2022). Computational thinking as an agent of change in teaching and learning. National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE). Higher Education’s Role in Strengthening the Early Years: Collaborative and Community Building in Early Childhood and Early Childhood Teacher Education.
Cohen, L.E., Grim, S. (May 2022). “Engineering Design Play” in Higher Education. The Association for the Study of Play. Virtual Conference.
Campanelli, C., & Cohen, L.E. (2022). Birth to three language acquisition: Influences of Ambient language in the Montessori Setting. Paper for Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), San Diego, CA., April 2022.
Cohen, L.E. & Kalthoff, A. (2021). Coding/computational thinking in the early years. 2021 Bright Start International Conference, November 2021.
Schwartz, M. & Cohen, L.E. (2021). An intertextual analysis of narrative picture books: English & New Language Learner’s intertextual analysis. In Sara C. Michael-Luna (Chair), Refining curriculums, literacy and language. Paper accepted for virtual conference at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), April 2021.
Cohen, L.E. et al. (2021). Accepting educational responsibility in research: Reimagining community-driven methods and mentoring for a new decade. Workshop session accepted for Language and Social Processes special interest group at the virtual Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), April 2021.
Cohen, L.E. (2020). The value of block play. Invited guest speaker for Fordham University Graduate School of Education.
Cohen, L.E.; Koerner, L.M., Parrott, H. (2020). Advocating for recess: The Social and academic benefits of recess in public schools. Inquiry, Transformation, and Communities. Paper accepted at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). San Francisco, CA. (Conference Cancelled due to COVID-19).
Hines, D., Cohen, L.E. & Zusho, A. (2020). Does medium matter? Calibration and comprehension of narrative and expository texts in print and digital. Cognitive and Motivational Processes. Paper accepted at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). San Francisco, CA. (Conference Cancelled due to COVID-19).
Cohen, L.E. (2019, November). I-Pad Apps for Early Childhood Programs. Research presentation at the 2019 National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators. Nashville, TN.
Schwartz, M., Cohen, L.E. (2019, April). Multimodal approach to ENL’s oral language with literacy and dialogue. Paper presented at American Educational Research Association. Toronto, CA.
Cohen, L.E., Koerner, L., Laskowski, M. (2019, March). Mixed Age Play for Elementary Students. Symposium presentation of The 45th Association for the Study of Play & International Play Association U.S.A. Harrisonburg, VA.
Campanelli, C. & Cohen, L.E. (2018, June). An exploratory study in mixed age family childcare using the LENA System. Paper presented at the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators. Austin, TX.
Cohen, L.E. (2018, February). Socioeconomic Differences between Play in Two Preschool Contexts. Paper presentation of the Association for the 44th International conference for the study of play. Melbourne, FL.
Cohen, L.E. & Emmons, J. (2017, April). Metacognition and Talk in Block Play: In-school and out-of-school playful contexts. Paper presentation of the Association for the 43rd International Conference for the study of Play. Rochester, NY: The Strong Museum of Play.
Cohen, L.E. & Emmons, J. (2016). Block play: Spatial language with preschool and school-aged children. Early Childhood Development and Care. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2016.1223064.
Cohen, L.E.. (2016, April). Block Play: Spatial language and symbolism with preschool andschool-aged children. Symposium paper for American Education Research Association.Washington, DC.
Sullivan, M. & Cohen, L.E. (2016, April). Reconceptualizing teacher-student dialogue tosupport dual language learners oral and written responses to questions. Paper presentation forAmerican Education Research Association. Washington, DC.
Cohen, L.E.. & Emmons, J. (2016, March). Unit block play with elementary students: Skills forthe future. Paper presentation of the Association for the Study of Play and the AmericanAssociation for the Child’s Right to Play (IPA/USA). Rutgers, NJ
Cohen, L.E. (2015). Layers of discourse in children’s play: An exploration of double- voicing in children’s social interactions. International Journal of Early Childhood, Springer Publishing.
Cohen, L.E. (2015, November). Multidisciplinary perspectives on children’s play: A synthesisof current research. National Association for the Education of Young Children. Orlando, FLA.
Cohen, L.E. (2015, April). Preschool discourse interactions: Playful meaning making from acarnival lens. Symposium paper for American Education Research Association. Chicago, Ill.
Cohen, L.E.(2015, March). Block Play: Spatial Language and Vocabulary. Researchpresentation for The Association for the Study of Play. San Antonio, Texas
Cohen, L.E. (2014, July). Interlanguage learning: Social pretend play to educate hearts andminds. International academic paper presentation for 15th International Mikhail BakhtinConference. Södertörn University, Sweden.
Cohen, L.E. & Waite-Stupiansky, S. (2014, April). An intergenerational look at play. Research presentation for The Association for the Study of Play. Rochester, New York
Cohen, L.E., Kramer-Vida, L., Frye, N., & Andreou, M. (2014). The effect of bilingual instruction and play on preschoolers’ English proficiency. International Journal of Play. doi: 10.1080/21594937.2013.876573.
Cohen, L.E. & Waite-Stupiansky, S. (2014, April). An intergenerational look at play. Researchpresentation for The Association for the Study of Play. Rochester, New York
Cohen, L.E. (2014, July). Interlanguage learning: Social pretend play to educate hearts andminds. International academic paper presentation for 15th International Mikhail BakhtinConference. Södertörn University, Sweden.
Cohen, L.E. & Waite-Stupiansky, S. (2013, November). An intergenerational look at play.Featured paper session for the National Association for the Education of Young Children,Washington, DC.
Cohen, L.E. (2013, November). Weaving together the golden strands of play and research.Round table research session for the National Association for the Education of Young Children.Washington, DC.
Cohen, L.E. & Kramer-Vida, L. (2013, April). Using dialogic reading as professional development to improve students’ English and Spanish vocabulary. Research presentation forInstitute for Global Education Diplomacy, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
Cohen, L.E.. & Waite-Stupiansky, S. (2013, March). Play: A Polyphony of Research, Theories,and Issues: A Panel of Authors from Play and Culture Studies. A symposium highlighting thevoices of children, parents and play advocates. Newark: DE
Cohen, L.E.(2012, December). Discourses in Early Childlhood: A conceptual understanding ofbilingualism. Invited presenter for Conference of Elementary-Secondary Teaching & Learning(CESTL).
Cohen, L.E. (2012, November). Bakhtin’s Dialogic Process in Play: Dual Language Learners’Dramatic Play. Peer reviewed presentation for 20th International Reconceptualizing EarlyChildhood Education Conference. Penn State College.
Cohen, L.E. & Johnson, J.E. (2012, April). A Dialectical Conception of Play Theory: Cultural-Historical Views. Peer reviewed research presentation for American Educational ResearchAssociation. Vancouver, Canada.
Cohen, L.E. (2012, April). Bakhtin’s Dialogic Process in Play. Peer review symposiumpresentation for The Association for the Study of Play. Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Cohen, L.E., Kramer-Vida, L., & Frye, N. (2012). Using dialogic reading as professional development to improve students’ English and Spanish vocabulary. NHSA Dialog, 15(1), 1-22. doi: 10.1080/15240754.2011.636490.
Cohen, L.E., Kramer-Vida, L., & Frye, N. (2012). Implementing dialogic reading with culturally, linguistically diverse preschool children. NHSA Dialog, 15(1), 1-7. doi: 10.1080/15240754.2011.639965.
Cohen, L.E. (2011). Bakhtin’s carnival and pretend role play: A Comparison of social Contexts. 4(2). American Journal of Play. Rochester, NY: The Strong Museum.
Cohen, L.E. (2011, November). Children’s Animal Performances: A Shift from Ages to Stagesto Ideological Becoming. Peer reviewed research presentation for National Association for theEducation of Young Children (NAEYC). Orlando, FL.
Cohen, L.E. (2011, July). The Carnivalesque World of Social Pretend Play. Peer reviewedpresentation for the 14th International Bakhtin conference. (University of Bologna, Italy).
Cohen, L.E. (2010, November). Clearing away the rubble from the offspring: Making room forplay in the lives of children. Peer reviewed research presentation for National Association forthe Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Cohen, L.E. (2010, October). Researching with children. Collecting data in the classroom.Presentation for Long Island University doctoral students.
Cohen, L.E. (2010, July). Preschoolers learn Words: Storybooks, pictures, and play. Invitedpresentation at Lighting Pathways to Literacy conference.
Cohen, L.E. (2010, July). Interactive read-alouds/Shared Reading . Invited presentation atLighting Pathways to Literacy conference.
Cohen, L.E. (2010, June). Early language and literacy in pre-kindergarten. Presentation forTrinity Lutheran Pre-K.
Cohen, L.E. (2010, May). Purposeful play to support oral language. Invited key notepresentation for Stamford Public Schools. Stamford, CT.
Cohen, L.E. (2010, April). The carnivalesque world of social pretend play. Peer reviewedresearch presentation for American Educational Research Association. Denver, Colorado.
Cohen, L.E. (2010, April). Purposeful play to support oral language. Invited presentation forstate funded Early Reading First teachers.
Cohen, L.E. (2010, March). Popular culture enters the block area. Peer reviewed researchpresentation for The Association for the Study of Play (TASP) and International PlayAssociation (IPA). Atlanta, GA.
Cohen, L.E. (2010, January). ELLCO Pre-K. Early language and literacy classroomassessment. Invited training for literacy coaches on the use of classroom assessment in Pre-kindergarten. Eastern Suffolk BOCES
Cohen, L.E. & Johnson, J.E. (2011,April). Critical play theory: A review of critical literatureon play and play research. Peer reviewed research presentation for American EducationalResearch Association. New Orleans, Louisiana
Cohen, L.E. (2009). The heteroglossic world of preschoolers’ pretend play. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood. (In press)
Cohen, L.E., Kurstedt, R. & May, M. (2009). Fluency, text structure, and comprehension: A complex relationship. Reading Horizons Journal, 49(2) (In press).
Cohen, L.E. (2009). Exploring cultural heritage in a kindergarten classroom. Young Children, 64(3).
Cohen, L.E. (July 2008). Foucault and early childhood. Educational Studies, 44(1), 7-21.
Cohen, L.E. (August 2007). Engaging children in useful words: Vocabulary instruction: in a third grade classroom. Reading Horizons. 47 (4).
Cohen, L.E., Uhry, J.K. (Spring 2007). Young children’s discourse strategies during block play: A Bakhtinian approach. Journal of Research in Childhood Education.
Cohen, L.E. (2006, Spring/Summer). Gender differences in young children’s language during play. Play, Policy, & Practice Connections. Newsletter of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. 20(1), 8-11.
Waite-Stupiansky, S., Klugman, E., Cohen, L.E. 2003). Further your professional interests: Join the Play, Policy, Practice Interest Forum. Young Children, 58 (3), 58-59.
Blagojevic, B. & Cohen, L.E. (2002). Starting school: Observing the whole child. Early Childhood Today,17, (1), 38-47.
Cohen, L.E. (Fall, 2000). Playing for keeps trialogue forum. Play, Policy & Practice Connections. Newsletter for the Play, Policy & Practice Caucus of the NAEYC. Volume V, Issue 2.
Cohen, L.E. (1999). The Power of Portfolios. Early Childhood Today. 13 (5), 22-29.
Cohen, L.E.(Spring/Summer, 1999). Valuing play in the present. Play, Policy & Practice Connections. Newsletter for the Play, Policy & Practice Caucus of the NAEYC. Volume IV, Issue 2.
Cohen, L.E.. (1998, Feb.).Reading and writing biographies. Let’s Find Out. pp.4.
Cohen, L.E.1998). Field trips that teach. Early Childhood Today. 12 (5), 30-37.
Cohen, L.E. (1998, April). Time for nature. Let’s Find Out. pp.4.
Cohen, L.E. (1997). How I developed my kindergarten book backpack program. Young Children. 52 (2), 69-71.
Cohen, L.E. (Ed.) Play, Policy & Practice Connections. Newsletter for the Play, Policy & Practice Interest Forum of the NAEYC. Volume III, Issue 2. (Fall/Winter,1997).
Cohen, L.E.(1997). Documenting play. Childhood Information Exchange. 118, 61-64.
Cohen, L.E. (1996, Jan.).Reading and writing in the content areas. Let’s Find Out. pp.4.
Cohen, L.E. (1996). Using multimedia techniques to assess young children. Early Childhood Today. 10 (5), 22-24.
Cohen, L.E. (1995).Literacy: then and now. Early Childhood Today. 9 (4), p.39.
Cohen, L.E.(1995). Supporting at-home literacy. Early Childhood Today. 9 (8), p.30-35.
Cohen, L.E.(1995, April).What can we do for earth day? Let’s Find Out. pp.4.
Cohen, L.E. (1995). Observing every child every day. Early Childhood Today. 10 (1),
p 41-43.
Cohen, L.E. (Summer, 1995). Teacher as researcher. Play, Policy & Practice Connections. Newsletter for the Play, Policy & Practice Caucus of the NAEYC. Volume I, Issue 1.
Cohen, L.E. (1993, April). Practical ideas for K/1 continuity. National All Day Kindergarten Newsletter. pp.2
