Faculty Directory
Jolyn Blank, Ph.D.
Jolyn Blank, Ph.D. is an early childhood education scholar whose research examines how young children learn through the arts, play and inquiry, and how teachers develop the professional knowledge needed to support that learning. She studies learning as it unfolds in real classrooms, focusing on children鈥檚 conversations, multimodal play, problem-solving and creative exploration to better understand how teachers can recognize, support and extend children鈥檚 thinking.
A central strand of Blank鈥檚 work investigates how early childhood teachers and teacher candidates develop professional judgment. Her research explores how educators notice and interpret children鈥檚 ideas, use documentation to guide instructional decisions and navigate the policy, relational and social contexts that shape early learning environments. Her scholarship contributes to efforts to strengthen educator preparation, school鈥搖niversity partnerships and instructional practices grounded in play-based and inquiry-oriented pedagogy.
Blank鈥檚 areas of expertise include early childhood education; teaching and learning through play, the arts and inquiry; educator preparation; qualitative research; and professional learning partnerships. She is an active member of the American Educational Research Association, the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators.
Research
