Meilan Jin, Ph.D.

Associate Professor Early Childhood Education

About

Dr. Meilan Jin, Associate Professor, centers her teaching and scholarship on mixed methods research in the preschool years. Her research interests include children’s cognitive development, play, cross-cultural studies, preservice teacher education, and teacher professional development.

I teach courses:

  • ECE 391: Preschool Practicum & Seminar
  • ECE 434: Environments for Early Learning
  • ECE 430: Creativity and Play in ECE
  • ECE 439: Curriculum Planning in ECE
  • ECE 498: Seminar
  • ECE 495: Preschool Internship

Selected Publications :

  1. Jin, M. (2026). Children’s peer cooperative problem solving during play in preschool: A systematic literature review. American Journal of Play, 18(1), 65-96
  2. Jin, M. (2025). Planting the “seed” of sustainable development through loose parts play. Childhood Education, 101(4), 62-67.
  3. Jin, M., Burns, B., & Taggart, K. (2023). Implementing the project approach with toddlers. Childhood Education, 99(5), 46-53.
  4. Jin, M. (2023). Preservice teachers’ online teaching experiences during COVID-19. Early Childhood Education Journal, 51(2), 371-381.
  5. Jin, M., & Moran, M. J. (2023). Preschoolers’ cooperative problem solving during play in everyday classroom. Early Childhood Education Journal, 51(3), 503-513.
  6. Dagnon, P., Jin, M., & Demsky, S.  (2022). Supporting early childhood interns in working with children remotely. In A. Dattola (Ed.), Adapting remote learning practice for early childhood and elementary school classrooms (pp. 506-522). IGI Global.
  7. Jin, M., & Moran, M. J. (2021). Chinese and US preschool teachers’ beliefs about children’s cooperative problem-solving during play. Early Childhood Education Journal, 49(3), 503 – 513.