About The Founders
Husband and wife team Matthew Mandelbaum and Jamie Cohen are co-founders and managing partners of PsySoEd Dynamics® LLC, a company dedicated to developing high-quality educational products, like Jumping Joey’s Number Line, and offering comprehensive educational services. As learning specialists with a combined total of over 27 years of experience working with students, families, and educators in variety of settings, they have devoted their work to improving the education of children.
Matthew Mandelbaum, Co-founder & Managing Partner
Matthew Mandelbaum’s educational perspective stems from a distinct academic background. While currently an advanced doctoral candidate in Educational Psychology at Fordham University, he has already earned two advanced degrees: Matthew holds a Master of Science in Education degree from Bank Street College of Education in Childhood General and Special Education with Dual Certification, as well as his Master of Arts degree in Psychology from New York University, graduating as a Master of Arts Scholar and a Psi Chi member. In addition, he is a Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude, Benjamin Franklin Scholar graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and a minor in History of Art.
A New York State certified educator in Childhood General and Special Education, Matthew has over 13 years of experience working with students of all ages in a range of settings. From pre-kindergarten to college, in public, private, parochial, after-school, and tutoring environments, Matthew has gained a systemic understanding of academic development. He believes in educating the whole person, blending academic, social, and emotional constructs so that students grow with wisdom, consciousness, resilience, and joy.
Throughout his career, Matthew has inspired others to love learning, enhance their critical thinking skills, and motivated them to seek on their own. As a learning specialist and educational product developer, he believes strongly in collaborating with educators, parents, and students to foster success. In his process, Matthew blends theory with practice. Combining the best insights from research, prior experience, observation, and assessment, Matthew develops customized solutions to help others succeed.
Jamie Cohen, Co-founder & Managing Partner
Jamie Cohen found her passion for education early in her undergraduate career, knew she was meant to be an educator, and has been committed to her practice ever since. While a definite natural when it comes to working with children, Jamie continues to refine her abilities through a devotion to life-long learning. Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts degree in Early Childhood Education and Italian from University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She also holds two advanced degrees from Bank Street College of Education: a Master of Science in Education in Childhood Education and an Advanced Education Master’s in Childhood Special Education. Jamie is also certified by New York State in Early Childhood and Childhood General and Special Education.
With over 14 years of experience working with students from ages 3 to 14, Jamie has worked with students in a variety of settings, from public and private schools to individual tutoring and mentoring. She has been praised by her fellow educators, parents, and children whom she serves, who note that Jamie is honest, calm, fair, caring, insightful and highly devoted.
Jamie’s pedagogical perspective seeks to recognize the needs of the whole child. She aims to educate her students to be strong academically, socially, and emotionally. Jamie is a champion of helping students develop a strong voice, where they can ask for help when needed, but also enjoy the confidence of working both independently and interdependently. Overall, she strives to promote flexible being, where students are comfortable with handling challenges and persevere despite setbacks.
Seeking to extend her ability to help others, she co-founded PsySoEd Dynamics LLC with her husband, fellow learning specialist Matthew Mandelbaum. Jamie uses her keen observation, interview, and critical thinking skills to understand children. She can quickly analyze complex educational situations to get to the essential issues and then devise comprehensive solutions, be they services or products, in order empower children, families, and educators to succeed. As a learning specialist and developer of education products, Jamie is dedicated to the pursuit of educational excellence and in helping others attain their full potential.
Statement of Philosophy for Teaching, Learning and Educational Product Development
Matthew and Jamie’s approach to working with children and families and to creating educational products are guided by the following principles:
• A purpose of a fine education is to build an expanding knowledge base across disciplines and to refine ways of communicating it clearly.
• As teachers and educational product developers, we help learners advance their critical thinking skills, intellectual curiosity, and motivation to love learning through multi-sensory tools that are grounded in standards-based pedagogy.
• We support the range of learners, scaffolding student growth to promote achievement.
• We strive to make learning relevant and engaging so that students can make meaningful connections between the subject matter and their prior knowledge.
• One of our job functions is to broaden student intellectual opportunities. We seek to construct connections between seemingly divergent ideas to spur creativity and innovation in learners.
• We aim to fashion a collaborative learning environment where students feel energized by delving into the perplexities of topics and working together to build understanding.
• We look to promote independence and interdependence among students to yield high levels of self-efficacy and dynamic community participation.
• We believe in active cooperation among educators, parents, and students to maximize success.
• We drive to foster lifelong learners who yearn to make contributions to the world.
• We seek to cultivate the maturation of the whole person, integrating academic, social, and emotional constructs so that students grow with wisdom, consciousness, resilience, and joy.
• Based on personal knowledge, we understand and support the interaction between scholastic rigor and warmth from student, parent, and educator perspectives.
• We take the responsibility of teaching, learning, and educational product development very seriously. We have the utmost respect for learners and look to help them on their path of development.
Statement of Philosophy for Teaching, Learning and Educational Product Development
Matthew and Jamie’s approach to working with children and families and to creating educational products are guided by the following principles:
•A purpose of a fine education is to build an expanding knowledge base across disciplines and to refine ways of communicating it clearly.
•As teachers and educational product developers, we help learners advance their critical thinking skills, intellectual curiosity, and motivation to love learning through multi-sensory tools that are grounded in standards-based pedagogy.
•We support the range of learners, scaffolding student growth to promote achievement.
•We strive to make learning relevant and engaging so that students can make meaningful connections between the subject matter and their prior knowledge.
•One of our job functions is to broaden student intellectual opportunities. We seek to construct connections between seemingly divergent ideas to spur creativity and innovation in learners.
•We aim to fashion a collaborative learning environment where students feel energized by delving into the perplexities of topics and working together to build understanding.
•We look to promote independence and interdependence among students to yield high levels of self-efficacy and dynamic community participation.
•We believe in active cooperation among educators, parents, and students to maximize success.
•We drive to foster lifelong learners who yearn to make contributions to the world.
•We seek to cultivate the maturation of the whole person, integrating academic, social, and emotional constructs so that students grow with wisdom, consciousness, resilience, and joy.
•Based on personal knowledge, we understand and support the interaction between scholastic rigor and warmth from student, parent, and educator perspectives.
•We take the responsibility of teaching, learning, and educational product development very seriously. We have the utmost respect for learners and look to help them on their path of development.
"Brilliant... Amazing... A hands-on, interactive product that makes sense."
--Richard Singer,
Career New York Educator
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