Yasmin Kafai

Yasmin B. Kafai is a German-American academic who is a Professor of Learning Sciences at the University of PennsylvaniaGraduate School of Education, with a secondary appointment in Computer and Information Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science. Kafai is recognized for her contributions to studying the role of children and teens as designers of computing systems (e.g., games, tangible interfaces, and machine learning models) and how such design activities support young people's learning and development.

She is a past president of the International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS), and an executive editor of the Journal of the Learning Sciences. Yasmin is an inaugural fellow of the International Society of the Learning Sciences and a fellow of the American Educational Research Association. She received the 2025 Association for Computing MachineryKarl V. Karlstrom Outstanding Educator Award, with Mitchel Resnick, for their "contributions to creative computing, including Scratch and electronic textiles, developing new ways for young people to create and collaborate within learning communities."