Faculty

Related Links
Cognitive Psychology Program
Center for Teaching Excellence

Research Interests
Most recently I have been exploring and evaluating various uses of technology to promote student understanding. Conventional experimental studies have looked at the impact of multi-media presentations on student cognitive performance, and my ongoing courses are a laboratory for evaluating the impact of web-based activities on deep understanding of conceptual material. I have worked extensively on measurement of generalization of learning to new contexts, and I am actively developing new opportunities for students to demonstrate the richness of their understanding. This work includes consideration of the level of intellectual development that students demonstrate in their academic work. Current technology interests include interactive assignments that support and document preparation before class, use of in-class interactive systems to assess learning in real time, recording and giving feedback on oral fluency of understanding, and use of simulations as a tool for teaching and as a measure of understanding. I work with students on both the development and evaluation of these tools.

Selected Publications
Bernstein, D.J. and Wert, E. (2004). Making visible the intellectual Work in teaching. Tomorrow¹s Professor (#544), Stanford University Center for Teaching and Learning online distribution.  

Bernstein, D.J. (2005). Disciplining the minds of students: The study Of psychology. Change, 37(2), pp. 38-40.  

Bernstein, D. and Bass, R. (2005). The scholarship of teaching and learning. Academe, 91(4), 37-43.

Ward, M. C. and Bernstein, D.J. ( 1998) Promoting academic performance among students with special needs. Ethics and Behavior , 8(3), 277-281.

Bernstein, D.J. (1998) Using assessment in the peer review of effective teaching. In P. Hutchings (Ed.), The course portfolio (pp. 77-83). Washington, D.C.: AAHE.

Bernstein, D.J. (Ed.) (1999). Nebraska symposium on Motivation: Gender and motivation. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.

Bernstein, D.J., Jonson, Jessica, & Smith, K.L. (2000) An examination of the implementation of peer review of teaching. New Directions for Teaching and Learning (no.83), pp 73-85.

Mason, B.J., Patry, M., and Bernstein, D.J. (2000) An examination of the equivalence between non-adaptive computer-based and traditional testing. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 24 (1) 29-38.

Bernstein, D. and Edwards, R. (2001) Rigorous peer review of teaching. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 5 Jan, p. B24.

Bernstein, D. (2002) Representing the intellectual work in teaching through peer-reviewed course portfolios. In S. Davis & W. Buskist, (Eds.), The teaching of psychology: Essays in honor of Wilbert J. McKeachie and Charles L. Brewer (215-229). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Bernstein, D. (2003). Analysis of socially important behavior: Don Baer's influence on teaching. In K.S. Budd & T. Stokes, (Eds.), A small matter of proof: The legacy of Donald M. Baer. (241-248). Reno, Nevada: Context.

Pfeifer, J.E. and Bernstein, D.J. (2003). Expressions of modern racism in judgments of others: The role of task and target specificity on attributions of guilt. Social Behavior and Personality, 31(8), 749-766.