Malayna Bernstein
Malayna Brett Bernstein
602I Allen Hall, West Virginia University324 Demain Avenue
Curriculum & Instruction/Literacy Studies Morgantown, WV
College of Human Resources and Education304.381.2180
Morgantown, WV 26506
304.865.8395
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Learning Sciences, School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern Univ.,Evanston, IL, 2009
Dissertation: At the Desk and on the Night Stand: Reading as a Mediating Artifact in Teachers’ Professional and Personal Live
Committee: Carol D. Lee (chair), Miriam Gamoran Sherin, James Spillane, Jelani Mandara
My study examined teaching reading in relation to the personal resources teachers bring to the classroom; to date, there has been limited research on how the “personal” interacts with the “pedagogical” for teachers, though this has been a fruitful mode of inquiry for better understanding student learning. To this end, I conducted a mixed-method study of English teachers’ personal orientations to literature, how these orientations are manifested in reading instruction, and the impact of these orientations to literature on students. Data include extensive teacher interviews and surveys, year-long observations of teachers’ classrooms, and surveys of approximately 600 students.
M.A., Learning Sciences, School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL, 2002
B.A., English, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, 1997
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Visiting Assistant Professor, West Virginia University2009-Present
Taught a range of masters and undergraduate courses on reading, language and teaching; supervised student teachers in foreign language and English/language arts.
Clinical Faculty, University of Maryland2007-2009
Taught a range of masters/certification and doctoral courses on cognition, diversity, reading and educational research; participated on a variety of committees dedicated to the improvement of the Masters/ Certification program for secondary teachers.
Instructor & Teaching Assistant, Northwestern University 2006-2007
Taught and assistant taught range of undergraduate, masters/certification and doctoral course, including Schooling in Communities, Cognitive Foundations of Learning, Honors Thesis Seminar, Cognitive Foundations of the Learning Sciences, and Foundations of Reading.
Writing Teacher, Center for Talent Development, Northwestern University 2002, 2006
Developed and taught an intensive summer course in Honors Nonfiction Writing; guided 7th – 9th grade students through a variety of expository and literary nonfiction genres.
English Teacher, Marymount International School in Rome, Rome, Italy 2002-2003
Taught 10th-12th grade international students with varying levels of English language proficiency; prepared students for the International Baccalaureate (IB) English exam.
English and Drama Teacher, Marshall Fundamental Secondary School, Pasadena, CA 1997-1999
Taught 7th-12th grade students in English and Drama; ran extracurricular Drama Program; selected as California Writing Project fellow; selected as University of California Puente Teacher.
Saturday Scholars Teacher, Pasadena Unified School District 1999
Taught intensive English class for remedial high school students throughout the district.
Summer School Teacher, Anderson Elementary School, Houston, TX, 1997
Team-taught 4th-grade students in summer enrichment program.
ADMINISTRATIVE EXPERIENCE
MCERT Assessment and Reorganization Adviser, University of Maryland2008-2009
Helped select, refine and administer comprehensive surveys to students in the Masters and Certification (MCERT) program; participated on a committee to oversee reorganization of the MCERT program.
Director of Undergraduate Teacher Education, Northwestern University2006-2007
Oversaw curriculum, placement, assessment and advising of approximately fifty undergraduate Secondary Teaching majors and content majors seeking certification in the School of Education and Social Policy; developed Digital Portfolio to determine readiness for certification.
Assistant Grant Administrator, Northwestern University2004-2006
Compiled research, organized international participants, managed site visit, and administered budget for $200,000 Catalyst grant from the National Science Foundation to support the proposal of the Center for the Study of Human Learning and Diversity (CHiLD).
Assistant Grant Writer and Administrator, University of Chicago Hospitals1999-2000
Helped prepare renewal of $13.4 million grant to National Institutes of Health for the University of Chicago Clinical Research Center; organized site visit from NIH.
FELLOWSHIPS and AWARDS
Teaching Assistant Fellow, Searle Center for Teaching Excellence, Northwestern University, 2005
University Fellowship, Northwestern University, 2000-2001, 2004
Spencer Research Training Grant Fellowship, Northwestern University, 2002-2004
Northwestern University Graduate School Travel Award, Northwestern University, 2004
Witty Literacy Fellowship, Northwestern University, 2001-2002
Spencer Mentor Grant Research Travel Award, Northwestern University, 2002
Connelly Prize for Nonfiction Writing, 2nd Place, Wesleyan University, 1996
PUBLICATIONS
Lee, C.D., Rivers, A. & Bernstein, M. (under review). Cultural Historical Activity Theory as an Analytical Tool for Understanding the Cultural Underpinnings of Complex Learning across Time: Argumentation and Participation.
Lee, C.D., Rivers, A, Hutchinson, K., Bernstein, M. & Dixon, K. (under review). Participatory Appropriation and Its Consequences in a Cultural Modeling Classroom.
Bernstein, M. (in preparation). Interrupting IRE: Creating a Critical Vacuum to Alter Traditional Classroom Discourse.
SELECTED CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
Bernstein, M. (2010) The Secret Literary Lives of Teachers. To be presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, 2010, Denver, CO, April 30-May 4.
Bernstein, M. (2010) Reading the Reading Life Story: Understanding Teachers’ Literary Lives. To be presented at the National Council for Teachers of English Assembly for Research (NCTEAR) Midwinter Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, February 19-21.
Bernstein, M. (2007)Cultural Modeling as a Frame for Understanding Teachers’ Content Knowledge. Presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, 2007, Chicago, IL, April 9 – 13.
Bernstein, M. (2005) Cultural Modeling as an Ecological Framework for Understanding the Social and Cultural Contexts of Literacy Learning and Teaching. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Reading Conference, Miami, FL, November 30 – December 3.
Bernstein, M. (2005) At the Desk and on the Nightstand: Examining Reading as a Mediating Artifact in Teachers’ Professional and Personal Lives. Presented at National Council for Teachers of English Annual Conference, “Research Strand,” Pittsburg, PA, November 17 – 20.
Bernstein, M. & Richman, E. (2005) Reading Teachers: Uncovering English Teachers' Personal Orientations to Reading. Presented at the Midwestern Conference on Culture, Language, and Cognition, Evanston, IL, May 13 & 14.
Spratley, A., Bernstein, M., Lee, C. D. (2004) “Finding the Symbol” in Teachers' Knowledge: Comparative Case Studies of Teachers' Literary Understanding. Presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, 2004, San Diego, CA, April 12-14.
Bernstein, M. Lee, C. D. (2003) Understanding Unreliable Narrator: Using Technology as a Support. Presented at the National Council of Teachers of English Annual Research Conference 2003, San Francisco, CA, November 20 – 23.
Bernstein, M. (2002) The Interaction of Pedagogical Beliefs and Classroom Practice: The Case of Mrs. Holmes. Presented at the Learning Sciences Brown Bag Workshop, Evanston, IL, April 29.
Lee, C.D., Rivers, A., Bernstein, M. (2001) Understanding Culture as a Resource in Complex Learning Across Time. Presented at American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting 2001, Seattle, WA, April 10-14.
RELATED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Academic Publishing Peer Review, 2003-Present
Serves as a peer reviewer for the Research in Teaching of English journal and SAGE Publications academic handbooks.
Writing and Teaching Workshops, Northwestern University, 2003-2007; University of Maryland, 2007
Facilitates teaching and writing workshops for teaching assistants and graduate students from across the university.
Small Group Analysis, Searle Center for Teaching Excellence, Northwestern University, 2005-2007
Led midterm evaluation sessions for Northwestern faculty, created evaluation reports, and met with faculty to discuss strategies for improving instruction.
Curriculum Writer, Gerrymander Company, Chicago, IL, 2006
Wrote teachers guide for the “Election Day Advent Calendar,” an interactive countdown to the election, designed to evoke ritual and celebration around civic activities like voting. Downloaded by hundreds of teachers for use in the classroom.
REFERENCES
Carol D. Lee
President, American Educational Research Association
Professor, Learning Sciences & African American Studies
School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University
Annenberg Hall, 2120 Campus Drive
Evanston, IL 60208
Phone: 847.467.1807
Fax: 847.491.8999
Email:
Penelope L. Peterson
Dean & Eleanor R. Baldwin Professor
School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University
Annenberg Hall, 2120 Campus Drive
Evanston, IL 60208
Phone: 847.467.1190
Fax: 847.467.1418
Email:
Miriam Sherin
Associate Professor, Learning Sciences
School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University
Annenberg Hall, 2120 Campus Drive
Evanston, IL 60208
Phone: 847.467.3990
Fax: 847.491.8999
Email:
Jean Snell
Coordinator, MCERT Program
Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction
College of Education, University of Maryland
2311 Benjamin Building
College Park, MD 20742
Phone: 301.405.4959
Email:
DESCRIPTIONS OF COURSES TAUGHT
University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Adolescent Learning and Development (Instructor): A newly designed course devised to introduce masters/certification students to cognitive theories of learning and to investigate the intersections between cognition and adolescent development.
Studying Student Learning in Diverse Settings (Instructor): A course for masters/certification students that explore issues of culture, diversity and culturally-relevant pedagogy to support the teacher candidates’ experiences in their diverse internship settings.
Theory and Research on Teaching (Instructor): An introductory course for new doctoral students, surveying the history and variety of perspectives, methods and topics in educational research.
Reading, Cognition and Reading Instruction (Instructor): The theoretical counterpart to a methods-oriented reading course, this cross-content area class focuses on the cognitive foundations of reading and writing, disciplinary differences in reading and writing across different subject matters, and challenges of reading and writing for students.
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Schooling in Communities (Instructor):An undergraduate course intended for teacher candidates and others interested community development and education. The course focuses on assets built up in community settings and how schools, neighborhood programs and universities can leverage this community-based knowledge.
Cognitive Foundations of Learning (Instructor): A graduate and undergraduate course designed for pre-service teachers. The course surveys a variety of cognitive perspectives and their application to teaching and learning in a range of content areas.
Honors Thesis Seminar (Teaching Assistant, Qualitative Methods Consultant): An undergraduate course offered to high-achieving seniors. The course serves to support fledgling researchers with design, implementation and writing of empirical research.
Cognitive Foundations of the Learning Sciences (Teaching Assistant): A course designed for incoming doctoral and masters students in the Learning Sciences program. The course serves as an overview of cognitive theory and research, incorporating guest speakers from various fields in the Learning Sciences.
Foundations of Reading (Teaching Assistant): A required course for pre-service English teachers surveying theory and methods of teaching reading in secondary schools.
Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
Women’s Literature (Ford Foundation Writing Tutor): A writing intensive course surveying Women’s Literature intended for first-year students.
Finding Your Voice (Teaching Assistant): A non-fiction writing course taught through professor’s lectures and teaching assistant-led writing workshops.
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