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Debra Bernstein dlb36@pitt.edu LRDC, 1st floor |
Graduate Student Researcher, Learning Research & Development Center
University of Pittsburgh, candidate for Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology, 2003-present
Research Psychologist, Institute of Child Health (London, UK), 2002-2003
Teachers College Columbia University, MA in Educational Psychology, 2002
Research Analyst, Blue's Clues, 2001-2002
Research Associate, Danya International, Inc., 1998-2000
University of Wisconsin-Madison, BA in Psychology and Social Welfare, 1997
We live in a world infused with technological tools. As a result, children of all ages are constantly encountering, experiencing, and using technology. My research examines the impact of technological experiences on children’s cognitive development.
One line of my research looks at children’s beliefs about the intellectual capabilities of intelligent technologies. Specifically, I am interested in how robots can help us understand children’s views on intelligence, and how the preponderance of intelligent technologies in our home environments may be changing young children’s ideas about what it means to be intelligent.
My second line of research examines the development of technological fluency. I am interested in the process by which children learn to be confident and competent technology users, problem solvers, and creators. We are currently researching the development of technological capabilities in 11 to 14 year old girls with the Robot Diaries project.
Hamner, E., Lauwers, T., Bernstein, D., Nourbakhsh, I., & DiSalvo, C. (2008). Robot Diaries: Broadening participation in the computer science pipeline through social technical exploration. In Proceedings of the AAAI Symposium on Using AI to Motivate Greater Participation in Computer Science.
Bernstein, D. & Crowley, K. (2008). Searching for signs of intelligent life: An investigation of young children’s beliefs about robot intelligence. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 17(2), 225-247.
Bernstein, D., Crowley, K., & Nourbakhsh, I. (2007). Working with a robot: Exploring relationship potential in human-robot systems. Interaction Studies, 8(3), 465-482.
Nourbakhsh, I., Hamner, E., Ayoob, E., Porter, E., Dunleavy, B., Bernstein, D., Crowley, K., Lotter, M. Shelley, S., Hsiu, T., & Clancey, D. (2006). The Personal Exploration Rover: Educational Assessment of a robotic exhibit for informal learning venues. International Journal of Engineering Education: Special Issue on Robotics Education, 22(4), 777-791.
Bernstein, D. (July, 2006). Educational robotics and informal learning: How technology is changing how kids think. Paper presented at the Informal Learning Conference, Tokyo, Japan.
Nourbakhsh, I., Hamner, E., Lauwers, T., Bernstein, D., & DiSalvo, C. (2006). A roadmap for technological literacy and a vehicle for getting there: Educational robotics and the TeRK project. In Proceedings of IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication, 391-397.
Stubbs, K., Bernstein, D., Crowley, K., & Nourbakhsh, I. (2006). Cognitive evaluation of human-robot systems: A method for analyzing cognitive change in human-robot systems. In Proceedings of IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication, 59-65.
Stubbs, K., Bernstein, D., Crowley, K., & Nourbakhsh, I. (July, 2005). Long term human-robot interaction: The Personal Exploration Rover and museum docents. Paper presented at the conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education, Amsterdam.
Bernstein, D. & Crowley, K. (April, 2005). Investigating children's beliefs about artificially intelligent artifacts. Poster presented at the meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Atlanta, GA.
Bernstein, D. (April, 2005). Searching for signs of intelligent life: How experience impacts children’s ideas about artificial intelligence. In D. Shaffer (Chair), Islands of Expertise and ARTS: Developing alternative routes to scientific understanding though informal and out-of-school learning experiences. Symposium conducted at the meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, Dallas, TX.
Nourbakhsh, I., Hamner, E., Dunlavey, B., Bernstein, D., & Crowley, K. (2005). Educational Results of The Personal Exploration Rover Museum Exhibit, In Proceedings of ICRA 2005, Barcelona, Spain.
Bernstein, D. (August, 2004). Parents, Docents and Robots: Examining Mediation at a Mars Rover Exhibit. In K. Crowley (Chair), Islands of Expertise: An Approach to Exploring the Cognitive Ecology of Childhood. Symposium conducted at the meeting of the Visitor Studies Association, Albuquerque, NM.
Kalish, C. W., Weissman, M. D., & Bernstein, D. (2000) Taking decisions seriously: Children's understanding of conventional truths. Child Development, 71(5), 1289-1308.
