Laura E. Berk is a distinguished professor of psychology at
Illinois State University, where she has taught child and human
development to both undergraduate and graduate students for more
than three decades. She received her bachelor’s degree in
psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and her
master’s and doctoral degrees in child development and educational
psychology from the University of Chicago. She has been a visiting
scholar at Cornell University, UCLA, Stanford University, and the
University of South Australia.
Berk has published widely on the effects of school environments on
children’s development, the development of private speech, and
recently, the role of make-believe play in development. Her
research has been funded by the U.S. Office of Education and the
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. It has
appeared in many prominent journals, including Child Development,
Developmental Psychology, Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, Journal
of Abnormal Child Psychology, Development and Psychopathology, and
Early Childhood Research Quarterly. Her empirical studies have
attracted the attention of the general public, leading to
contributions to Psychology Today and Scientific American. She has
also been featured on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition and
in Parents Magazine, Wondertime, and Reader’s Digest.
Berk has served as research editor of Young Children and consulting
editor of Early Childhood Research Quarterly. Currently, she
is associate editor of the Journal of Cognitive Education and
Psychology. She is a frequent contributor to edited volumes on
early childhood development, having recently authored chapters on
the importance of parenting, on make-believe play and
self-regulation, and on the kindergarten child. She has also
written the chapter on development for The Many Faces of
Psychological Research in the Twenty-First Century (Society for the
Teaching of Psychology), the article on social development for The
Child: An Encyclopedic Companion, the article on Vygotsky for the
Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science, and the chapter on storytelling
as a teaching strategy for Voices of Experience: Memorable Talks
from the National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology
(Association for Psychological Science).
Berk’s books include Private Speech: From Social Interaction to
Self-Regulation, Scaffolding Children’s Learning: Vygotsky and
Early Childhood Education, Landscapes of Development: An Anthology
of Readings, and A Mandate for Playful Learning in Preschool:
Presenting the Evidence. In addition to Child Development, she is
author of the best-selling texts Infants, Children, and Adolescents
and Development Through the Lifespan, published by Pearson. Her
book for parents and teachers is Awakening Children’s Minds: How
Parents and Teachers Can Make a Difference.
Berk is active in work for children’s causes. In addition to
service in her home community, she is a member of the national
board of directors and chair of the Chicago advisory board of
Jumpstart, a nonprofit organization that provides intensive
literacy intervention to thousands of low-income preschoolers
across the United States, using college and university students as
interveners. Berk is a fellow of the American Psychological
Association, Division, 7: Developmental Psychology.
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
