Metropolitan State University of Denver

Dr Philip E Bernhardt

Personal Biography Statement

Philip Bernhardt is currently an Assistant Professor of Secondary Education at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Prior to this he was the coordinator of a teacher preparation program at The George Washington University School of Education (GSEHD) and served as both an adjunct education professor and student teacher supervisor at GSEHD. Philip has spent over a decade working in public schools, including eight years as a secondary social studies teacher. Additionally, Philip has presented at national education conferences on a variety of issues relating to the barriers to higher education, college readiness,curriculum development, teacher mentoring, and teacher preparation. Philip earned his M.A.T from Boston University in Social Studies Education and B.A. in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He received his Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from The George Washington University in Washington, DC.

Selected Publications

Bernhardt, P. (2013). How do I get in? Criteria shaping the high school course recommendation process. Current Issues in Education (Manuscript Under Review).

Bernhardt, P. (2013). Making decisions about academic trajectories: An examination of teachers’ course recommendation practices. American Secondary Education (Manuscript under review).

Bernhardt, P. (2013). The Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program: Providing cultural capital and college Access to low-income students. The School Community Journal. (Manuscript forthcoming - fall 2013).

Bernhardt, P. E. (2012). Two teachers in dialogue: Understanding the commitment to teach. The Qualitative Report, 17(Art. 104), 1-14.

Bernhardt, P., Burns, J., Lombard, M., Steeves, K. (2009). Transforming the American educational identity after Sputnik. American Educational History Journal, 36(1), 71-88.

Bernhardt, P. (2009). Opening up classroom space: Student voice, autobiography, & the curriculum. The High School Journal, 92(2), 61–67.

Conference Participation

Bernhardt, P. (2013). How do I get in? A review of the criteria shaping the high school course recommendation process. Paper submitted to the Northern Rocky Mountain Educational Research Association (NRMERA) Annual Conference, Jackson Hole, WY.

Bernhardt, P. (2013). Mentoring Pre-service Teachers: Building a Professional Development Model. Research presentation submitted to the Northern Rocky Mountain Educational Research Association (NRMERA) Annual Conference, Jackson Hole, WY.

Bernhardt, P. (2013). Making Decisions About Academic Trajectories: A Qualitative Study of Three Social Studies Teachers’ Course Recommendation Practices. Paper accepted the American Educational Research Conference, San Francisco, CA.

Gustashaw, B., Bernhardt, P., Perry Evenstad, J. (2013). The Bruises of Bullying. Presentation accepted to Auraria Higher Education Diversity Summit, Denver, CO.

Bernhardt, P., Chavez, L., Vigil, P. (2013). Using Rubrics to Assess Authentic Performance-Based Tasks. Presentation accepted to the Metropolitan State University of Denver Teacher Scholar Forum.

Tate, P., Casemore, B., Bernhardt, P., O’Neill, V., Wilson, L. (2013). Self-Study of University Supervisors’ Autobiographical Writing as a Form of Professional Development. Paper accepted to the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE), Atlanta, GA.

Bernhardt, P. (2013). Mentoring Pre-service Teachers: A Professional Development Approach. Paper accepted to the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE), Atlanta, GA.

Bernhardt, P., Horan, D. (2013). Designing Authentic Assessments to Elicit Unique Expressions of Learning. MSU-Denver Academic Integrity Week.

Bernhardt, P. (2013). Supporting the development of effective cooperating teachers. MSU-Denver University Supervisors Orientation.

Bernhardt, P. (2013). How to Host and Effectively Utilize Field Experience Students. Lakewood High School Professional Development Day, Lakewood, CO.

Teaching Philosophy

Each of my experiences as a educator, learner, and researcher has been influenced by my beliefs about teaching. First, I am guided by a belief in the importance of education. I am a lifelong learner who believes research, experience, and interaction with others are fundamental to the educational process. My goal is to help students learn by exposing them to new ideas, encouraging them to continuously seek out new knowledge, and pushing them to critically examine the information they encounter each day.

Second, my philosophy is shaped by perspectives about the teaching process. Teaching is an extremely challenging profession that requires a tremendous amount of time, commitment, energy, flexibility, and planning. Critically examining my own teaching strengths and challenges has inspired me to experiment with different pedagogical strategies and seek out advice from more experienced educators. For me, an effective teacher is one who is respectful, reflective, demanding, approachable, supportive, and open to change.

My understanding of the learning process is the third component of my teaching philosophy. Learning is a lifelong endeavor and each day we have multiple opportunities to access knowledge and pursue different ways of thinking. I believe we learn by example and through discovery. As a beginning teacher I quickly learned the power of cognitive and affective modeling and the importance of encouraging students to try new things. This perspective can be summarized by an ancient Chinese proverb: “Tell me, I forget. Show me, I remember. Involve me I understand.” Because we are influenced by our surroundings, I believe learning is also a result of the interaction between and among personal experience, relationships with others, and the various social, historical, and temporal contexts in which we are embedded. Finally, I believe we learn from our mistakes. Some of my most important learning experiences resulted from mistakes.

Current Projects

Metro State Summer Cooperating Teacher Professional Development Seminar

Professional development seminar aimed at providing Denver Public School (DPS) teachers interested in serving as mentors and cooperating teachers to pre-service educators with an a research-based understanding of the central concepts and theories related to effective supervision and mentoring.

Summer 2013 Date: Wednesday, June 12th; 8:00 – 4:00

Location:
MSU-Denver Student Success Building
890 Auraria Parkway, Denver, CO 80204
Room: 400

http://www.mscd.edu/ted/resources/cooperatingteacherseminar/


Social Justice Book Series, Metro State - A Book Club for Teachers and Students
Text: TBD
Next Meeting: Summer 2013 (exact date TBD)

Co-Developer & Member of the Board of Directors, Fairfax Leadership Academy

Serving grades seven through twelve, Fairfax Leadership Academy seeks to provide a small learning environment with longer school hours and a full year calendar emphasizing: college and career preparation; global and civic leadership; the building of positive relationships between faculty, students, parents and community; and a strong commitment to the academic and personal growth of each student so they will attend and succeed in a post-secondary institution.

http://www.fairfaxleads.org/

METROLEADS Leadership Program, MSU-Denver
http://www.mscd.edu/president/metroleads/

Professional Affiliations

American Educational Research Association (AERA): Division B,G & K
American Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies (AAACS)
National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)
Northern Rocky Mountain Educational Research Association

Courses Taught

EDS-3210,EDS-3240

Office Hours

Tuesday - [09:00 to 11:30]
Thursday - [02:00 to 04:30]