Anne Blackstock-Bernstein

Dr. Blackstock-Bernstein teaches courses in child development, early childhood curriculum and pedagogy, and educational psychology. In her courses, findings from psychological and child development research are applied to the study of teaching and learning. Her research examines children’s language and literacy development in the context of school, with a particular focus on multilingual learners.

Her expertise spans infancy through elementary school, and her work aims to improve instructional practices based on children’s developmental needs and individual characteristics. Prior research used classroom observations and direct child assessment to examine variability in children’s language use and exposure in preschool classrooms serving Spanish-English emergent bilingual children. She is interested in how teachers intentionally adapt their language use and instructional practices based on children’s individual needs and strengths. Recent work has investigated the use of technology and media to support children’s language and literacy learning in the classroom.

Dr. Blackstock-Bernstein’s career has been focused on blending research, policy, and practice to meet the needs of children and families. She has worked in infant, toddler, and preschool classrooms as an educator, coach, and researcher. She is a member of the Los Angeles Child Care Planning Committee, where she collaborates with researchers, providers, parents, county employees, and community representatives to increase children and families’ access to affordable, equitable, high-quality early care and education in Los Angeles. She spent several years working on Los Angeles County’s early childhood Quality Rating and Improvement System. She is currently serving on the UPK Curriculum Advisory Committee for the California Department of Education, and she assisted in revising the Preschool and Transitional Kindergarten Learning Foundations—which guide instruction for all preschoolers in the state—and the Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP) assessment.