Rate My Professor Dawn Berk

Dawn Berk is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Delaware, where she serves as Director of the Mathematical Sciences Learning Laboratory (MSLL). She joined the University of Delaware in Fall 2014 as the founding Director of the MSLL and an assistant professor, later promoted to associate professor. Berk holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics Education and an M.S. in Mathematics from the University of New Hampshire, along with a B.A. in Mathematics from St. Mary's College of Maryland. Under her leadership, the MSLL implements an innovative model for undergraduate mathematics education in foundational courses including Intermediate Algebra, Pre-Calculus, and Calculus. The laboratory features active learning through problem-based group work, minimal lecturing, adaptive technologies like ALEKS, flexible low-stakes assessments with retakes, drop-in tutoring, and continuous improvement cycles based on shared data and collaborative curriculum design.

Berk's research centers on developing, testing, and refining models to continuously improve mathematics teaching and learning in undergraduate settings, with investigations into relationships among teaching practices, student learning, curriculum, and active learning opportunities. She has served as principal investigator on two National Science Foundation grants—a 2009 REESE grant totaling $1,983,506 and a 2014 REAL grant totaling $1,024,667—to examine the effects of undergraduate mathematics coursework on prospective teachers' knowledge, skills, and classroom practices, following graduates into teaching positions. Her scholarship appears in leading journals such as the Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, Journal of Teacher Education, Mathematical Thinking and Learning, and Harvard Educational Review. Key publications include "Preparing teachers to learn from teaching" (2007, Journal of Teacher Education), "Developing prospective elementary teachers' flexibility in the domain of proportional reasoning" (2009, Mathematical Thinking and Learning), "Improving the mathematics preparation of elementary teachers, one lesson at a time" (2009, Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice), and "Relationships between opportunity to learn mathematics in teacher preparation and graduates' knowledge for teaching mathematics" (2019, Journal for Research in Mathematics Education). Berk's highly cited work has advanced mathematics teacher preparation and instructional practices.