Prof. Dr. Elsbeth Stern

Since October 2006 Elsbeth Stern has been full professor of Research on Learning and Instruction at ETH Zurich and functions as the dean of the Institute of Behavioral Sciences. She also works as head of the teacher education program at the ETH Zurich.

Elsbeth Stern is a cognitive psychologist with special focus on academic learning in science and mathematics. After her PhD in 1987 at the University of Hamburg she held positions at the Max-Planck-Institute for Psychological Research in Munich, the University of Leipzig, and the Max-Planck-Institute for Human Development in Berlin.

She has been researching the interaction between intelligence and knowledge in cognitive functioning in the age range of 4 to 25. How knowledge transfer can be fostered by the use of visual-spatial cognitive tools is one of her major topics.

She has widely published in refereed journals and books and is member of the Board of Reviewing Editors of the journal SCIENCE. Moreover she is involved in international discussions on the potentials and limits of cognitive neuroscience on improving academic learning.

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