Drop by one of Ilisabeth Bornstein J.D.’s Legal Studies classes, and you’ll likely see students acting out complex legal scenarios, drawing out how a car collision unfolded with multi-colored markers and pens, or playing out cases using manipulatives such as matchbox cars or popsicle sticks. A form of kinesthetic learning, these educational, activity-based strategies may seem geared for younger learners, but the process helps college-aged students get more mileage out of class examples and build community.
“You aren't often asked to demonstrate your understanding in this way, so that sometimes sticks for students,” says Bornstein, a Legal Studies lecturer who teaches in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Politics, Law, and Society department. “Skills development is big for me in legal studies because one of the biggest skills that is important in the legal field is attention to detail.”
As someone who approaches her work with a broad appreciation for the science of teaching, Bornstein recently presented her kinesthetic learning methods at the Midwest Academy of Legal Studies in Business conference earlier this year. Named the 2025 Master Teacher winner, the work from Bornstein’s presentation will be published in the Journal of Legal Studies Education.
“My focus is always: What is important for students to learn? What is the best environment to help students learn information? And what does learning look like?” Bornstein says, noting that she’s constantly looking at better practices for creating engagement, retaining students, and creating community.
Teaching as a science
Teaching has always been an integral part of who Bornstein is. Whether she was coaching sports and teaching children’s theater or working as a clinical instructor at Harvard Law School or teaching writing and law courses at Providence College, she’s always been keen on helping others grow their skills — inside, and outside, the classroom.
In 2020, Bornstein created Bryant Votes, a committee of students, faculty, and staff dedicated to encouraging civic participation. Together, the group educates the campus community on voting basics (such as how to register and where to find information on candidates) and invites speakers to campus to discuss different topics pertaining to elections.
“Bryant Votes is tied to pedagogy because it is related to who we are trying to educate and what we are trying to educate them about and how,” Bornstein says, noting that this is an important part of life skills; most college students fall into the 18- to 22-year-old range and will likely have their first opportunity to vote during their higher education career.
Her work has also translated to assisting colleagues, which she’s done by, back in 2018, helping create the most recent iteration of Bryant’s Center for Teaching Excellence.
“The main part of that initiative was to start bringing in faculty as faculty fellows who had an interest in teaching and pedagogy. We were going to work to get them trained and build the narrative on campus that there's a science behind teaching, learning, and best practices,” says Bornstein, who served as interim director for two years and was among the first cohort of faculty fellows — staying on an additional year as a faculty associate.
Power of lifelong learning
Whether she’s teaching “The Legal Environment of Business” and covering topics like agency and contracts or examining legal principles and rules that guide constitutional interpretation in “Civil Rights and Liberties,” Bornstein emphasizes that it’s important for educators to periodically be students. Doing so reminds individuals what it's like to learn something for the first time, recall how quickly you might get overwhelmed, understand what a reasonable limit is for taking in new information, and recognize what is helpful when you don't understand something.
“It's easy to feel overwhelmed when you're learning something for the first time, and a good teacher helps you figure out where you're stuck, which makes the next step much easier,” Bornstein says.
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Outside of her courses, Bornstein serves as the advisor to The Bryant Law Society — a student-run club that meets to discuss current issues in the field and careers — and is the pre-law advisor for students who express an interest in law school.
Bornstein, herself, has been practicing law for 20 years. At Harvard Law School, she practiced law for five years as a transactional lawyer focused on community economic development. In this role, she represented first-time home buyers and small-scale real estate developers and provided counsel for a variety of small business owners and nonprofits — particularly those at the initial stages of forming their organizations. Since leaving Harvard Law School, she has maintained a small private practice primarily focused on nonprofit clients.
Together, Bornstein and Bryant undergrads have conversations on why they think law school makes sense for them, whether they should go now or later, and make an informed decision about pursuing law as a career.
“I really view it as my core identity to be a teacher. The greatest joy I have is teaching students, seeing students, keeping in touch with students, helping students understand things that are difficult,” Bornstein says.