Emily Harris
Bio
Senior Research Scientist
Emily Harris is a Senior Research Scientist at BSCS Science Learning specializing in place-based science education and climate change education. She has co-led NSF and USDA-funded projects to develop instructional resources designed for teachers to incorporate locally and culturally relevant phenomena, study teacher curriculum adaptation practices, and explore climate education approaches that cultivate hope and youth agency. She has also contributed to the development of high-quality instructional materials including OpenSciEd units and led research studies examining public participation in community and citizen science. Recent projects include Fostering Climate Hopefulness, Climate Education Pathways, Climate Empowerment Literacy Initiative, Place-Based Learning for Elementary Science at Scale, and Engineering in the Garden.
Prior to joining BSCS in 2018, Emily conducted research with the Center for Community and Citizen Science and the Sacramento Area Science Project and taught undergraduates, preservice, and in-service elementary teachers. Emily began her career teaching K-6 students in classrooms, educational gardens, and redwood forests.
Emily holds a PhD in Science and Agricultural Education and an MS in Ecology from the University of California, Davis; an MA in Teaching from the University of San Francisco; and a BA in Science, Technology and Society from Vassar College. She is based in Oakland, California and enjoys gardening, playing music, and spending time with her husband and two kids.
Selected Publications
Harris, E. M., Mohan, L., Hanson, A., Cook-Whitt, K., Guy-Gaytán, C. R., & Kenyon, L. (2025) “Adapting for a local space can be tricky”: Designing units for teachers to localize through phenomenon adaptation. Science Education. DOI: 10.1002/sce.21978
Harris, E. M., Lai, P., Garbesi, K., Hiester, P., & Lai, E. (2025). Turning Tides: Design of an Interdisciplinary Climate Change Unit for Healing, Engagement, and Agency. Science Scope, 48(4), 16-23. DOI: 10.1080/08872376.2025.2505838
Harris, E. M., Lowe, I., Mohan, L., Cohen, W., Severance, S., Giotta, J., Albano, C. (2024) Designing Trellises: Cultivating science and engineering in the garden. Science and Children, 61(2), 70–75. DOI: 10.1080/00368148.2024.2315675
Mohan, L., Harris, E. M., Guy-Gaytán, C. R. (2023) How it all happened. Science and Children, 60(7), 46-52. DOI: 10.1080/00368148.2023.12315938
Harris, E. M., & Ballard, H. L. (2021). Examining student environmental science agency across school science contexts. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 58(6), 906-934. DOI: 10.1002/tea.21685
*Paper selected for the Journal of Research in Science Teaching Research Worth Reading Award
Harris, E. M., Dixon, C. G. H., Bird, E. B., & Ballard, H. L. (2019). For Science and Self: Youth Interactions with Data in Community and Citizen Science. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 29(2), 224–263. DOI: 10.1080/10508406.2019.1693379
Harris, E., & Ballard, H. (2018). Real Science in the palm of your hand. Science and Children, 55(8), 31–37. DOI: 10.2505/4/sc18_055_08_31
Harris, E. M., & Rosenman, A. (2017). A protocol that works: Teachers collaboration to transform next generation science teaching and learning. Science and Children, 55(1). DOI: 10.2505/4/sc17_055_01_53
Ballard, H. L., Dixon, C., & Harris, E. M. (2017). Youth-focused citizen science: Examining the role of environmental science learning and agency for conservation. Biological Conservation, 208, 65-75. DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2016.05.024