Karen Brennan (she/her) is the Timothy E. Wirth Professor of Practice in Learning Technologies, as well as one of the Faculty Co-Chairs for the Learning Design, Innovation, and Technology program and a Faculty Affiliate for the Harvard Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Professor Brennan joined the faculty in 2012, and her research and teaching has focused on the design of learning experiences in K–12 computer science.
What brought you to the field of education?
As a computer science major in undergrad, I had a series of serendipitous and, in retrospect, life-transformative experiences with teaching. Through those experiences, I encountered the power and beauty of learning through creating, discovering how hands-on projects can catalyze curiosity and creativity. These experiences expanded my world in profound ways, sparking a deep and lasting obsession with questions about how to design learning experiences that balance self-direction and support. Learning is the work of life, so what better way to live than to study how we learn?
What are some of the classes that you teach, and what is your favorite class to teach?
My classes have (perhaps unsurprisingly) tended to be focused on learning design, centering learning through self-directed projects. This term I’m teaching CS 1960 / EDU T217: Designing K–12 Computer Science Learning Experiences, and last fall, I taught LDIT’s PCE: The Practice of Learning Design. Any class where students are in creative community together, working at their learning edge, is going to be on my list of favorite classes to teach. There’s very little more joyful to me than supporting students working together to bring their wonderful ideas into the world.
Is there any research/initiative you are currently working on that you’d like to share more about? How are HGSE students involved in these efforts?
When I’m not teaching, you can find me working on projects with members of my research group, the Creative Computing Lab. Since joining HGSE, I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with more than 100 undergraduate, master’s, doctoral, and postdoctoral students on research, design, and outreach projects—all focused on supporting K–12 educators in designing computer science learning experiences that foreground self-direction and community connection. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about AI and its profound impact on computer science education and beyond. One project we’ve been working on is BlockTalk, a GPT-powered platform that helps teachers practice debugging student coding problems through interactive, conversational simulations.
What is your favorite thing about working at HGSE?
The people! Learning is a deeply social process, and I love being in community with such tremendously passionate, creative, and caring individuals who are committed to the future of education.
Who is an educator that inspires you?
Every K–12 classroom teacher. The work of the teacher is so demanding—cognitively, affectively, physically—you truly teach with your whole self. I see this in all the amazing teachers I learn from through our research projects and in all the incredible HGSE students who are coming from and returning to K–12 classrooms. I am so grateful for their endless inspiration!
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