Profile

Dr. Sara Harris

Senior Instructor

Bio

Sara Harris is a faculty member in Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences at the University of British Columbia where she teaches global climate change, environmental science, oceanography, and a bit of geology. Her research background is in paleoceanography and paleoclimatology, reconstructing past variations in ocean circulation and continental climates at orbital to tectonic time scales. During seven years as a chief scientist at Sea Education Association in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, she studied modern oceans and sailed thousands of miles with undergraduate students. Sara's current research explores how people learn climate science, what mental models of Earth's climate people bring with them to each learning experience, and which learning opportunities best help people move toward more expert-like ideas about how Earth's climate works. Sara holds a PhD in oceanography from Oregon State University. She sailed with the Ocean Drilling Program as both a sedimentologist and stratigrapher. She has been actively involved with the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative to incorporate evidence-based pedagogy into university courses.