Emily Gonzalez

Emily Gonzalez joined Project Zero in 2016 while completing her Master’s at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She received her Ed.M. in Mind, Brain, and Education, as well as her B.S. from Wheelock College with a double major in Elementary Education and Interdisciplinary Math and Science Studies. Previously, while completing her teacher training, Emily discovered her passion for cognitive neuroscience and its implications for teaching and learning, leading her to the MBE field. As a licensed teacher in the state of Massachusetts, Emily’s experience also includes teaching and designing curriculum at the elementary school level.
 
Currently Emily works as a research assistant on the 21st Century Excellence Project (21CE), where she aids in the development of a conceptual, cross-disciplinary framework that will guide curriculum and teacher development in areas such as critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration by using active learning methodologies in today’s globalized and digital world. Prior to joining the 21CE project, Emily worked as a research assistant and project manager for the EcoXPT project where she investigated the impact of an ecosystems science Multi User Virtual Environment (MUVE) and curriculum on middle school students’ learning and cognition.
 
Emily is also personally interested in examining the interplay between student agency and motivation at the classroom level, with implications for developing students’ sense of purpose and lifelong learning skills for the 21st century.