Elizabeth Bonawitz Named Professor of Education

Harvard Graduate School of Education Dean Nonie Lesaux has announced the promotion of Elizabeth Bonawitz, a leading developmental cognitive scientist and psychologist whose work explores the complex way students learn.

Bonawitz, previously the David J. Vitale Associate Professor of Learning Sciences, has been promoted to Professor of Education.

“There is so much privilege and responsibility that comes with being a senior faculty member here, and I’m excited to continue my research, mentorship, teaching, and service in this new role,” said Bonawitz.  

Bonawitz’s research at HGSE focuses on the basic science theories of learning with the broader goal of informing educational practice. Using cognitive development and computational modeling, her research focuses on the structure of children’s early causal beliefs, how evidence and prior beliefs interact to affect children’s learning, and the role of social factors in guided learning.

“Elizabeth’s well-deserved promotion to Professor of Education is a milestone for HGSE and for the learning sciences more broadly,” said Lesaux. “Since coming to HGSE in 2020, Elizabeth has brought rigorous experimental methods, sophisticated computational modeling, and expertise in developmental cognitive science to her work on STEM learning. Working in labs, museums, homes, and schools, she addresses important questions designed to uncover how children learn and reason about science concepts.”

Through her work, Bonawitz has improved the understanding of factors that impact the development of children’s mental models about their world and how children learn from others, enabling the field to build better theory about when and why learner outcomes vary.

While her research has expanded the learning sciences at HGSE, her mentorship and work in the classroom helps create a vibrant learning environment on Appian Way.

“In addition to her extraordinary scholarship, Elizabeth is a thoughtful teacher and mentor, and her leadership on the foundational How People Learn course has enriched the learning experience for all HGSE students,” noted Lesaux. “I’m thrilled that she is being recognized not only for her outstanding research, but also the many ways she strengthens our community and advances the field of learning science.”

Bonawitz was sure to thank the community she’s helped build at the Ed School, noting it as a significant force in her teaching and work.

“I feel especially lucky for the in-between moments: walking to a café with colleagues, grabbing tea, splitting a biscuit, and spending an hour talking science and laughing until our sides hurt,” said Bonawitz. “Those small moments create a sense of belonging that has made Harvard feel like an intellectual home, and I’m profoundly grateful to spend this next chapter among people who value them too.”

Bonawitz joined the Ed School in 2020 as the inaugural David J. Vitale Associate Professor of Learning Sciences, a newly endowed chair at HGSE to support an assistant or associate professor whose work focuses on the use of learning sciences to study education. Previously, she served for seven years as an assistant and associate professor of psychology at Rutgers University. Bonawitz earned her Ph.D. in brain and cognitive sciences from MIT in 2009, then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley from 2009 to 2013.