Karen Brennan

Karen Brennan is the Timothy E. Wirth Professor of Practice in Learning Technologies at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and an affiliate in Computer Science. Her work focuses on the design of learning experiences in K–12 computer science, including the development of computational thinking and, more recently, the role of generative AI in programming. She advocates for constructionist approaches where students build understanding through creating, directed by their own interests and supported by collaborative communities.

Brennan is the director of the Creative Computing Lab and the author, with Sarah Blum-Smith, of Start with Questions: The Classroom as Design Studio (MIT Press, March 2026), which explores how K–12 teachers create the conditions for students to pursue projects and ideas that matter to them. Central to her research is a deep commitment to the work of teachers in designing and supporting these learning experiences. She completed her Ph.D. at the MIT Media Lab, where she was a member of the team that developed the Scratch programming environment.