I'm an Assistant Professor in Environmental Science Education at Nipissing University.
My research interests span the following areas:
Science education / Science teacher education
Ecojustice education / Environmental & Sustainability Education (ESE)
Student-led, collaborative learning
Citizen science
I began my teaching career in a pool teaching swim lessons, and then worked in a variety of environmental education settings (nature centers, day camps, marine reserves, and community gardens) all over North and Central America. After finishing my Masters in Environmental Science, I taught environmental science in school classrooms for over 15 years before returning for my PhD in Science Education. I was fortunate to teach for many years at an alternative, democratic school, where I learned a lot from my teaching colleagues in Critical Friends Groups, and from my students about the balance between collaborative and individualized education.
I now teach pre-service teachers about environmental and sustainability education, science pedagogy, and STEAM. I am curious about how students – both youth and student-teachers – learn together about scientific and environmental justice issues. I am particularly interested in such collaborative learning outside of formal school contexts (e.g., after-school clubs, eco-centers, science outreach events), and how informal settings may (or may not) provide opportunities for students to engage with environmental or social justice concerns in ways that cultivate caring relations, honour diverse ways of knowing, and imagine just and sustainable futures.
Sprowls, E.D. (2026). Cultivating Transgressive Learning in Environmental and Science Education: Learning Together to Grow Justice-Oriented Pedagogies. [Doctoral dissertation] McGill University. https://mcgill.scholaris.ca/items/fbd32459-9d08-4ada-a2e2-dc616d67baf9
Sprowls, E. D., Lavigne, S. (2026). La pédagogie STIAM favorise l'inclusion dans l'apprentissage des sciences en incluant les créations et les réalisations artistiques des élèves. Spectre. Association pour l’enseignmement de la science et de la technologie au Québec (AESTQ). 55(1), 32-37. https://www.aestq.org/fr/consultez-spectre/volume-55-numero-1-mai-2026
MacLeod, E., Gonsalves, A. J., Sprowls, E.D., & Archer, L. (2026). The Separate Worlds of Science and Science Teaching, According to Potential Science Teachers. Journal of Research in Science Teaching,. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.70061
Levitan, J., Perez, J., Velasquez, A., Sprowls, E.D. & Johnson, K. (2026). Collaborative Action Research for Continuous Improvement in Curriculum and Pedagogy: A Case Study of Researcher-Practitioner Capacities for Educational Change. Pedagogical Dialogues. Journal of the Center for Pedagogical Excellence, University of Cambridge.
Berne, C., Debidour, M., Paniconi, M., Danis, N., Sprowls, E. D., Kavanagh, K., Gilbert, L., & Brun, Y. (2026). Exploring the diversity of bacterial holdfast polar adhesins from Québec aquatic environments. Canadian Journal of Microbiology. 72, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjm-2025-0310
Wachs, J., Harvey, B., Leite, S., Sprowls, E. D. (2025) Co-creating pathways to social and ecological justice in higher education: The possibilities and pitfalls of collaborative course design. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. 26(6), 1473–1491. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-09-2024-0662
Sprowls, E. D. (2022). Bridging Boundaries Between ESE and Science Education Research and Practice through Collaborative Learning for Climate Justice. In Challenges for environmental and sustainability education research in times of climate crisis (pp. 133–136). Universiteit Gent. https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8768733/file/8768735.pdf
Gonsalves, A. J., Sprowls, E. D., & Wiseman, D. (2021). Teaching Novice Science Teachers Online: Considerations for Practice-Based Pedagogy. LEARNing Landscapes, 14(1), 111–123. https://doi.org/10.36510/learnland.v14i1.1049
Gonsalves. A., Calvacante, A., Sprowls, E. D., Iacono, H. (2021) “Anybody can do science, if they’re brave enough”: Understanding the role of science capital in science majors’ identity trajectories into and through post-secondary science. Journal of Research Science in Teaching. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21695
Sprowls, E. D. (2020). Collaborative learning tools to foster inclusive participation and sense of belonging in a microbiology outreach partnership. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, 21(1), 4. https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.v21i1.2079
Sprowls, E. D. (2025, July 4). Learning for Sustainability through Community Partnership Projects in McGill's Education & Environment Course. Leadership and Learning for Sustainability Blog. https://learn2sustain.ca/latest/68680e320764ad27db780563
Harvey, B., Sprowls, E. D., & Deskin, Z. (2024, March 6). Campus garden initiatives can help grow the next generation of environmental change-makers. The Conversation. https://doi.org/10.64628/AAM.dhctjchv5
Sprowls, E.D., Kiyani, M.N., Comstock, S. (2023, October 12). Revisioning an elementary school science course through a sustainability lens. Teaching for Learning Blog. https://teachingblog.mcgill.ca/2023/10/12/revisioning-an-elementary-school-science-course-through-a-sustainability-lens/
Sprowls, E. D. (2023, August 19). Learning for Ecojustice with Heads, Hearts, and Hands: Reflections on transformative sustainability learning at a summer institute for science educators. Leadership and Learning for Sustainability Blog. https://www.learn2sustain.ca/latest/64e087710764ad27db77a604
Gilbert, L., Perry, G., Sprowls, E.D., Brun, Y. (2022, June 22). Ripple Effect Episode 4: Les Scientifines. Water Rangers Blog. https://waterrangers.ca/2022/06/22/ripple-effect-episode-4-les-scientifines/
Sprowls, E. D. (2022, October 5). In times of climate crisis, what are the challenges for environmental and sustainability education research? Leadership and Learning for Sustainability Blog. https://learn2sustain.ca/latest/633d96510764ad27db77608e
Harvey, B., Sprowls, E. D., Huang, Y.-S. (2020). School-community gardens plant the seeds of change to address global warming. The Conversation.
Sprowls, E.D. (2017). Shark Bait; Gulpers of the Gulf. Teacher at Sea Blog, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Sprowls, E.D. (2017). Promoting academic collaboration in Mexico using Critical Friends Group protocols. Connections, National School Reform Faculty, Bloomington IN, USA.
Emberá Forestry Education Bacurú Drõa- Supporting the traditional knowledge of the Embera Indigneous people and forests of Panamá
STEAM Squad - After school club for youth-led inquiry with McGill student volunteers in collaboration with graduate co-supervisor Dr. Allison Gonsalves. See the 2023 youth projects, 2024 after school program, and 2025 partnership with teachers.
Education Community Garden - Outdoor learning space for growing edible and native plants at the McGill Faculty of Education
Leadership & Learning for Sustainability - Research group of graduate co-supervisor Dr. Blane Harvey
Sustainability Education Fellows - Fellowship that brings together faculty and students to advance sustainability in the curriculum and pedagogy at McGill (2022-2023 cohort)
Micro Water Rangers - Citizen science initiative to monitor antibiotic resistance and water quality in collaboration with Dr. David Kysela and the Brun Lab
National School Reform Faculty - Professional learning community and Critical Friends Group coaching
Schulich School of Education, North Bay, Canada
Environmental Education: EDUC 4761
Teaching Science & Technology - Primary/Junior Divisions : EDUC 4767
McGill Faculty of Education, Montreal, Canada (2021-2025)
Education & Environment: EDEC 374
Elementary School Science: EDEE 270/273
Secondary School Science Teaching Methods: EDTL 626 / EDES 435
Environmental & Sustainability Education: EDEC 525
K-12 Education, USA (2000-2018)
Secondary Science: Harmony School, Indiana, USA
Elementary Science: WonderCamps, Indiana, USA
Secondary Science: Hopkins School, Connecticut, USA
Environmental Education: Waquoit Bay Estuarine Research Reserve / Ocean Quest, Massachusetts, USA
Have a great resource we should add? Or a question? Please reach out through the links below, or visit me in #A359 at Nipissing University, 100 College Drive, North Bay, Ontario, Canada.
Google Scholar profile
emilysp@nipissingu.ca
This site is a work-in-progress and a living document
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