William Wisser

I am the founding Director of the Teaching and Learning Lab (TLL) at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). In that role, I oversee the TLL portfolio and ensure that the focus of the TLL remains aligned with the strategic initiatives of HGSE, represent the department to HGSE administrators and faculty, and help guide conversations about new opportunities to increase the reach and impact of faculty research and practice.

I earned my Ph.D. in Latin American History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a dissertation that examined the rise of a political print culture in early nineteenth-century Brazil. After teaching World History and Modern Latin America at several universities, I realized that my real interests lay in teaching and faculty support for teaching. Before coming to the Harvard Graduate School of Education I was the Associate Director for Faculty Development and Support at Simmons College where I led the Sloan Foundation-funded Blended Learning Initiative. In that role I oversaw the development of two blended programs and one fully online program while also supporting the effective integration of technology in the traditional classroom. Since arriving at HGSE I have helped numerous faculty consider how technology can be leveraged to help them meet their learning outcomes. I have also been involved in the development of several new online courses and programs that help increase the reach of HGSE faculty. I have published and presented on issues related to alternative credential and electronic portfolios and continue to explore emerging modalities that extend the classroom environment.