Dr. Harrison began in 2002–03 as a reading tutor at an Islamic school in Tampa, Florida. She then spent three years teaching fourth grade and at the middle- and high-school levels at Iqra Academy in the U.S. Virgin Islands. During the 2004–05 school year, she taught academic English—including writing and literature—to students in grades 7, 8 and 12 at Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She also taught English at the New School of Languages.
IV Experience
Classrooms, curriculum, inquiry.
Her doctoral research followed policy into textbooks and classrooms. Her teaching and curriculum work has included planning language courses, working with learners’ cultural contexts and helping teacher candidates reflect on their practice.
2002–2007
K–12 Early Teaching in Caribbean Classrooms
Florida (U.S.) & St. Croix, USVI, and Puerto Rico (Caribbean)
2006–2007 · 2009–2011
Language teaching across settings
Morocco and Sultanate of Oman
Before her doctoral research, Dr. Harrison taught English at the American Language Centre in Meknes, Morocco, and at Sur College of Applied Sciences and, in 2011, Salalah College of Technology in Oman. Her 2009 MS in Curriculum & Instruction focused on international studies in curriculum, pedagogy and teacher education.
2013–2015 · 2016–2017
Following policy into classrooms
Puerto Rico (Caribbean)
Her doctoral research in Puerto Rico examined the representation of Indigenous history and identity in schools. She studied language and education policy, Spanish and Social Studies materials, and teachers’ perspectives—connecting questions about knowledge with the resources used in classrooms. She later taught English and academic writing in General Studies at the University of Puerto Rico–Río Piedras in 2016–2017.
The research question2016–2018
Course design & community teaching
Dominican Republic, Madison, Wisconsin (USA), and Tetouan (Morocco)
Through the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), writing liberal arts syllabi for Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra and teaching intensive Spanish to exchange students were separate contributions in Santiago. Her later work included teacher-education course proposals for Deep Institute and a community ESL course in Madison shaped around participants’ languages, interests and cultural contexts.
Language teaching in the community2016–2019
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Honorary Fellowship · University of Wisconsin–Madison
She built a website on language education policy, writing most of its content; wrote a grant; co-organized a bi-continental conference held in Paris, France, and Madison, Wisconsin; and published two co-edited volumes and five chapters.
2019–2022
Making teaching a subject of reflection
Madison, Wisconsin (USA)
At the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater’s College of Education & Professional Studies, Dr. Harrison supervised teacher candidates from August 2019 to January 2022 and taught world-language methods in Fall 2019. Lesson observations, feedback, cohort meetings and portfolios connected planning with reflection on classroom practice. During this period, she also began teaching in bilingual (Spanish–English) classrooms as a substitute (guest) teacher in the Madison Metropolitan School District. This combined her teacher-education work with daily and long-term teaching assignments across schools, including a year and a half of online teaching.
Teacher preparation in practice2020–2023
Latin American, Caribbean & Iberian Studies
Honorary Fellowship · University of Wisconsin–Madison
She co-edited a book with José Gijón Puerta at the University of Granada and wrote two chapters.
2022–2025
Substitute (Guest) Teacher in Wisconsin School Districts
She worked as a substitute (guest) teacher in Menasha, Neenah, Appleton, Green Bay, Stoughton, Verona and Madison. At the same time, she worked as an independent scholar—writing memoirs, writing about bilingual teaching and taking notes on biliteracy in the U.S.—while caring for a newborn granddaughter.
2019–2025
Wisconsin school classrooms
K–12 teaching
Learning across school classrooms.
Dr. Harrison’s K–12 experience includes elementary and secondary teaching, daily and long-term guest teaching, and work in bilingual and dual-language classrooms.
Daily and long-term guest teaching across Wisconsin districts included elementary and secondary classrooms, bilingual Spanish–English and dual-language settings, and teaching both in person and online.
2025–2026
Language-centre classrooms
At El Makoudi Language Center in Tetouan, Morocco, Dr. Harrison taught English to teenagers and young adults from October 2025 to June 2026.
Education
University of Wisconsin–Madison
- PhD2015
Curriculum & Instruction
World Languages Education · Minor in Educational Policy Studies
- MS2009
Curriculum & Instruction
International Studies in Curriculum, Pedagogy & Teacher Education
- BA1994
Latin American, Caribbean & Iberian Studies
History focus
A wider lens
Beyond the syllabus.
The range of her curriculum work extends to stories, music, food and the natural world. A Farm to Table curriculum she developed for Madison School Community Recreation in 2012 included gardening—another setting for learning beyond the textbook.
Outside professional work, her interests include reading, films, walking, hiking and, especially, cycling.