Jessica Dawn Pratt
Professor of Teaching, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
School of Biological Sciences
School of Biological Sciences
Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, 2013, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
M.S., North Carolina State University, 2005, Zoology
B.S., Grand Valley State University, 2003, Biology
M.S., North Carolina State University, 2005, Zoology
B.S., Grand Valley State University, 2003, Biology
University of California, Irvine
361 Steinhaus Hall
Mail Code: 2525
Irvine, CA 92697
361 Steinhaus Hall
Mail Code: 2525
Irvine, CA 92697
Research Interests
Conservation Biology, Environmental Pedagogy, Climate Literacy, Student Affect
Websites
Short Biography
Jessica Pratt is a community ecologist and teaching professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Irvine. She is broadly interested in the application of ecological theory to environmental problem-solving, what some might call conservation science, and in effective pedagogy to train the next generation of environmental leaders and Earth stewards. She primarily teaches courses in the undergraduate Minor in Global Sustainability and the Masters in Conservation and Restoration Science program.
Dr. Pratt’s research interests are motivated by a deep desire for improved environmental literacy in K-12 education, greater self-efficacy and transfer of knowledge to action in our emerging environmental leaders (e.g. college students), and increasing diversity and representation of minoritized groups within education and the environmental sciences. Dr. Pratt’s current research examines the affective dimensions (i.e. emotions, moods, attitudes) of learning and working in the environmental and climate justice space. She seeks to understand the emotional responses that students have to learning about the state of the environment and how faculty can best address these emotions in the classroom. Through her research and teaching, she hopes to develop effective approaches to teaching about planetary crises while also instilling critical hope, emotional resilience, and a determined self-efficacy in her students.
When not working, Jessica can be found hitting the trails with her puppies, out on the soccer field with her kiddos, cooking from her home garden, on her yoga mat, or tucked in with a good book and cup of tea. All of which are effective coping strategies for her own ecological grief and climate anxiety.
Dr. Pratt’s research interests are motivated by a deep desire for improved environmental literacy in K-12 education, greater self-efficacy and transfer of knowledge to action in our emerging environmental leaders (e.g. college students), and increasing diversity and representation of minoritized groups within education and the environmental sciences. Dr. Pratt’s current research examines the affective dimensions (i.e. emotions, moods, attitudes) of learning and working in the environmental and climate justice space. She seeks to understand the emotional responses that students have to learning about the state of the environment and how faculty can best address these emotions in the classroom. Through her research and teaching, she hopes to develop effective approaches to teaching about planetary crises while also instilling critical hope, emotional resilience, and a determined self-efficacy in her students.
When not working, Jessica can be found hitting the trails with her puppies, out on the soccer field with her kiddos, cooking from her home garden, on her yoga mat, or tucked in with a good book and cup of tea. All of which are effective coping strategies for her own ecological grief and climate anxiety.
Link to this profile
https://faculty.uci.edu/profile/?facultyId=6107
https://faculty.uci.edu/profile/?facultyId=6107
Last updated
02/11/2025
02/11/2025