Kathleen M. Sheridan, PhD
Department Chair and Associate Professor
Educational Psychology
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Contact
Building & Room:
1246 ETMSW
Address:
1040 W. Harrison St. (MC 147), Chicago, IL 60607
Office Phone:
Email:
About
Kathleen M. Sheridan is an associate professor in the department of Educational Psychology. Dr. Sheridan received her PhD in Child and Family Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her MA from Washington University in St. Louis. Her research interests include early STEM literacy and professional development for early childhood educators, online learning and course development in higher education, kindergarten readiness, and teacher presence in online courses. Sheridan has been published in leading academic journals, delivered keynote speeches, and has presented her work at workshops and at regional, national and international conferences.
Selected Grants
CME Group Foundation, Early Math Counts: Web Based Math Resources and Professional Development for Early Childhood Professionals, Principal Investigator
Caplan Foundation for Early Childhood, Early Science Matters: Web Based Science Resources and Professional Development for Early Childhood Professionals, Principal Investigator
US Department of Education, The Chicago Early Childhood Preparation and Pathway (CECPP) Partnership, Faculty STEM Leader
CME Group Foundation, Math Access for Teachers and Home Care Providers (MATH), Principal Investigator
CME Group Foundation, The Ready Child, PI
Selected Publications
Banzer, D., & Sheridan, K. (2025). The Design and Evaluation of Online Early Science Professional Development for Early Childhood Educators. International Journal of Early Childhood Education, 31 (1), 99-119 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18023/ijece.2025.31.1.005
Banzer, D., Riel, J., & Sheridan, K. (2024). Accelerating early childhood science through a scalable online teacher professional development (oTPD) program: A design case of Early Science Matters (ESM). International Journal of Designs for Learning. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14434/ijdl.v15i3.36624
Sheridan, K., & Wen, X., (2020). Evaluation of an Online Early Mathematics Professional Development Program for Early Childhood Teachers. Early Education and Development DOI: 10.1080/10409289.2020.1721402
Sheridan, K. Banzer, D*., Pradzinski, A*., Wen, X., (2020). Early Math Professional Development: Meeting the Challenge Through Online Learning. Early Childhood Education Journal, 48, 223–231. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-019-00992-y
*= Graduate Student
Gordan, R., Sheridan K., Bates, J*., de Sousa, S*., and Pradzinski, A*. (2020). Child Care Arrangements and Sex-Gender: A National Portrait of Preschool-Aged Children. Early Childhood Research Quarterly
*= Graduate Student
Sheridan, K. M., & Banzer, D*. (2019). Early Mathematics to Promote Critical Thinking, in Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood Education: Meeting the needs of all young children. New York, New York: Routledge.
*= Graduate Student
Sheridan, K. M., (2018). Setting the Stage for Success, in Teaching Children with Challenging Behaviors. (pp.22-63). New York, New York: Routledge.
Sheridan, K., Kelly, M. A*., & Bentz, D. T. (2013). A Follow-Up Study of the Indicators of Teaching Presence Critical to Students in Online Courses. In Z. Akyol, & D. Garrison (Eds.), Educational Communities of Inquiry: Theoretical Framework, Research and Practice (pp. 67-83). Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference. doi:10.4018/978-1-4666-2110-7.ch005
*= Graduate Student
Sheridan K., & Kelly M*. (2011). Teaching Early Childhood Education Students through Interactive Scenario-Based Online Course Design. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 33(1), 73-84.
*= Graduate Student
Service to Community
American Psychological Association (APA): Accreditation Site Team Member
Professional Leadership
Co-Chair, UIC Teacher Recognition Program
Notable Honors
2017-2018, Teaching Recognition Award, University of Illinois at Chicago
Education
- PhD Child and Family Studies – The University of Wisconsin-Madison
- MA Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education with certification Pk-6 - Washington University – St Louis, MO
Professional Memberships
- AERA (American Educational Research Association): Member
- NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children): Member
- ILAECTE (Illinois Association for Early Childhood Teacher Educators): Past President, Past Web Developer, and Current Secretary
- Zero to Three: Member
- American Psychological Association Accreditation Review Team: Member
- Society for Research in Child Development: Member
Selected Presentations
Sheridan, K., Banzer, D., Coba-Rodriguez, S., & Riel, J. (2024, February). The ready child – Readiness for kindergarten: Supporting families, teachers, and children. Presentation at the Collaboration for Early Childhood Early Learning Symposium. Oak Park, IL.
Sheridan, K., Banzer, D., Coba-Rodriguez, S., & Riel, J. (2024, March). The ready child: Helping every child thrive in kindergarten and beyond. Presentation at the Illinois Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Annual Pre-K, Kinder, and 1st Conference. Schaumburg, IL.
Sheridan, K. (2023, November). Presentation at the International Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education. Athens, Greece
Banzer, D., & Sheridan, K. (2023, October). Early Science Attitudes, Beliefs and Practices within an Early Childhood Education Alternative Licensure Program. Presentation at the Midwest Educational Research Association 2023. Cincinnati, OH.
Banzer, D., & Sheridan, K. (2023, June). Online science professional development: The design and evaluation of an open-access program for early childhood educators. Presentation at the National Association for Young Children Professional Learning Institute. Portland, OR.
Charles, J., Main, C., & Sheridan, K. (2023, February). Early Childhood Teacher Education: Creating Collaborative Solutions Across a Marginalized Field. Presentation at the 2023 AACTE Annual Meeting. Indianapolis, In.
Banzer, D., & Sheridan, K. (2022, October). Curiosity and wonder in early science: A foundation for a lifetime of discovery. Presentation at the Montana Association for Young Children Annual Conference. Helena, MT.
Sheridan, K., Banzer, D., & Gano, D. (2022, July). Tinkering with science, nature, and loose parts. Presentation at the Natural Start Alliance Nature-Based Early Learning Conference. Cincinnati, OH.
Banzer, D., & Sheridan, K. (2022, June). Changes in preschool teachers’ early science attitudes, beliefs, and instruction through professional learning supports. Poster presentation at the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s Professional Learning Institute. Cleveland, OH.
Sheridan, K., Banzer, D., & Gano, D. (2022, May). Early science matters: Laying the foundation for a lifetime of discovery. Presentation at the National Head Start Association Annual Meeting. Baltimore, MD.
Gordon, R., Sheridan, K., Bates, J., Peng, F., Zinsser, K., Main, C., & Chen, S. (April, 2021). Reliability and Validity of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, Pre-K Using Full-Day/Full-Week Video Streams. Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting: Virtual Conference. (Non-presenting Author)
Banzer, D., & Sheridan, K. (April, 2021). Professional learning in community-based preschools: Head Start teachers’ experiences and perspectives. Paper presentation at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Virtual Meeting.
Research Currently in Progress
Early childhood teachers often run into geographical, financial and time barriers when searching for professional development (PD) opportunities. In addition, they often feel unsure about how to best engage children in math and science concepts and activities. Our team developed free access online resources and professional development focused on early math and science in order to eliminate these barriers for early childhood teachers. The team has wrapped up our evaluation of our early math PD and online resources (EARLY MATH COUNTS) and we are currently engaged in further development of our science PD. We are at the beginning stages of developing the research protocol for evaluating the effectiveness of the resources and online professional development in science (EARLY SCIENCE MATTERS). Our current project, The Ready Child, a kindergarten readiness resource for families and PreK teachers has launched. Please visit The Ready Child!