Catherine McCulloch leads national initiatives that focus on bridging STEM research and practice to improve outcomes for students. She has expertise in formal and informal STEM learning, professional development, mentoring, research and practice partnerships, and the management of strategic resource development and dissemination efforts.
As the director of the National Science Foundation-funded Community for Advancing Discovery Research in Education (CADRE), McCulloch heads up a network that helps researchers make their findings and products accessible to colleagues, schools, policymakers, and the public. She is the co-author of several network publications, including CADRE Early Career Guide: Tips for Early Career STEM Education Researchers.
McCulloch’s research interests include identifying strategies to improve STEM teaching and learning, with a focus on engineering education. With Tufts University, she co-led a study of engineering education in Massachusetts and co-authored the report, Engineering for Every K–12 Student. She has designed informal STEM learning curricula, led institutes for science mentoring throughout the United States, and provided professional development for afterschool program educators.
McCulloch holds an MEd in Elementary Education from Lesley University.