Katherine is currently a postdoctoral researcher with Dr. Peter Wardrip at the University of Wisconsin-Madison supporting research and evaluation for partners such as the Madison Children’s Museum, the Rockford Discovery Center Museum, the Caretakers of Wonder, and the tonies company.
Katherine holds a PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her interdisciplinary research focuses on how we learn real things through make believe.
During her doctoral work, Katherine worked with Dr. Edward M. Hubbard in the Educational Neuroscience Lab in the department of Educational Psychology and with Dr. Erica Halverson in the Community Arts Research Collaboratory (an NEA Research Lab) in the department of Curriculum & Instruction at the UW-Madison.
Recent Projects:
- Supporting the Caretakers of Wonder network through research and evaluation
- “Where Does Pretend Play Go? A Lifespan Developmental Perspective” – dissertation project; currently adapting for publication
- “UW Community Arts Collaboratory Research Lab: mixed methods research for understanding how arts education leads to social emotional learning skills and growth for students and teachers” – funded by the NEA
- “Assessment and Out-of-School Time Arts Learning for Diverse Youth” – funded by the Wallace Foundation
- “Teaching Artists and Antiracism in Out-of-School Time Theatre Programs” – funded by the UW-Madison Division of the Arts Creative Arts Award
- Wonderground Evaluation Project – in partnership with the Madison Children’s Museum
Recent Conferences:
- Audio Books in Early Childhood Appear to Reduce Screen Time and Support Emergent Literacy: A Research Workshop at the 2025 meeting of the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association, with co-authors Norman, K.E. and Wardrip, P.
- How School-Based Arts Programming Supports Social Emotional Learning for Elementary School Students – a symposium presentation at the 2023 meeting of the American Education Research Association (AERA), with co-authors Lashley, Y., Halverson, E., Norman, K.E., Jaussi, G., et al.
- Teaching Artist Perceptions of Anti-Racism in an Out-of-School Time Theatre Program – a panel presented at the 2023 meeting of the International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS), with co-authors Saplan, K., Mattaini, M., and Norman, K.E.
Recent Publications:
- Norman, K.E. & Wardrip, P. (2024). The Absence of Empirical Research on Curiosity in
- Children’s Museums: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Madison Children’s Museum & the Lilly Foundation
- Norman, K.E., Burke, A. & Wardrip, P. (2023) Madison Children’s Museum Wonderground – Evaluation Report; Children’s self-report June – November 2022. Technical Report. Madison Children’s Museum.
- Norman, K.E., & Goldstein, T. (2022). The Importance of the ‘Imaginary’ in Theorizing ‘Why Imaginary Worlds?’ Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 52.
- Saplan, K., Norman, K.E. & Probst, C. (2022) A Complex Landscape of
Assessment in Out of School Time Arts Learning: Practices, Pitfalls, and Perspectives, Journal of the Learning Sciences. - Halverson, E., Martin, C., Bryant, J., Norman, K.E., Probst, C., Richards, S., Saplan, K., Stoiber, A., & Tunstall, J. (2021). Out-of-school time youth arts work across the US and in cultural-regional scenes: Promising practices, shared challenges, and recommendations for the field. Wallace Foundation Research Report.
Research Interests: Development and learning through arts and play; early childhood development; pretend play; Educational Cognitive Neuroscience (ECN)/ Mind, Brain, and Education (MBE); executive function; embodied cognition; community-based research; mixed-methods design; drama as pedagogy; assessment and evaluation
For an introduction to some of my questions, check out my article The Reality of Pretending on the Illuminating Discovery Hub.
(For a full list of projects, conferences, teaching, and publications, please request CV)
Dr. Katherine E. Norman 