Heather Sherwood leads research, evaluation, and R&D initiatives that deepen understanding of effective strategies to enhance the quality of education. Her current research focuses on the integration of computational thinking (CT) within elementary curricula. A former elementary-grade teacher, she has over 20 years of expertise in pre-K–8 instructional design, teacher support, and family engagement.

Sherwood is the principal investigator of CT Readiness for All, a study that investigates the potential of a CT self-assessment tool to help more elementary schools provide high-quality CT education for more students. Recently, she published an article on professional development related to this work. Previously, she co-led EDC’s Building Computational Thinking Readiness project.

Sherwood’s findings appear in publications such as Education Sciences and International Journal on Integrating Technology in Education. She regularly shares her research with practitioners, as well as at the annual conferences of the American Educational Research Association and Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness.

Sherwood holds an MA in Digital Media Design for Learning from New York University and a BA in Education and Communications from Monmouth University.