Education
- National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), National Institutes of Health (NIH): Post-doctoral training (Intramural Research Training Award Fellow)
- University of Kansas, Ph.D. in Speech-Language Pathology (Graduate Honors Fellow)
- University of Kansas Medical Center, M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology (Martha Kirkpatrick Scholar)
- University of Kansas, B.A. in Speech-language-hearing (Honors in speech and drama with highest distinction, Mary Miller Martin Memorial Scholar)
Areas of Specialization
Dr. Siren specializes in the acoustic analysis of speech, technology-assisted remediation of speech sound disorders, and evidence-based practices in speech science education. Her scholarship examines instructional strategies that support the learning of complex concepts and the use of learning-centered assessment. Recent research also explores cognitive processing in bilingual individuals and the rights of children with communication disorders.
Achievements (past 5 years)
Selected publications:
- Siren, K., Fossett, T., & Launay-Fallasse, S. (in press). Stroop interference and background context in Western monolingual speakers: A foundation for bilingual and cross-cultural studies. Journal of Monolingual and Bilingual Speech.
- Siren, K. & May, J. (2026). Applying the Convention on the Rights of the Child through the Inter-American system: Advancing communication rights for U.S. children with communication disorders. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in the Schools, 1-7.
- Siren, K. & May, J. (2026). Beyond words: On how principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child can improve outcomes for children with communication disorders. ICL Journal, 20(2), 237-256.
- Siren, K. (2026). From answers to understanding: Bridging the gap between multiple-choice and open-ended questions. Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders, 10(1).
- Siren, K., Fossett, T., & Launay-Fallasse, S. (2026). Response speed and variability on a verbal Stroop task: A small-sample comparison of bilingual and monolingual adults. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interests Groups, p. 1-10.
- Siren, K. (2024). Fostering critical thinking: Aligning assessment with educational expectations. In M. Carmo (Ed.), Education and New Developments, p. 252-254. ISBN: 978-989-35106-9-8. ISSN (electronic version): 2184-1489. ISSN (printed version): 2184-044X.
- Siren, K. (2021). Podcasts as teaching tools to facilitate student discussion and reflection of complex course material, ICERI2021 Proceedings, 14th International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation, p. 9138-9143. ISBN: 978-84-09-34549-6. ISSN: 2340-1095.
About Kathleen Siren
Dr. Siren teaches undergraduate courses in speech science, articulation and phonological disorders and phonetics, as well as the graduate course in research strategies and design. She has been a member of the faculty at Loyola since 1994, having served as Department Chair, Undergraduate Program Director, and Interim Graduate Program Director. Her research addresses learning-centered assessment, bilingual cognitive-linguistic processing, and the rights of children with communication disorders. She has presented her work nationally and internationally at speech-language pathology, education, acoustics, and bilingual conferences. After completing her B.A. with honors in Speech and Drama with highest distinction and as a Mary Miller Martin memorial scholar, Dr. Siren completed her M.A. at the University of Kansas Medical Center as a Martha Kirkpatrick Scholar and her Ph.D. at the University of Kansas (Lawrence) as a Graduate Honors Fellow. She completed post-doctoral training as a research fellow at the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) where she later served as Research Project Consultant. Dr. Siren and her family are proud residents of Baltimore City.