Project on Children's Thinking STAR Lab

Dr. David Uttal

Dr. David Uttal is the Kenneth F. Burgess Professor of Psychology and Education at Northwestern University. Along with teaching, Dr. Uttal leads the Spatial Thinking and Representations (STAR) Lab, a research laboratory of undergraduate, graduate students, and post-docs engaged in a wide range of experimental and observational studies focused on cognitive development. The STAR Lab collaborates with researchers and practitioners including involvement with the Chicago Children’s Museum and the Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center, where Dr. Uttal is a director. Dr. Uttal is also a director of the Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center (SILC) and the Multidisciplinary Program in Education Sciences (MPES).

Kiley McKee, PhD Candidate in Cognitive Psychology

Kiley’s research focuses on the tools that cognitive psychologists use to measure spatial thinking, especially with children. Part of this research includes examining how characteristics of different tasks such as mental rotation task, affect how children perform on the task. Additionally, Kiley works on the Smart Cubes project, which is examining how researchers can utilize specialized technology and AI systems to capture spatial processes.

Danielle Rothschild Doyle, 3rd Year Student in Cognitive Psychology

Danielle is interested in spatial learning in different environments, like at school or other outside of school activities such as video games. She works on a variety of projects that focus on different types of spatial tasks, such as mental rotation, cross-sectioning, spatial language and spatial assembly, including the Smart Cubes and Lab Venture projects. She also spearheads a project investigating the spatial ability of students in a prosthetics and orthotics program, with the goal of implementing spatial learning explicitly in the curriculum.

Qingzhou Shi, Postdoctoral Scholar

Qingzhou Shi is a postdoctoral scholar at the Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center, Northwestern University. She completed her PhD in Educational Research, specializing in quantitative methods, at the University of Alabama in May 2024. Her research interest focuses on measurement invariance and analyzing latent constructs to investigate the psychometric properties of assessments and predict student outcomes. Qingzhou has published and presented on measuring the validity of intelligence tests, cognitive diagnosis modeling, and analyzing test behaviors in large-scale assessments. Her current projects explore topics on spatial reasoning measurements and alignment optimization.

Iliana Vargas, SILC Business Administrator

Iliana is the Business Administrator for the Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center, working closely with Dr.’s Uttal and Gentner to run the day to day business of the center. She is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago with a degree in secondary education and Northwestern University with a Masters in Communication.  Outside of work Iliana enjoys spending time with her son, hiking, and traveling around the world.

Erica Cao, 4th Year Student

Erica is a senior at Northwestern majoring in Psychology. Currently she is working with Lauren Pagano on the GMRI project looking at how spatial language is used by children learning about climate change in the context of a school field. She is interested in how people think and learn about climate issues. Outside of the lab, she likes crochet, movie nights with friends, and napping alongside her cat.

Leslie Gonzales, 4th Year Student

Leslie is a senior majoring in Data Science working under Lauren Pagano on the Data in Space and Time project. Leslie is interested in the intersections data visualizations have within research. Outside of the lab, Leslie likes to spend her time studying at nearby coffee shops, doing yoga, and spending time with her family and friends.

Tyler Kang, 3rd Year Student

Tyler is a junior majoring in Statistics and Learning & Organizational Change with a minor in Business Institutions. He works with Kiley McKee and Danielle Rothschild Doyle on the Smart Cubes project. He is interested in learning more about spatial processing and how this affects learning in STEM and organizational structures. Outside of the lab, he works as a community impact intern at a nonprofit in Evanston and enjoys visiting coffee shops in Chicago.

Annika Macy, 4th Year Student

Annika is a senior studying environmental science and math. She works with Danielle Rothschild Doyle on the Gulf of Maine Research Institute project studying place-based learning and climate change education through informal learning experiences and data visualizations. Outside of the lab, Annika is in swim and water polo clubs on campus, and she enjoys working out, painting, and going to the beach.

Jack McNiel, 3rd Year Student

Jack is a junior majoring in Learning Sciences and Statistics, with a certificate in Human-Computer Interaction. He is passionate about understanding how people learn and make decisions from data and visuals, particularly in informal learning environments. Currently, Jack is working with Kiley McKee on a meta-analysis of mental rotation tasks in children. Outside the lab, Jack is on the executive board of Northwestern’s Active Minds chapter, and also enjoys discovering new music and exploring coffee shops.

Edwin Rong, 4th Year Student

Edwin is a senior majoring in Data Science and Statistics with a minor in Linguistics. He is interested in how machine learning and other computational methods can be used in socio-psychological research. Currently, he is working with Kiley McKee and Danielle Rothschild Doyle on the Smart Cubes study. Outside of research, he likes to make music as a hobby.

Grace Xie, 3rd Year Student

Grace is a junior majoring in Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences and Data Science. She is working on the meta-analysis project focused on mental rotation in children with Kiley McKee. Her interest is in the application of statistics and data analysis in research. Outside of the lab, Grace is an executive member of two student dance organizations on campus, New Movement Project and Reflections Repertory Company. She also enjoys cooking and trying out restaurants in Evanston!

Helen Zhang, 4th Year Student

Helen works with Lauren Pagano on the TALES project. She is a senior majoring in psychology and sociology. Outside of the lab, she is involved with Northwestern’s speech team, Panini Players improv group, and Rotaract club.