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 (MPLES).

Brian Andrus, 7th Year Student in Learning Sciences

Brian employs qualitative and mixed-methods approaches to research and to understand the ways in which technologies and tangible learning materials facilitate enriching learning experiences and meaningful human interactions. He is particularly interested in how individuals and groups of people perceive, experience, and learn in relation to the physical and social dimensions of space around them. Brian has enjoyed designing and facilitating STEM enrichment activities for young children and for after-school programs, including robotics and coding. Outside of work and study he enjoys tinkering and home improvement projects, painting, reading sci-fi and fantasy books, kayaking, and game nights with friends.

Kiley McKee, 5th Year Student 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, 2nd 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.

Jose Sotelo, 7th Year Student in Cognitive Psychology

Jose’s current project is interested in how large-scale environment influences the creations and adaptability of cognitive maps. In the past Jose has investigated the relationship between gender differences in mental rotation ability and people’s confidence and strategy use. Jose is also a predoctoral fellow at Education Testing Service (ETS) as well at a data science consultant at NU-research. Additionally, Jose is obtaining a Masters in statistics at Northwestern.

Mackenzie Drummond, Senior Research Coordinator

Mackenzie is the Senior Research Coordinator under David Uttal, assisting with the STAR Lab and the Multidisciplinary Program in Education Sciences IES funded Fellowship. Mackenzie assists in multiple projects throughout the lab, including Smart Cubes, Data in Space and Time, and more! She graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Gender and Women’s Studies. She is enrolled in classes part-time at Northwestern’s School of Professional Studies to obtain a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Administration. Outside of the lab, Mackenzie enjoys trying new restaurants, walking along the lakefront, and spending time with friends and family. 

Lauren Pagano, Postdoctoral Scholar

Lauren received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology at Loyola University Chicago in May 2022. At Loyola, she contributed to the TALES project and researched how digital storytelling can support children’s engineering learning. In addition to working on TALES, Lauren now works on the SPrEaD project and the LabVenture project. The SPrEaD (Spreading the Geospatial Semester into New Territory) project is focused on incorporating GIS into Chicago Public Schools’ Career and Technical Education curriculum. The LabVenture project, a collaboration with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, is investigating how visual representations and reflections can support students’ science learning during school field trips. Lauren is broadly interested in studying how a wide range of technologies can promote students’ STEM learning and interest.

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, 3rd Year Student

Erica is a junior 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, 3rd Year Student

Leslie is a junior 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, 2nd Year Student

Tyler is a sophomore majoring in Statistics and Learning & Organizational Change with a minor in Business Institutions. He works with Kylie McKee 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.

Molly Langer, 4th Year Student

Molly works with Kiley McKee on a meta-analysis of mental rotation tasks in children and monitors the FISH study, also investigating mental rotation. A Psychology major, Molly is primarily interested in both developmental/cognitive psychology and clinical psychology. Outside of the lab she likes to play with her dogs, read, and spend time with family/friends!

Jack McNiel, 2nd Year Student

Jack is a sophomore 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, 3rd Year Student

Edwin is a junior 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 on the Smart Cubes study. Outside of research, he likes to make music as a hobby.

Grace Xie, 2nd Year Student

Grace is a sophomore 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, 3rd Year Student

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