astronomy

Nicole McNeil

Nicole McNeil is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Nicole McNeil rather than just read about it. In short: Nicole M. McNeil is an American developmental psychologist and scholar of mathematics education whose research focuses on the cognitive development of mathematics in schoolchildren.

Key takeaways

Nicole McNeil belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Nicole McNeil to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Nicole McNeil from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Nicole M. McNeil is an American developmental psychologist and scholar of mathematics education whose research focuses on the cognitive development of mathematics in schoolchildren. She works at the University of Notre Dame as ACE College Professor in the Department of Psychology, fellow in the Institute for Educational Initiatives, adjunct faculty member in the Alliance for Catholic Education, director of the Cognition Learning and Development (CLAD) Laboratory, and Sweeney Family Director of the Center for Educational Research and Action.

Education and career McNeil majored in psychology, with a minor in chemistry, at Carnegie Mellon University. After graduating in 1999, she continued her studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she completed a Ph.D. in psychology in 2005. Next, she became a postdoctoral researcher and director of the Center for the Psychology of Abilities, Competencies and Expertise (PACE Center) at Yale University from 2005 until 2006. In 2006, she joined the University of Notre Dame as an assistant professor of psychology. She was named as the Mary Hesburgh Flaherty and James Flaherty Assistant Professor in 2010, tenured as ACE Associate Professor in 2012, and promoted to full professor and ACE College Professor in 2017.

Recognition McNeil was a 2007 recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. She was the 2013 recipient of the Boyd McCandless Award of the American Psychological Association for distinguished contributions to developmental psychology. In 2018 she was elected as a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science.

References

External links CLAD Lab Nicole McNeil publications indexed by Google Scholar

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nicole McNeil

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nicole McNeil claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Nicole McNeil before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Nicole McNeil ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Nicole McNeil

In research: Nicole McNeil appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Nicole McNeil in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Nicole McNeil is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics American developmental psychologists, American mathematics educators, American women psychologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nicole McNeil outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Nicole McNeil in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Nicole McNeil means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Nicole McNeil out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nicole McNeil in simple terms?

Nicole M. McNeil is an American developmental psychologist and scholar of mathematics education whose research focuses on the cognitive development of mathematics in schoolchildren.

Why does Nicole McNeil matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Nicole McNeil?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Nicole McNeil.