Nicole McNeil
Psychology
Sweeney Family Director of the Center for Educational Research and Action; Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) College Professor of Psychology; director of the Cognition, Learning, and Development (CLAD) Lab
- Cognitive development
- Mathematics cognition
- Early childhood education
- Developmental psychology
McNeil’s Latest News
McNeil in the News
Inside Indiana Business
Notre Dame marks 20 years of ‘What Would You Fight For?’ campaign
March 20, 2026
“We have a problem with access to algebra in our country,” said Nicole McNeil, professor of psychology and director of the Center for Educational Research and Action at Notre Dame. “We need to make sure that even before preschool, we are putting children in positions to succeed when they get to algebra in eighth grade.”
“Remembering that what we do is for people was a very important reminder,” said Meenal Datta,
Jane Schoelch DeFlorio Collegiate Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. “That was the most valuable response I received.”
Public News Service
IN university works to improve literacy through tutor training
February 02, 2026
The Tutor-ND program prepares Notre Dame students to tutor young people in the South Bend area. Psychology Professor and Director of the Notre Dame Center for Educational Research and Action, Nicole McNeil, said the program serves many purposes. "What we tend to focus on is first, and very importantly, it helps children learn to read by ensuring that they have more caring, well prepared adults who know the science of reading and can help them learn to read," said McNeil. "But second, it also strengthens workforce development."
WVPE
Indiana awarded $10 million to expand Notre Dame tutoring model
January 16, 2026
A Notre Dame tutoring model will expand statewide, thanks to $10 million in federal funding. Tutor-ND began in the South Bend Community School Corporation in the 2021-2022 school year. Notre Dame Professor Nicole McNeil told WVPE in an email that tutors in the program include school-connected adults and community volunteers, who get structured training grounded in cognitive science.
The Daily Courier
Opinion: Why science belongs to all of us
August 06, 2025
By Nicole McNeil and Clarissa Thompson. McNeil is Professor of Psychology and ACE College Professor at the University of Notre Dame where she directs the Cognition Learning and Development Lab. She also currently serves as the inaugural Sweeney Family Director of the Center for Educational Research and Action (ERA).
The Conversation
Helping teachers learn what works in the classroom − and what doesn’t − will get a lot harder without the Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences
February 12, 2025
By Nicole McNeil, Professor of Psychology at the University of Notre Dame and Robert Stuart Siegler, Professor of Psychology and Education at Columbia University
WNDU
Advocacy group seeks tutors to combat ‘3rd grade reading crisis’ in South Bend
Video
February 04, 2025
“I mean, that’s not just because of the pandemic, it’s historically true,” said Nicole McNeil, a professor at Notre Dame and a founder of Tutor ND. “The pandemic made it much worse, and the pandemic made it much worse for our most vulnerable children.”