Professor
Lynch School of Education
Telephone: 617-552-4229
Email: kmcneill@bc.edu
Helping Kids Become Interested in Science
New Science Standards
Science Literacy K-12
College and Career Readiness for Science
Kate McNeill's areas of expertise and research include the development of the claim, evidence, and reasoning framework, social aspects of science, and strategies to support student and teacher learning. Her research focuses on helping students, teachers and principals in recent reform efforts that focus on science as a set of "practices", like analyzing data, constructing models and arguing from evidence.
Dr. McNeil is the co-author of two books:聽What's your Evidence? Engaging K-5 Students in Constructing Explanations in Science. (New York, NY: Pearson Allyn & Bacon, 2013) and聽Supporting Grade 5-8 Students in Constructing Explanations in Science: The Claim, Evidence and Reasoning Framework for Talk and Writing聽(New York, NY: Pearson Allyn & Bacon, 2012). Dr. McNeill has also co-authored articles including: 鈥 Teachers鈥 pedagogical content knowledge of scientific argumentation: The impact of professional development on k-12 teachers 鈥 (Science Education); 鈥 Elementary students鈥 views of explanation, argumentation and evidence and abilities to construct arguments over the school year 鈥 (Journal of Research in Science Teaching); and 鈥淭he Impact of High School Science Teachers鈥 Beliefs, Curricular Enactments, and Experience on Student Learning During an Inquiry-Based Urban Ecology Curriculum鈥 (International Journal of Science Education).
Dr. McNeill's projects have been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and Hewlett-Packard. She also leads workshops for the National Science Teachers Association and public school districts, including McNeill advises Boston public schools. She currently sits on the National Association for Research in Science Teaching board of directors and serves on the editorial board for the journal,聽Science Education.