Eastern Student Mikayla Zagata of Hamden Presents Research Poster at CREATE Conference

2016 May 3

More than 250 talented students at Eastern Connecticut State University presented research and creative work at the university's second annual CREATE conference this past April. CREATE stands for Celebrating Research Excellence and Artistic Talent at Eastern, and is the university's premier, academic year-end showcase. At the culminating event, students of all majors presented professional posters, live music, dance performances, artwork, photography, documentaries and panel discussions.

Mikayla Zagata '16 of Hamden, who majors in English, presented a research poster at the event. Zagata presented two poster presentations. The first project, co-presented by classmate Nicole Green, was titled "Redefining the Role of the Sibling: Looking Into the Lives of Siblings of Individuals with Disabilities."

"Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other physical and intellectual disabilities have been on the rise in recent years," said the students in a joint statement. "As these diagnoses increase, unfortunately, they are not being met with the proper amount of resources. Though many resources have grown out of research, they benefit the child and their parents, but not the sibling of this child with a disability. There are social groups, programs in schools, colleges, and universities, local community organizations, and federal laws; these help children with disabilities and their parents as the children go through school and into further academics and the working world. However, where are these resources for their siblings? How do the siblings factor into the life of a child with a disability? How does this impact the future, and how much responsibility will the sibling have when the parents are no longer able to make decisions for the child with a disability? The goal of this research to bring awareness and shed light on the concerns that siblings of children with disabilities have and how their role transforms and transitions over time."

The second project was titled "An Integrated Teaching Method for Presidential Elections." In a joint statement, the students said: "Students want to be able to apply the knowledge and skills they learn in the classroom to real world problems and events in life outside the classroom. They want their school subjects (e.g. Math, History, English Language Arts and Educational Technology) to be applicable to events and phenomena going on in their lives. In this endeavor, this interdisciplinary team project focuses on the presidential election to showcase and explicate how the aforementioned school subjects can teach students to explore this topic and others using an integrated approach. For secondary level educators, this project allows students to examine the intricate and varying issues within a prevalent topic that directly impacts their students and that their students can directly impact. For Math, subject matter includes voting methods and data collection, demonstrating how to predict a candidate's likelihood of winning the election. History focuses on aspects of the election that explain the voting process, Electoral College and their impact, and looking back through history at different presidential elections. English Language Arts examines rhetoric and logic of speeches, addressing public speaking skills, logical thinking and research strategies. Finally, Educational Technology will take into account how technology has impacted and improved the polling, voting, and election processes. This project is meant to serve as a model for other secondary level educators to not only engage their students in a more meaningful way, but also to improve their students' abilities to work together."

Remarking on the variety of presentations, Professor Dickson Cunningham, conference co-chair, said, "CREATE encapsulates the essence of the liberal arts in one afternoon. It is an intellectual smorgasbord."

Speaking to the value of CREATE, Eastern President Elsa Nunez said, "It takes a very strong and dedicated student to produce this quality of work, and it's important for other students to see this output." Praising the faculty, she added, "It takes a committed and skillful mentor to guide students to the work that is on display. Mentorship is such an integral part of undergraduate research."

During the one-day conference, the Student Center crawled with artistic and scholarly activity. Students in professional attire addressed their peers, faculty and family. In the cafe, ensembles performed; in the theatre, student-produced documentaries were shown; in the Betty R. Tipton Room, aisles of posters depicting scientific research were displayed; across the hall, a gallery-worth of paintings lined the walls; and on the ground floor, panel discussions and oral presentations about the humanities took place.

In celebration of students' exemplary research, experiential learning and creative activity, CREATE serves to reinforce high-impact practices such as mentored research; increases the number of students presenting their work in a professional forum; raises public awareness of Eastern's liberal arts mission and student accomplishments; and contributes to the intellectual richness of the campus community.