Danbury Native Presents Research Poster at CREATE Conference

From Eastern Connecticut State University:

WILLIMANTIC, CT (05/03/2016)-- 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.

Kaitlyn Kakadeles '19 of Danbury, who majors in Secondary Education, presented a research poster at the event. Kakadeles' presentation, co-presented alongside three classmates, was titled "Are Human Beings Responsible for Global Climate Change?"

"How do tenth grade students conceptualize global climate change and the extent to which human beings are responsible for the continuous warming of the planet?" said the students in a joint statement. "As a group, we have created 20 individual lesson plans that will adhere to the subject of human relation to global climate change in order to inform the students of this generation just how much climate change affects them. Our cross curriculum connections will provide a more general overview for the students, as they will be learning about, and soon able to defend, their own opinion on global climate change. Beginning with our science instruction, the Greenhouse Effect will be explained in detail and will begin progress of our interdisciplinary lessons. Next, our group will focus on how, in Social Sciences, the significance of the Industrial Revolution has created a vast amount of technologies that relate heavily to the ever present global climate change. Furthermore, a graph of CO2 emissions will be presented in order to show the continuous presence of greenhouse gases in our world. Third, mathematics instruction affords several formulas and concepts, such as exponential functions and the Keeling Curve, that can help narrate how dispersed and active global climate change really is. Lastly, there will be a focus on how popular articles and literature of today convey the multiple positive and negative arguments surrounding global warming. Collaboratively, our team will successfully provide students with the necessary means for concluding their own perspective on global climate change and if human beings are responsible for this phenomenon."

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.

Founded in 1889, Eastern Connecticut State University is the state's public liberal arts university and one of only 29 such designated institutions in North America. Eastern is home to 5,300 students who come from 158 of Connecticut's 169 townships, from 20 states throughout the country, and from 63 foreign countries. As a predominantly residential campus, Eastern has approximately 60 percent of undergraduate students living on its beautiful campus. With more than 150 buildings and 2.3 million square feet of space, Eastern's physical plant is admired by students and visitors alike; in January 2016, a new Fine Arts Center opened, further advancing Eastern's liberal arts mission.

The university offers 38 undergraduate majors, 55 minors, and seven master's degree programs. An excellent student/teacher ratio (15.5:1) and small class sizes (average class size is 23.3) allow students to receive exceptional personal attention.