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March 8, 2007

Research symposium showcases outstanding student work April 18

Students at the University of Louisiana at Monroe will have a chance to shine at the 7th Annual Student Research Symposium April 18 in the Student Union Building. Awards will be presented by President James Cofer at 4:30 p.m.

The research symposium showcases outstanding research conducted by ULM undergraduate and graduate students. Prior to the symposium, students will conceptualize a research question, work with a faculty mentor to address the question, design a research method, identify the subjects, correctly and objectively collect data, analyze it, reach conclusions and make recommendations.

This process provides an invaluable educational experience for the students, said Walter Creekmore, symposium chair and professor of education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. "It's an opportunity of a lifetime and a dynamic teaching tool for the students."

Students can choose to present their research findings with a Presentation Poster or they can choose to do a Platform Presentation in which they read their research aloud to the audience. In both cases, the student researchers are expected to answer questions from judges who have relevant credentials in the student's research field.

Mentoring is also a crucial part of the symposium, Creekmore said. "The students will work through the research process with a skilled faculty mentor and be allowed to have that research evaluated objectively by highly-qualified judges in their particular field of study. That prepares our student researchers to participate in the research arena."

The research symposium began in 2001 with 84 student research presentations. Since then, participation has risen each year with a high last year of 560 student researchers. "We have seen the quality of presentations improve dramatically, and we have no reason to believe that our participation pool will be any different this year," Creekmore said.

The symposium begins at 7:30 a.m. Students interested in participating should call Creekmore at 342-1291 or e-mail him at: creekmore@ulm.edu

Registration information is available online at:
ulm.edu/symposium

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