Teams Share Education & Human Development Research at EHDx Talks

May 4, 2017

Bass Connections students

The flowers have bloomed and the campus has fallen quiet as students prepare for and take their final exams. And while attention is soon turning to graduation, summer vacation and internships, the Education & Human Development (EHD) Bass Connections teams shared one last event to look back on the year and celebrate their work at the EHDx Talks.

The EHD theme gathered in the newly renovated Penn Pavilion on West Campus for the second annual culminating event. Comprising 15 teams this year, the theme showcased research from local and global projects including interventions for students with autism in local public schools, NC Medicaid reform and higher education in Brazil.

“To me, EHDx serves two purposes,” said Amy Finnegan, theme administrator. “The first is getting students to reflect on their progress over the year. The other aspect is really sharing that with other teams including faculty and peers.”

With more teams in the theme than ever before, this year’s EHDx Talks was a great chance for them to share their sense of purpose with one another. Like last year, presentations were limited to short, five-minute talks to help students focus on the most engaging aspects of their work.

Bass Connections students

A reception immediately followed the talks where guests could chat with EHD Bass Connections students, view the teams’ posters and enjoy hors d’oeuvres.

“We worked with students on how to pitch their ideas in five minutes and concentrate on the most compelling aspects,” Finnegan said. “The posters allowed students to elaborate further on their ideas. Each activity was really geared towards communicating their research.”

Teams who communicated their ideas most eloquently were honored with Best Poster, Best Website and Best Presentation awards. A panel of experts selected Best Poster and Best Website, while the audience selected Best Presentation using an interactive Google poll at the end of the talks.

Bass Connections students

With the research projects wrapped for the year, preparing for EHDx offered one last opportunity for academic growth as part of their EHD Bass Connections experience. As teams prepared their posters and talks, Finnegan saw students working hard to ensure they communicated their research clearly and effectively.

“[They] really grew over the course of preparing for EHDx,” she said. “I tried to nudge students towards more storytelling and less of a laundry list of what they did. It was fun to see their faces light up as they schemed to improve their talks.”

Best Poster: STEM for All
Honorable Mention: Art, Vision & the Brain
Honorable Mention: Voices Together

Best Website: The Cost of Opportunity

Best Talk: Voices Together

Originally published on the Social Science Research Institute website

Learn More