Organized in part by Beth Morling, UD assistant professor of psychology, the inaugural session provided a platform for psychology students to exchange ideas and learn about further research opportunities from UD faculty members.
“By presenting posters on what they were studying, students got a big picture view of where the background was for their research and what it means,” Morling said. “Preparing the posters was a really good experience for students because it consolidated things. When you work on a project all semester, you only get a little bit [at a time], but when you work on a poster, you get to put it all together.”
Morling said that the 23 posters on display ranged from diagrams of rudimentary concepts learned in classes to theses developed from months of independent research. Freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors all contributed work.
“One thing that happened from the session was that some of the faculty who visited began talking with the freshmen and sophomore students about their posters,” Morling said, adding that some with an interest in research were invited to be mentees. “It was a networking opportunity for some of the freshmen and sophomores who wanted to get more involved and meet more of the faculty. And it was an opportunity to see what really goes on at psychology conferences for juniors and seniors. The session was like a symposium for students.”
“Our students were so enthusiastic about preparing the posters,” Morling said. “In class, students collect and analyze data, which is what psychologists do, so creating posters to show what they'd done was a really good experience for them and for independent-research honors thesis students.”
Article by Becca Hutchinson
Photos by Sarah Simon, AS '06