EC Scholars finish projects with EOSA

The EC Scholars completed their work with the Engagement and Outreach Scholars Academy as part of their EC Scholars Research Internship class.

The nineteen students were divided into eight groups led by faculty and a community partner. EOSA provides professional development and project support for community-engaged research. Students can learn more about community research and get involved in project design, data collection and analysis, publication and other aspects of scholarly research and creative activity.

This year’s projects included:

“Incorporation of ecological engineering into wastewater treatment: Measuring water quality improvements and K-12 student motivation to pursue engineering”

Faculty Scholar: Natasha Bell (Department of Engineering)

Project Partner: Julie Cary (Boys and Girls Club of the Coastal Plains) and Jason Manning (Greenville Utilities Commission Wastewater Treatment Plant)

EC Scholars: Ono Abhulimen, Toby Bryson, Gaelle Desert

This study explores 1) how floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) can serve as a resilient add-on technology at wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to meet treatment targets, and 2) how hands-on exposure of K-12 students to FTWs may impact their perceptions of and interest in engineering and water resources career pathways.

“ECU Community School Digital Literacies & Media”

Faculty Scholar: Rita Soulen (Department of Interdisciplinary Professions, Library Science)

Project Partner: Tracy Cole (ECU Community School)

EC Scholars: Rylie Warren, Marzuq Islam

This project investigates the knowledge and use of digital literacies and media in a K-5 school setting using a pre-test/post-test and focus groups to demonstrate the influence impact of professional development and instructional models. Interventions to increase the knowledge of school faculty and staff are applied through professional development with associated models for integrating technology in the authentic classroom setting, focusing on keyboarding skills, online safety, and digital citizenship. Faculty, staff, and K-5 students are provided opportunities to access and use online educational resources to support learning.

“Investigating Hispanic/Latinx Student Representation in Gifted and Talented Programs”

Faculty Scholars: Laura Levi Altstaedter (Foreign Languages & Literature) and Angela Novak (Department of Elementary Education)

Project Partner: Tim DeCresie and Megan Taylor (Pitt County Schools)

EC Scholars: Javier Limon, Aaditi Kulkarni

This project explores representation of academically and intellectually gifted Hispanic/Latinx students within Academically and Intellectually Gifted (AIG) programs. Specifically, the project focuses on investigating issues concerning this traditionally underrepresented group in AIG programs, including equitable identification and provision of services. In partnership with the local school district and two local elementary schools, we will provide recommendations on ways in which the university and district partnership can provide Hispanic/Latinx AIG students and their families support and resources to thrive in gifted programming, and strive for equitable representation and service provision for Hispanic/Latinx gifted students. In addition, we will work with our community partner on providing input for the new revision to the current Pitt County Schools AIG Plan, due to be updated in Spring 2022. Data will be collected through a systematic literature review, interviews with district personnel and teachers, parent surveys and Photovoice focus groups, student surveys, and teacher surveys.

“Emigrating from North Carolina to Liberia”

Faculty Scholar: Jarvis Hargrove (Department of History)

Project Partner: William McCun, Sharon Bryant, Krystal Eldred, and Bill McCrea (Tryon Palace)

EC Scholars: Breanna Sapp, Bekah Arensman

This project examines groups, families and individuals that left North Carolina between 1863 and 1910 for the West African country of Liberia. The goal of this project is to build digital story maps that will present the history of this topic in an engaging manner for the public. Beginning with Craven, Duplin, Bertie, Halifax, and Mecklenburg counties this project will show that people that left these areas for West Africa with the help of the American Colonization Society and the North Carolina Auxiliary Colonization Society to seek new opportunities they believed were not available to them in NC.

“Integrating natural and nature based (NNB) approaches into coastal protection decision-making”

Faculty Scholar: Rachel Gittman (Department of Biology and Coastal Studies Institute)

Project Partner: Dr. Lexia Weaver (The North Carolina Coastal Federation)

EC Scholars: Matthew Sadlowski, Luke Boldt, Trip Brooks

As coastal hazards, such as hurricanes, continue to increase with climate change, coastal communities face many uncertainties regarding the engineering effectiveness, as well as the socio-ecological benefits, and trade-offs, of gray and natural and nature-based (NNB) adaptation strategies. Despite increasing evidence of the effectiveness of NNB in providing coastal protection and the adverse socio-ecological impacts of gray approaches, adoption of NNB approaches has been slow in comparison to gray approaches. This study aims to understand property-owner decision making to determine the most effective strategies to increase the use of NNB techniques.

“Prison to Community: Understanding What Works and Barriers for Re-Entry among Justice Involved Individuals”

Faculty Scholar: Scott Walfield (Department of Criminal Justice)

Project Partner: Rev. Rodney Coles (CTB Church Outreach Network)

EC Scholars: Imaan Siddiqi, Cassidy Fitz-Randolph

This project seeks to understand the situational and contextual factors that contribute to the success for justice-involved individuals upon re-entry to society and those factors that may hinder them from successfully reintegrating and/or recidivating and how COVID-19 has impacted the re-entry process. Using a qualitative methodology, 20 men and 20 women who have been recently incarcerated will be interviewed.

“Asset Mapping in the Eastern Tar-Pamlico River Basin Blue Economy Corridor”

Faculty Scholar: Emily Yeager (Department of Recreation Sciences)

Project Partner: Clay Barber (Sound Rivers)

EC Scholars: Taylor Cash, Agne Shields, Anjalee Hou

Through a multi-stakeholder partnership, this research aims to catalyze the development of a Blue Economy Corridor (BEC) in the Eastern portion of the Tar-Pamlico River Basin. To assist with asset mapping and promotion of the Blue Economy Corridor, EC Scholars and a Graduate Student helped to develop marketing materials, inform quantitative survey tools for asset mapping, and learn new geospatial tools for place-making and storytelling to support the first phase of this corridor’s development.

“African American Listening Communities”

Faculty Scholars: Jennifer Hodgson (Human Development & Family Science), Amy McMillan (Department of Management), and Ericka Lawrence (Department of Management)

Project Partner: Jermaine McNair (NC Civil)

EC Scholars: Lindsey Fleishman, Cole Dickerson

The purpose of this study is to collect and analyze narratives from members of underrepresented African American neighborhoods about their experiences living in Greenville, North Carolina.