Five Hicksville students joined their peers from the Nassau BOCES Doshi STEM Institute recently to present their findings in a major study aimed at reducing the long-term environmental and biological impacts of pollution. The teen scientists have been analyzing heavy metals in the local environment to determine their effect on living organisms such as plants, oysters and insects.
Neeloy Bose, Nabil Chowdhury, Meghna Girdhar, Manpreet Kaur and Sonali Malhotra exhibited their research results at the Institute’s poster presentation.
Students prepared posters representing the results of their research and presented them to an audience of parents and administrators from their home districts, as well as Nassau BOCES board members. Audience members reviewed the young scientists’ work and asked several probing questions about their findings.
The presentation was essential to the learning process. Not only did students strictly follow the scientific method, they discovered the value of communication in science. They even worked with a Shakespearean instructor from the Long Island High School for the Arts to hone their presentation skills.
“This research has given our students a new perspective of the world around them and deepened their understanding of how humans are affecting the environment,” said instructor Jennifer Galasso. “The presentation piece gave them an opportunity to reflect on the impact of their work and to present the results in a meaningful way. Communication is essential in the scientific community, so this experience is an invaluable one.”
“Parents and educators alike from our partner districts were impressed by the poise and confidence of our students,” principal Dr. AJ Hepworth said of the poster presentations. “They possess a fundamental understanding of the research they are conducting, which is a direct result of their instruction.”
—From Nassau BOCES
