St. Lawrence University: Science at St. Lawrence

Crystal Ellis ’06 of Hannawa Falls, NY. is a science researcher and artist.

Ellis, of Hannawa Falls, N.Y., became interested in doing research during a Research Methods course with Prof. Ronald Sigmundi.

“In Methods, we created our own research project and made up data so we could go through and understand the methods of doing research,” she says. “By the end of the semester, I knew I wanted to actually conduct the research because I was very interested in the subject matter.”

Ellis, a 2005 St. Lawrence University Fellow, spent summer working with Sigmundi on her research, titled “Reading Illustrations.” She wrote two stories and illustrated each with either positive, neutral and negative illustrations, creating six books in all. After receiving approval from the University’s Internal Review Board and the New York State Department of Health, Crystal worked with local 3rd graders “to investigate how illustrations affect how children read. I studied how the illustrations affected the memorization of facts from the stories, facts from the illustrations and the perceived mood from the illustrations and the stories,” she says. “I found that the students memorized more facts from the illustrations as the illustrations became more positive.”

Her summer wasn’t all about conducting research. “I wanted to have a manuscript completed, but it turned out to be so much more than that,” she says. “I had a final product, but the independent research experience was just as rewarding and fulfilling as the final results.”

Another highlight of Crystal’s summer experience at St. Lawrence was working closely with a faculty member. “Professor Sigmundi was a valuable mentor and we developed a great working relationship,” she says.
Although Crystal is a fine arts major with a minor in education, she knows that her research will help her in the future. “I want to be an art teacher,” she says. “I know this research will play into art units in my career.”

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Past Features Return to Science Page	Crystal Ellis ’06 of Hannawa Falls, NY. is a science researcher and artist. Ellis, of Hannawa Falls, N.Y., became interested in doing research during a Research Methods course with Prof. Ronald Sigmundi. “In Methods, we created our own research project and made up data so we could go through and understand the methods of doing research,” she says. “By the end of the semester, I knew I wanted to actually conduct the research because I was very interested in the subject matter.” Ellis, a 2005 St. Lawrence University Fellow, spent summer working with Sigmundi on her research, titled “Reading Illustrations.” She wrote two stories and illustrated each with either positive, neutral and negative illustrations, creating six books in all. After receiving approval from the University’s Internal Review Board and the New York State Department of Health, Crystal worked with local 3rd graders “to investigate how illustrations affect how children read. I studied how the illustrations affected the memorization of facts from the stories, facts from the illustrations and the perceived mood from the illustrations and the stories,” she says. “I found that the students memorized more facts from the illustrations as the illustrations became more positive.” Her summer wasn’t all about conducting research. “I wanted to have a manuscript completed, but it turned out to be so much more than that,” she says. “I had a final product, but the independent research experience was just as rewarding and fulfilling as the final results.” Another highlight of Crystal’s summer experience at St. Lawrence was working closely with a faculty member. “Professor Sigmundi was a valuable mentor and we developed a great working relationship,” she says. Although Crystal is a fine arts major with a minor in education, she knows that her research will help her in the future. “I want to be an art teacher,” she says. “I know this research will play into art units in my career.”
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