Every spring, NIU hosts the Conference on Undergraduate Research and Engagement, where student researchers present on the topics they have been doing faculty-guided research on during the course of the year. CURE is the culminating event for Undergraduate Research Month.
This year’s CURE is being held in the Holmes Student Center, beginning at 9 a.m., Tuesday, April 28.
A number of students from the College of Visual and Performing Arts will be presenting.
9 a.m. – The Visual Culture of American Popular Music
Presenter: Mia Peterson
Faculty mentor: Kathryn Sowinski
The Visual Culture of American Popular music is a ten week high school art curriculum that uses art education to foster interdisciplinary learning. Curriculum development included art making, individual research, and procuring instructional materials. The curriculum supports student learning through diverse learning strategies, multimodal methods of instruction, and project based exploration. This curriculum functions as a capstone project to prepare for student teaching.
9 a.m. – Art and Entrepreneurship: Building Your Creative Brand
Presenter: Kylee Gibbs
Faculty mentor: Kathryn Sowinski
Art and Entrepreneurship: Building Your Creative Brand is a 10 week high school art curriculum that uses art education to foster interdisciplinary learning . The curriculum was developed through independent research. The curriculum supports student learning with a variety of media and analog and digital art making. This art and design curriculum is a capstone project to prepare for student teaching.
10 a.m. – The Recovery and Preservation of a Historical Ceramic Tile Mosaic from DeKalb’s Monstanto Facility
Presenter: Leah McQuire
Faculty mentor: Matthew Deitch
With limited knowledge on their creation and history, a collection of tiles was put into the possession of NIU by the DeKalb Area Agricultural Heritage Association in attempt to preserve and restore the mosaic to it’s original form. Now meticulously photographed, documented, and packaged by NIU students and faculty, these tiles remain in safekeeping at the Founder’s Memorial Library until the overall imagery of the mosaic and placement of tiles can be discovered, allowing for this large-scale artwork to be repurposed and put on display once more at the future Northern Illinois Center for Community Sustainability as a tribute to local DeKalb heritage. Using various digital tools, each photograph was carefully edited, sized to scale, and pieced together to reveal the layout of the mosaic. With a year of student research supporting this project, this large-scale artistic puzzle has slowly been pieced back together.
10 a.m. – The Business of Music: Where Planning and Performing Meet
Presetner: Mac Heelein
Faculty mentor: Anthony Devroye
Project management takes on many different forms. How does that change across disciplines, where each share similar yet different requirements. Additionally, in what ways do are the disciplines of Business and Music intersect when planning an event that requires a clear logistic plan and a small marketing effort to make the event successful?
1 p.m. – Exploring AI Integration in High School Digital Art Classrooms
Presenters: Lane Staffeldt, Evie Mulcahey
Faculty Mentor: Kelly Gross
This research project aims to assess and analyze ways that high school digital arts teachers integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into their curricula, what instructional strategies they use, and what the perceived benefits and challenges of using AI in digital art classrooms are. This includes an investigation into AI’s impact on creativity, artistic decision-making, and skill-development, and shows how artists are using AI as a medium in more original ways. Through interviewing high school digital art teachers, it explores how teachers are navigating ethical considerations, such as originality, plagiarism, and accessibility, when incorporating AI tools into instruction.
