Eastern students spent a day at the state capitol Wednesday showcasing research projects they have completed this year.

A number of the projects noted a problem and took the initiative to take a step toward solving the problem.

One such problem is children’s confidence levels when learning basic tasks such as reading. Mary Hession, a senior special education major, used a reward system on a first grade student with no known learning disabilities to improve his confidence level when learning to read.

Hession’s research was one of about 30 research projects presented.

Students who have trouble reading when beginning continue having trouble later in life and are often labeled with learning disabilities, simply because of their confidence, Hession said.

Eastern’s day at the capitol featured these research presentations along with a performance by an Eastern jazz band. However, a usual attendee, the Student Action Team, did not participate, but will have its own day on April 8.

This is the fourth year scholars have attended to present their research, Jill Nilsen, vice president for external relations, said Wednesday.

The goal of the day at the capitol is to “showcase our students’ academic achievements for the legislators,” and for students to talk directly with legislators about their experiences, Nilsen said.

The Student Action Team has made visits to the capitol since the group’s inception seven years ago, Nilsen said.

The Student Action Team lobbies at the state capitol on Eastern’s behalf, a task that is becoming more important with current budget problems. But chances of receiving the extra funding looking bleak, Katie Cox, chair of the team previously told the Student Senate.

However, the Student Action Team could not attend because of conflicts with the on-campus interviews in Eastern’s presidential search this week and local primaries which took place Tuesday.

Eastern students will make a second appearance at the capitol when the Student Action Team visits April 8, the same date interim President Lou Hencken testifies to the Senate Appropriations Committee about Eastern’s budget, Nilsen said.

“It really works out well,” she said of the arrangement.

Unfortunately, not many legislators were at the capitol Wednesday because of the primaries, which is why the Student Action Team did not attend.

However, students got to present their research to state Rep. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, and state Sen. Judy Myers, R-Danville, and a number of Eastern faculty who made the trip.

Students did research projects for classes, independent studies or theses, they said. They were then nominated by department heads to attend the day at the capitol and present their findings, Bob Augustine, dean of the Graduate School and coordinator of the event, said Wednesday.

Many of the presenters represented the College of Sciences because they participate in the annual Science Fest and already have a project, Susan Hankenson, an academic advisor in the Graduate School Office, said Wednesday. Other students have presented their research at various conferences, she said.

Stefanie Bolling, a senior psychology major, did a study on self-initiated recovery from eating disorders as a project for her health studies minor, and was visited by state Sen. Dave Syverson, a Republican who represents her home town, Rockford.

Bolling said there is not much research on self-initiated recovery, embarked on by those who do not need hospitalization. Her research centered on the question “what makes them want to get help?”

Aaron Osborne, a history graduate student, presented his research of the top five legal cases in Coles County, which is part of the Coles County Legal History Project. Osborne and his partner, Mirjam Mueller, worked for about three weeks on their project.

Senior special education major Jenny Johnson did research similar to that of Hession, where she used token economy to decrease the frequency and duration of being off task in a student she tutored.

“It’s interesting, but it’s difficult,” she said, regarding the token economy, a system of giving rewards to reinforce a change in behavior and gradually decreasing the rewards as the subject improves.

Johnson awarded a sticker to the child depending on how long it took to get back on task, and eventually decreased and stopped the awards as the student learned to stay on task.