Schedule of Events Table of Contents

"Discovery for every discipline" is at the heart of Discovery Day and the mission of the Office of Undergraduate Research. Such research is key to interactive, dynamic learning. The experience of working shoulder-to-shoulder with USC's world-class faculty provides our students with the opportunities, challenges, and skills to pursue their dreams and invent their futures. The Office of Research and Health Sciences is pleased to sponsor this forum for recognizing faculty mentors who have instilled the excitement of exploration into the next generation, and the talented students who will be sharing their knowledge and their enthusiasm for learning. On behalf of USC, I wish everyone an engaging day of new discoveries. Discovery Day represents the very best in undergraduate research and this office is honored to have the opportunity to recognize the incredible amount of work by our dedicated faculty and students to make this happen. We invite you to browse the posters , ask questions of the presenters, and congratulate them on their projects. We would like to thank our student presenters, mentors, and judges for participating in Discovery Day 2006 and a special thanks to this year's sponsors, this day could not happen without you. Basic reading and math skills are essential tools for understanding the environment we live in, good citizenship, and economic survival. Evidence suggests that schools across the nation are failing to provide students with the skills they need to become successful in life. Accurate screening methods are currently lacking to detect the un-derdevelopment of basic skills. The curriculum based measurement (CBM) and academic intervention of the Challenging Horizons Program (CHP) aims to identify and build these vital skills in children. This oral presentation describes (a) the validation of the CHP-CBM assessment, and (b) an intervention delivered one-on-one to students in order to improve math word problem solving. To validate the CHP-CBM, sixth grade students (n = 129) completed CBM screening activities in basic math fact calculation, math word problem reading and math word problem solving. Results suggested that math word problem solving was an efficient and accurate predictor of PACT performance. Subsequently, the CHP-CBM was used to assess weekly progress in twenty students enrolled in the CHP after-school program for students with learning or behavior problems. Twelve of these students were randomly assigned to participate in a specialized program that involved training students in a hierarchy of skills including basic math skill accuracy and fluency, …