Weekend Data Lab for Young Innovators
eResearchPro is a hands-on weekend laboratory for motivated students in grades 5–8 who are ready to go beyond games and simple coding. Over two immersive weekends, students experience how hospitals, universities, and research centers use databases, dashboards, and artificial intelligence (AI) to make real decisions.
Guided by university-level instructors, students build a complete mini decision-support system—from database creation to an automated Excel storyboard. The experience mirrors graduate-level clinical informatics coursework, translated into clear, age-appropriate language.
Program sites rotate between Ohio’s major metropolitan centers: Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Toledo.
Program Format
- Audience: Advanced or curious 5th–8th graders who enjoy math, logic, puzzles, or technology
- Schedule: Two consecutive weekends (Saturday–Sunday, then Saturday–Sunday)
- Time: 9:00 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. each day
- Format: In-person, small cohort
- Class Size: Limited to 15 students per cohort for individual guidance
- Location: Hilton hotel classroom with professional amenities
- Tuition: $749–$949 per student (4 full days)
- Technology: Students bring a Windows laptop; rentals available if needed
What Students Will Build
1. Real Database Foundations
Students begin by learning what a database is, why organizations use database management systems instead of simple files, and how tables, rows, and columns represent information. Using simulated medical data, they will:
- Install and explore a Microsoft SQL database in guided, age-appropriate steps
- Create tables using realistic clinical coding systems such as ICD (diagnoses), CPT (procedures), and NDC (medications)
- Perform essential CRUD operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete)
- Apply constraints (such as
CHECKrules) that prevent “bad data” from entering the system - Understand why accurate data is the foundation of every analytics and AI system
2. Smart SQL Logic
Once the basics are in place, students see how SQL lets analysts group and compare information in powerful ways:
- Use CASE expressions to create ranges (cost bands, age groups, or score categories)
- Practice JOINs to combine data from multiple tables into a single view
- Explore intuitive subqueries (“questions inside questions”) to answer more complex questions
- Connect these ideas to how real hospitals and research centers make decisions
3. Excel Storyboard & Visualization
Next, we connect the SQL database to Microsoft Excel and turn rows of numbers into a visual story:
- Import data from the Microsoft SQL database into Excel
- Create tables, slicers, pivot tables, and charts
- Design a data storyboard that explains a patient or population health story
- See how charts and graphs can visually highlight trends, errors, and outliers before formal statistics are performed
- Build an interactive dashboard sheet that updates when slicers are clicked
- Watch how changing the data in the database automatically changes the storyboard
4. Automation & Scheduling
Students finish by seeing how professionals avoid repetitive work with automation:
- Save SQL scripts that clean, update, or summarize their data
- Run scripts from a batch file or command
- Use Windows Task Scheduler to run these scripts automatically at set times
- Trace the complete data path: Task Scheduler → SQL database → Excel dashboard
How We Use AI in the Lab
In both age groups, AI is used as a learning assistant, not a shortcut and not a replacement for thinking. Students learn how tools such as ChatGPT can help explain ideas, generate examples, and check understanding—and why AI must always be double-checked.
- See how AI turns words into “tokens” and predicts the next word in a sentence
- Practice prompt engineering – writing clear, specific questions for better answers
- Learn what AI hallucinations are and how to spot answers that don’t make sense
- Discuss privacy, respectful communication, and academic honesty while using AI
- Compare AI explanations to their own reasoning so that domain knowledge remains the final judge
Two Learning Tracks
Group A – Foundations (5th–6th Grade)
This group moves at an age-appropriate pace, but the ideas are more advanced than typical 5th–6th grade work. We use pictures, stories, and guided labs so younger students can handle “big kid” tools without feeling overwhelmed.
- Understand what a database is and why data visualization is crucial for finding outliers and errors
- Create and refine database tables with primary keys and basic constraints
- Perform simple CRUD operations through step-by-step practice
- Connect the SQL database to Excel to build a dynamic storyboard
- Design a clean, professional dashboard that updates with slicers
- Implement a basic automated process using Windows Task Scheduler
- Use AI as a friendly tutor for explanations (“Explain what a database is” etc.)
Goal: Students can explain, in their own words, what a database is, show a working Excel dashboard storyboard, and demonstrate how AI helped them understand each step.
Group B – Deeper Dive (7th–8th Grade)
This group treats 7th–8th graders like junior analysts. The discussions are closer to what introductory college students might see, but with clear explanations and many examples.
- Create and refine relational database tables using keys, constraints, and logical structure
- Practice JOINs to link multiple tables into a coherent dataset
- Use CASE expressions to create cost ranges, score groups, and other categories
- Explore simple functions and stored procedure concepts (age-appropriate)
- Experiment with subqueries to extract meaningful patterns from complex data
- Connect SQL to Excel to build a data-driven storyboard with live connections
- Implement scheduled SQL processes using Windows Task Scheduler
- Use AI as an analysis partner, generating hypotheses and comparing AI explanations to their own reasoning
Goal: Students leave with a strong conceptual understanding of how modern data systems and AI tools work together, preparing them for high school STEM, clinical coding camps, and early research experiences.
Appraisal & Recommendations
A key feature of the eResearchPro experience is that students are observed and guided closely by both instructors throughout the program. At the conclusion of the two weekends:
- Each student receives a concise, written appraisal, jointly prepared by Dr. Alfred Cecchetti and Ms. Tana Wikel.
- This appraisal summarizes the student’s demonstrated strengths, emerging skills in data and AI, engagement in class activities, and suggested next steps for growth.
- For families who request it, the instructional team can create a more formal recommendation statement that may be shared with gifted coordinators, school counselors, or STEM program directors.
These appraisals and recommendations provide parents with a clear, professional view of how their child performed in a rigorous, real-world data and AI setting, and can support applications to advanced academic or enrichment opportunities.
What Sets eResearchPro Apart
| Feature | eResearchPro | Typical STEM Camp |
|---|---|---|
| Instructor Credentials | Clinical Informatics Director & veteran K–8 curriculum specialist | College students or general STEM facilitators |
| Content Depth | SQL databases, medical coding (ICD, CPT, NDC), Excel dashboards, automation, AI | General coding, robotics, or simple science projects |
| Tools Used | Microsoft SQL, Excel, Windows Task Scheduler, ChatGPT | Block-based coding or browser-based tools |
| Student Output | Working database, interactive dashboard, automated process | Small app, game, or one-time project |
| Class Size | Maximum 15 students | Often 25–30 students |
| Recognition | Certificate in Data Visualization and AI Foundations plus written appraisal and optional recommendation | Basic participation badge or none |
Student Outcomes
Every student will complete the program with concrete, portfolio-ready results:
- A working Microsoft SQL database using simulated medical data
- An interactive Excel dashboard that tells a data story with slicers and charts
- A basic automated process using Windows Task Scheduler to refresh data
- Practical experience using AI as a tutor and analysis partner—with emphasis on verification and critical thinking
- A Certificate in Data Visualization and AI Foundations signed by both instructors
- A short presentation of their final dashboard story to parents and instructors
- A written appraisal from the instructor team, with the option of a more formal recommendation statement upon request
Digital copies of student projects are shared privately with families, creating an early STEM portfolio piece for gifted programs, science fairs, or future applications.
About eResearchPro and Your Instructors
Dr. Alfred Cecchetti, PhD, MSc, MSc IS
Director, Division of Clinical Informatics (Marshall University, retired)
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Public Health, College of Health Professions
Dr. Cecchetti has spent decades at the intersection of medicine, data, and technology. His work includes designing research data warehouses, building dashboards for hospital and university leadership, and supporting NIH and VA-funded projects. He continues to teach master’s-level courses in statistics, probability, AI, SQL, and data visualization, and has mentored residents, fellows, and faculty in moving from raw EHR data to publishable results and grant-ready analyses.
Ms. Tana Wikel, M.Ed.
Master’s in Curriculum Design • Veteran K–8 Educator • STEM and Reading Specialist
Ms. Wikel is a lifelong educator with over 39 years of classroom experience across grades K–8. She has designed curriculum aligned with state and national standards, directed after-school and tutoring programs in reading and math, and developed project-based STEM learning modules that integrate literacy, technology, and science.
As an essential member of the eResearchPro team, she ensures that complex topics like data, AI, and decision-support systems are presented in ways that are both inspiring and accessible for young learners.
Who This Program Is For
- Students in grades 5–8 who love math, logic, puzzles, or science fairs
- Families who want an early, serious introduction to real-world data and AI skills
- Students considering future STEM tracks, especially in clinical, medical, or pharmaceutical fields
- Parents looking for a small, focused program with university-level instruction and real tools
Program Tuition
Tuition: $749–$949 per student (total for the 4-day program across two weekends)
Each session includes:
- Hilton hotel classroom with screen, HDMI, and professional amenities
- Four full days of hands-on instruction from an experienced Clinical Informatics Director and master educator
- Individualized guidance in a small cohort (maximum 15 students)
- Advanced topics in medical data (ICD, CPT, NDC), SQL databases, Excel dashboards, and AI
- All course templates, online resources, and snacks
- A formal Certificate in Data Visualization and AI Foundations plus written appraisal
Students must bring a Windows computer. Laptop rentals are available upon request. Early registration and sibling discounts are offered.
Next Steps
Email: cecchetti@eresearchpro.com
Phone: 724-681-2208
We are happy to speak directly with parents to walk through the curriculum, answer questions about safety and privacy, and help decide whether the 5–6 or 7–8 track is the best fit for your child.
School Presentations: Dr. Cecchetti offers complimentary presentations on data, visualization, and AI education to schools within the State of Ohio. Requests must be made on official school letterhead and authorized by a school administrator.
“Finally, a STEM program that teaches real-world data and AI skills instead of just games.” — Parent, Cleveland, OH