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Education department professor to speak at 
Florida Elementary Education Conference

LAKELAND, Fla. (Oct. 18, 2002) - Dr. Timothy R. Toops, assistant professor of education at Florida Southern College, will speak at the Florida Elementary Education Conference being held Nov. 14-16 at the Sheraton World Resort in Orlando. The conference is sponsored by the Florida Council on Elementary Education and Florida Department of Education and is a part of the state's "Just Read! Florida" and "Reading First" initiatives.

Toops' presentation, "Using Literature to Reinforce Reading 'Skill' Teaching," will focus on several literature selections and how to reinforce skills that are taught on a daily basis. Responses to literature will be covered showing the critical importance of prior knowledge. 

Toops joined FSC's faculty in 2000 after a 30-year career as an educator in Ohio. He graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University and went on to earn his master's degree as a reading specialist from Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio. He received his doctorate in education with emphasis in curriculum and instruction from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. 

About Florida Southern College
Florida Southern is a four-year, private, co-educational liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The college offers more than 40 undergraduate majors and a master of business administration degree accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Located in Lakeland, Fla., the college is home to the largest, single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world.

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