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Education professor to speak at
Florida Elementary Education Conference

LAKELAND, Fla. (Sept. 17, 2003) - Dr. Timothy R. Toops, assistant professor of education at Florida Southern College, will give a presentation at the Florida Elementary Education State Conference, held in Orlando Sept. 24-26 at the Peabody Orlando Hotel. The conference is sponsored by the Florida Council on Elementary Education. Toops is scheduled to speak at 3 p.m. on Sept. 24 in the Columbia room. 

Toops' presentation, "And the Dish Ran Away With the Spoon: Using Picture Books to Stimulate Writing in the Classroom," focuses on using picture books to reinforce writing skills. He will share research that emphasizes the importance of the reading/writing connection as students improve these skills. 

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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