[335] MTSU Offers Free 'Diversity-Meets-Play' Symposium April 10

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 4, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-898-2919 or lrollins@mtsu.edu

MTSU OFFERS FREE ‘DIVERSITY-MEETS-PLAY’ SYMPOSIUM APRIL 10
Community Invited to Learn How to Utilize Physical Activity for Children’s Learning

(MURFREESBORO)—From student teachers and homeschool educators, to public school educators and parents who simply want to enhance their child’s learning through physical activity and play, an upcoming free workshop at MTSU is designed to do just that.
Play Symposium III: Diversity, Children’s Physical Activity and Play is the title of the free half-day event, which will be held 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, April 10, in the State Farm Lecture Hall of MTSU’s Business and Aerospace Building.
Open to the community, the rain-or-shine event is sponsored by the Center for Physical Activity & Health in Youth. Registration may be made in advance or on site.
Regarding the symposium’s focus, Dr. Kathy Burriss, a professor of elementary and special education at MTSU, said, “The value of play and physical activity, no matter a child’s physical limitations, is invaluable, but one that is often overlooked. Our symposium will help participants connect physical activity with learning that is fun but also intellectually beneficial in ways that most don’t think about.
This year’s workshop will offer attendees with a choice of several afternoon field-trip options such as “Let’s All Play Together,” where participants will experience the joy of combining grade levels in large-group activities that challenge children physically in fun ways; “Project HELP,” a field trip that explores the possibilities of working with toddlers with special needs; “Promoting Play for Children with Autism,” which will uncover various play and physical activity options for children with autism; “Encountering Each Other,” where movement activities will be utilized to teach about human diversity and social justice; and “I Am Moving, I Am Learning,” an interactive and fun approach for addressing childhood obesity in Head Start children that’s changed the lives of children and adults across the nation.”
In addition to the featured field trips, the symposium also will feature relevant presentations by professional educators, including the event’s keynote speaker, Dr. Jim Rimmer, who will deliver a talk titled “Diversity, Children’s Physical Activity and Play.”
A professor in the Departments of Movement Science and Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois, Chicago, Professor Rimmer has developed and directed health promotion programs for people with disabilities for the past 25 years. Along the way, he has published more than 80 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters on various topics related to physical activity, including health promotion, secondary conditions and disability.
Symposium participants are encouraged to wear comfortable attire, such as tennis shoes and jeans, for the symposium’s afternoon field trips, advised Burriss, who noted that accommodations for those with disabilities will be incorporated during the April 10 event.


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For more information, including advance registration, please contact Burriss at 615-898-2323.


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• ATTENTION, MEDIA—To request interviews with symposium coordinator Dr. Kathy Burriss, please contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or at lrollins@mtsu.edu.




With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.