Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Reaching for teaching

MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee and other officials will welcome five educators from Ghana at approximately 10:15 a.m. today, July 29, in the Sam Ingram Building on Middle Tennessee Boulevard in Murfreesboro. The Tennessee Board of Regents and MTSU are working to develop a sustainable model of teaching quality for the Republic of Ghana. The African nation’s Ministry of Education is composed of 38 non-university teacher-education institutions. At 10:45 a.m. in the Ingram Building’s conference room, UCC officials will learn about MTSU’s Teaching Quality Initiative. At 1:30 p.m., following lunch, MTSU education faculty will discuss MTSU’s TQI pilot program, in which eight students served a yearlong student-teaching residency. This session will take place in the President’s Conference Room in the Cope Administration Building. Media welcomed.

Contact Tom Tozer in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919.

Staying cool in the pool

Greenpeace and other environmental activist groups are calling for “a comprehensive phase-out of chlorine and chlorine-based chemicals.” But Dr. Preston MacDougall, chemistry, says those of us who have practically lived in the swimming pool this summer need not panic. “Without question, there are environmental problems associated with irresponsible industrial use and disposal of chlorinated compounds, such as PCBs, where C is for chlorinated,” MacDougall admits. “On the other hand, there have also been public health tragedies when chlorine was not used, such as the lethal outbreak of E. coli poisoning in the water supply of Walkerton, Ontario, in May 2000. And most importantly, for those who are fortunate enough to have it, drinking water that has been sanitized with chlorine or chlorinated products has been the single biggest advance in world health.”

Contact MacDougall at 615-898-5265.
pmacdoug@mtsu.edu

Just what do you want from me, anyway?

Here’s a model of how students’ impressions of their teachers can have an impact on future enrollment in classes. Dr. Thomas Brinthaupt, psychology, has devised what he calls a Realistic Course Preview (RCP) based on previous students’ opinions to give future students an idea of what they can expect in his class. “Providing an RCP is a simple way to begin to establish rapport between students and instructor,” Brinthaupt says. “Realistic previews may help to prevent unpleasant surprises for one’s students, particularly in courses that require substantial independent work or hands-on applications. RCPs might also reduce disappointment about grades.”

Contact Brinthaupt at 615-898-2317.
tbrintha@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

NO ENRGY CRISIS HERE!--The MTSU Center for Physical Activity and Health in Youth will sponsor Camp ENRGY, a five-day camp designed for youth with physical disabilities, Aug. 3-7. Camp ENRGY (Excellence ‘N’ Recreation and Games for Youth), which is free for its youth participants, will be conducted from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily on and off the MTSU campus with many activities taking place in the university’s recreation center, says Dr. Don Morgan, professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance. “We hope that this summer camp will become a template for other camps for physically challenged youth here in Tennessee and throughout the nation,” says Morgan. Media are welcomed to cover this inaugural event.
For more information about Camp ENRGY, contact Sandy Stevens at sstevens@mtsu.edu
or Jenny Hutchens at jgs2a@mtsu.edu. Call Morgan at 615-898-5549.

HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU--Hundreds of cowboys and cowgirls will don their finest Western duds to “Saddle Up for Project Help” at the 2009 fundraiser set for tomorrow, July 30, at Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium on the MTSU campus. The fun will get underway at 6:30 p.m. with event registration. A barbecue dinner will be served at 7 p.m., followed by live music and dancing. Silent and live-auction bidding will close at 8:15 p.m., and auction checkout will be at 8:30 p.m. Founded in 1983, the nonprofit Project Help provides early intervention and family support services with disabilities and developmental delays up to age 3. Project Help currently serves 48 children with special needs. The staff includes more than 150 student volunteers each semester. For more information, call 615-898-2458 or go to www.mtsu.edu/projecthelp.

INTELLIGENCE ON DISPLAY--The MTSU McNair Program will present its 10th annual symposium from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today, July 29, and from 9 a.m. to 12 noon tomorrow, July 30 in the Tom H. Jackson Building. The McNair Program is designed to give low-income/first-generation and underrepresented undergraduate students the support they need to prepare for and successfully complete a doctorate degree in their chosen fields. McNair scholars will make oral presentations of their 2009 summer research. Their research posters also will be on display. Topics include “Blowing Up the Ballot Box: The Political Violence of the Election Cycle;” “How World War I Affected Poor Tennessean Citizens and Their Experiences;” “Playing Doctor: Assessing Future Professionals’ Attitudes Toward Child Sexual Behavior;” and “Prevention and Treatment of Acute Low Back Pain: Physical Therapy and Other Non-Surgical Methods.” Contact the McNair Program at 615-904-8462.

SOLID AS A ROCK BLOK—Registration is open now for this fall’s Rock Blok workshop at MTSU. Young musicians ages 10-17 can learn music, make friends and form a band at the workshop, which is slated to begin September 5th. “When a student signs up, he or she is assigned to a band with other students,” says Ryan York, executive leader of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH!) and workshop leader. “Each band has two professional musicians as volunteer teachers. The students then spend two hours each Saturday learning music, working up a set list, making merchandise for their band, recording an album and writing music.” At the conclusion of the workshop, the bands will perform in concert. The fee is $40 a month ($120 total). For more information, go to www.YEAHintheBoro.org, send an e-mail to info@YEAHintheBoro.org, or call 615-849-8140.

PRESSING ON--The legacy of MTSU’s working replica of an 18th century printing press will be explained through photos and prints as part of an exhibit at the main branch of the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St., through Sept. 27. The exhibit is titled “Telling the Story: Letterpress Printing and Community.” The university’s segment will include the story of letterpress printing at MTSU. The works of current MTSU art students; alumni; visiting artists; faculty; elementary, middle- and high-school teachers and students who printed on the James E. Walker Library’s unique device will be highlighted. A reproduction of the English common press used by Benjamin Franklin in the early 1700s, the printing press was handcrafted in 2004 and 2005 out of chestnut and white oak wood from a 100-year-old house in Virginia. Contact Kristen Keene at 615-898-5376 or kkeene@mtsu.edu.