Kim Wilkinson

Associate Professor, Occupational Therapy
School: School of Health Sciences and Human Performance

Scholarship Examples

Here are a few examples of projects I've engaged in with current and former students
Portion of the cover of an issue of the OT Practice Magazine featuring Dr. Wilkinson's article on the Benefits of Outdoor Play. Image is a young masked child in a blue shirt being pushed on a swing by an adult wearing a mask and sunglasses on their head.
From Stick Forts to Snowmen: Outdoor Play & OT

The article, "From Stick Forts to Snowmen: Exploring the Benefits of Outdoor Play in Pediatric Occupational Therapy Practice" was published in OT Practice in February of 2021. The article was co-written with Laura Figueroa, a colleague who runs an outdoor OT practice in California and with contributions from Jules Doliscar, a former IC OT student who now works in pediatric practice. It provides specific strategies for OT practitioners to incorporate outdoor activities into their pediatric OT practice.  Click the link below to access the full text of the article or download a PDF. 

From Stick Forts to Snowmen Article
the Reimagining Recess Project team with a large check from IPEI
Reimagining Recess!

The Reimagining Recess project was a collaboration with the Just Play Project, a local non-profit, to bring loose parts play to the playgrounds of two local elementary schools and study how the children used them. Loose parts play involves using objects that don't have a fixed purpose such as tires, sheets, sticks, etc. The project provided training to school staff, materials, and storage sheds for the school playgrounds. Dr. Wilkinson and her students collected data showing that students played in richer ways when the loose parts were present, particularly increasing their participation in constructive play which has been show to improve science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills. Click the link below to watch a video that shows some of the loose parts in action.

Reimagining Recess Video
Title slide for presentation reading: Loose Parts Play for ALL Children: Exploring loose parts play through an occupational therapist’s lens, Presented by Kim Wilkinson, PhD, OTR/L Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy at Ithaca College For the Ithaca Children’s Garden Play Symposium October 5th, 2019. A faint image of cardboard, sheets, swings, and children playing is in the background.
Ithaca Children's Garden Play Symposium Talk

Dr. Wilkinson has presented on play, loose parts, and the role of outdoor play at local and international conferences.  Her talk at the Ithaca Children's Garden Play Symposium in 2019 combined data from her research and anecdotes from the play group she runs as part of one of her classes into a presentation that addressed how children with disabilities could be included in loose parts play. 

Play Symposium Talk