Symposium Reflection

On December 16, 2015 the VTFT Class had the opportunity to attend the VBCPS
Education Symposium at Virginia Wesleyan College. This opportunity allowed our class to
explore different aspects of education such as brain breaks, child development, and early
childhood education. The day started out with a welcoming from Dr. Spence, the superintendent
from VBCPS. The first two sessions were with our Tallwood VTFT Class as a whole. The first
session introduced concepts of an interview. The speaker gave tips on interviewing, and how to
be successful with portfolios, resumes, and interview skills. The other two sessions we were able
to choose what session we were interested in. My group chose to go to Child Development 101
with Ms. Carter. Her session was all about understanding the patterns of human development and
growth. She mentioned the theories of Piaget and Erikson, which we learned about in VTFT
Class. This session helped our group understand why its important to be familiar with
developmental stages of children in order to effectively teach them. The second session my
group attended was the Power Breaker: Brain Breaks for the Classroom with Mrs. Lafler. This
was a fun session because the attendees got to play games! Although this session was interactive
we learned the importance of brain breaks in childrens lives. The purpose of brain breaks and
interactive games is to improve communication, encourage open discussion, and getting to know
the other students. I enjoyed this session the most because it made me understand that anyone
can make school interactive and fun, not just doing content work all the time. The closing session
included all of the attendees from the symposium, and Mr. Bradley Ward, 2015 Teacher of the
Year, spoke to end out the Education Symposium. This enhanced my VTFT experience,
especially in internship, because I was able to take into consideration the sessions and what I
learned within them. The Child Development 101 session was most prevalently used within my
internship but throughout my senior year I also used the tips and skills for interviewing. This was
my favorite Educators Rising experience!