March 15, 2017

Five SVSU elementary education majors to attend early childhood conference

Five elementary education majors from Saginaw Valley State University will be presenting at the Early Childhood conference hosted by the Michigan Association for the Education of Young Children. The event will take place Thursday through Saturday, April 20-22, at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel and DeVos Place in Grand Rapids.

The conference is the largest gathering of early childhood educators in the state, offering over 200 workshops, two keynote presentations, as well as several learning fairs and exhibits where students and professionals within the field can network and learn.

SVSU student Anna Nowak, of Garden City, will discuss her topic, "20 Ideas I Plan to Steal For My Classroom."

"Experienced teachers often get "stuck" in their own classroom," Nowak said.

"My presentation is going to be about strategies and ideas I have observed that were implemented in my field work experiences and how I would implement them in my future classroom. I want to share these ideas with teachers who might not get the opportunity to see these strategies."

Her fellow elementary education majors will discuss other projects focusing on classroom resourcefulness.

Katelyn Rumsey, of Flushing, will present, "Cooking Up Writers: A Recipe For Early Writing Workshops," which demonstrates different elements needed to conduct a successful writing workshop in an early childhood education classroom setting.

Abigail Lopez, of Saginaw, will contribute to a learning fair during the conference focusing on the implementation of bilingualism in the classroom. Her presentation is called, "More Than Uno, Dos, Très – Incorporating Spanish Into Your Classroom."

Julieann Derra and Rachel Hansen, of Algonac and Saginaw, respectively, will discuss, "Philosophies On Diffusing Conflict In The Classroom." They will speak during the "Interactions and Guidance" portion of the conference.

Beginning Thursday evening and concluding Saturday afternoon, the conference will offer students a chance to demonstrate what they've learned within the teaching program at SVSU while also allowing them to glean knowledge from other early childhood education professionals before taking the next step towards their career goals.