The Developing Teacher: Guiding Students from Practicum to Profession

The Developing Teacher is written for future educators, who are seeking to teach children 0-8 years of age. Designed for a final semester practicum course for the early childhood education, this text acts as a manual for students to write in, and it will give guidance for the student teaching practicum. This text supports all the practices of a good student teaching experience, including synthesizing and applying prior knowledge, self-reflection, personalization, student-specific information, and relevant and current topics. Following the flow of a student teaching course, The Developing Teacher guides student teachers to apply what they have learned in previous courses to their classroom experience. Practical topics inform student teachers about professionalism and workplace roles in and outside the classroom. Most importantly, the text takes a reflective approach to all major topics so students can determine the kind of teacher they want to be. Case studies throughout the text provide real-world examples from the field. Several tools are provided to help with understanding and applying theories, integrating instructional planning, forming a philosophy of education, aligning to standards, and using reflection. Formatted as a write-in worktext, the content can be utilized in the order that best suits each individual practicum program.

About the Author :
Carol LaLiberte earned a master's degree in early childhood education, a post-graduate certificate in Infant Parent Mental Health, and is endorsed in Early Childhood Mental Health. She was honored to earn the Exceptional Master Leader award in 2015 from Exchange for Child Care as well as the Connecticut Board of Regents Faculty Teaching Award. In 2019 she was awarded the Children's Champion Award from KITE, the early childhood collaborative in Enfield, and in 2023, she earned the Distinguished Faculty award for her dedication to teaching. Carol currently oversees and teaches in both the Early Childhood Education and Human Services programs at Connecticut State Community College at the Asnuntuck campus. She teaches the capstone course Student Teaching Practicum. She is also adjunct faculty at Westfield State University in Massachusetts. She was instrumental in policy and program development in the Connecticut state government as the head of the Children's Trust Fund through the Department of Children and Families, created to prevent child abuse and neglect. She has published widely on topics related to children and families. Carol was a regular contributor to the Council for Professional Recognition's blog and served as a Professional Development Specialist for CDA candidates. She has been a consulting editor for NAEYC's Young Children and authored articles for Exchange Press. Her work is defined by teaching, learning, and writing. She has interfaced with young children and families in a variety of settings and roles. She was a Head Start family advocate, home visitor, preschool teacher, and administrator. She also directed a childcare program for visiting children in a maximum-security prison where her students--all inmates--were the teaching assistants. All of Carol's classes are filled with purposeful content, engagement, storytelling, laughter, empathy, and a deeply held belief in the power of education to transform students' lives and this world we all share. Her family, friends, students, and community provide the inspiration for all that she does.