Growing Our Tomorrows

Clinical Practice: Fall 2010

Welcome...

Hello and welcome to the new clinical practice blog, a source for information, insight, and updates about the student teaching experience for teacher candidates at Baldwin-Wallace College.

Ms. Rochelle Berndt and I thought now is the right time to open the door and start a conversation with teacher candidates about the joys and challenges teachers encounter on a daily basis.

We intend to use this blog to:
-Provide resources and instructional/teaching ideas.
-Allow for a forum to discuss questions and issues of concern.
-Highlight candidates' achievements and successes during the clinical practical experience.

It is important to us to hear from all participants in the clinical practice experience, including teacher candidates, cooperating teachers, and college supervisors. We are sure that many participants will have great things to say, while others mights have only a few choice words based on their personal experiences. Either way, we want to hear from you.

We plan on posting regularly, so check the blog weekly for new entries as they are posted.

~Dr. Lisa Henderson

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Getting to Know Your Students

It is the third week of clinical practice, and you have been acquainting yourself with the school environment and the students assigned to your classroom. Share any strategies and/or techniques you have used to get to know your students. What have you done to develop rapport and positive relationships with your students?

Meet your Blogging Team

Lisa Henderson is a professor in the Division of Education at Baldwin- Wallace College and teaches literacy courses primarily at the graduate level. She earned a Bachelor of Science Degree and a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education at the University of Montevallo in Alabama. Her Ph.D. from the University of Alabama at Birmingham is in the area of Early Childhood Education and Development with an emphasis in Curriculum Supervision. She has nine years of teaching experience in elementary and middle grades and eighteen years of experience in higher education. In addition to her faculty responsibilities, Dr. Henderson serves as the Director of Initial Licensure Programs. Her major research interests include teacher education, formative assessment, and leadership development.

Rochelle Berndt is a doctoral student in Curriculum and Instruction with a literacy concentration at Kent State University. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Education degree from Bowling Green State University and a Master of Arts in Education degree, with a reading specialization, from Baldwin-Wallace College. Ms. Berndt is an adjunct lecturer, instructing teacher education and literacy courses for the Division of Education. She is also the Coordinator of Field/Clinical Placements in the Division of Education at Baldwin-Wallace College. Prior to her current positions, Ms. Berndt served as the Licensure Specialist in the Division of Education at Baldwin-Wallace College and was employed as a classroom teacher for twelve years, instructing intermediate level students in language arts and mathematics. Her lines of inquiry include equity pedagogy and culturally responsive teaching in middle childhood literacy classrooms, as well as the teaching of social justice issues through the use of adolescent literature.