Student Teaching: Early Childhood Practicum Guide (What?s New in Early Childhood)

This comprehensive book presents up-to-date research and "how tos" for those enrolled in an early childhood student teaching practicum course. It clearly explains a student teacher's professional duties and responsibilities, the mechanics of hands-on teaching under the guidance of a cooperating teacher, and students' interactions with their college course supervisor(s). Chapters are designed to encourage contemplative and reflective thought as students develop an understanding of professionally accepted practice, ethics, classroom management, and individualized and group program planning and instruction. Communication skills that typify effective team teaching and reduce common classroom problems during student teaching are described and detailed. Current practices related to special-needs children and infant-toddler classroom placement are addressed, as is the development of school-home partnerships that enhance children's life-long learning and educational success. Throughout, case studies and examples illustrate real-life situations and children that other student teachers have encountered.

Jeanne M. Machado's experience in the early childhood education field has included full-time assignment as a community college instructor and department chairperson, where she supervised early childhood education students at two on-campus laboratory child development centers at San Jose City College and Evergreen Valley College, as well as child centers in the local community. Her teaching responsibilities encompassed early childhood education, child development and parenting courses. Her experience also includes working as an elementary school teacher, preschool owner/director, work experience instructor/advisor, early childhood and family studies community college and university instructor, and education consultant in public, private and parent cooperative programs. A past president of California Community College Early Childhood Educators and the Peninsula Chapter of the California Association for the Education of Young Children, Machado is an active participant in several professional organizations concerned with the education and well-being of young children and their families. In addition to EARLY CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES IN LANGUAGE ARTS, she co-authored (with Dr. Helen Meyer-Botnarescue) STUDENT TEACHING: EARLY CHILDHOOD PRACTICUM GUIDE, 7th Edition (2011), and (with Romana Reynolds) EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN EDUCATION: HOW TO SECURE YOUR CAREER (2006). Machado received her master's degree from San Jose State University and her community college life credential with coursework from the University of California at Berkeley.

Helen C. Botnarescue, PhD, is a Professor Emeritus at the California State University. She currently chairs the Heritage Committee of the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI), the International Committee for the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE), and co-chairs the Retired Members' Committee of OMEP. She is a three-time president of the California ACEI, and has served twice as a Region 10 representative to NAECTE. Helen is a regular contributor to several publications including Childhood Education, the ACEI journal The Activist, and Our Heritage Today, two of the newsletters of ACEI. Dr. Botnarescue mentors new teachers and advises the principal of her church school and regularly tutors children for the Redwood City Elementary School District.