Connecting Theory to Practice

Teacher Candidate —

Thank you and congratulations! You have accomplished a great deal over these last few years and persevered through the challenges of your education. You have now come to the capstone experience in your journey to becoming a licensed teacher.

A capstone gives you the chance to put into practice all the skills and knowledge you’ve developed in our program so far. You will get to know the students you will be teaching and making a difference in their lives.

We’re with you in this journey. We believe you have been well-prepared for your final clinical experience and our faculty believe you to be well prepared to take this next step. Along with our partnering school districts and the Office of Clinical Experiences (OCE), we want you to succeed and we know you can do it.

I encourage you to bring the following qualities with you to the work:

• Be open to new ideas and feedback. We are always growing as teachers, no matter how long you do it. So try new things!
• Be patient with yourself as well as your students. We all need time to learn how to be effective teachers.
• Reflect on your teaching practice. The feedback from what worked and what needs to improve to a commitment to change is vital in your student teaching… and the rest of your career.
• Theodore Roosevelt once said, “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” It’s important to be passionate about your subject, but it’s also important to be passionate about your students.

We ask you to review this handbook carefully. It represents the wealth of experiences we have to share. We are committed to providing the support you need to thrive in your student teaching experience.

Please reach out to OCE with any questions you have during your clinical experience.

For the College,
Melissa Hanzsek-Brill, Interim Dean
College of Education and Learning Design