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I have been teaching and working on program improvement with the Early Childhood faculty at Â鶹ӰԺ State for more than 15 years. I also served as the Field Experience Coordinator for the program. Courses taught at Â鶹ӰԺ include our child development course, guidance of primary-school children, the ECED survey course, and leading the student teaching seminar for teacher candidates in preschool settings, as well as the graduate seminar for the Master of Arts in Teaching practicum. I feel that it is critical for future teachers to understand how the brain develops as it impacts wellness, behavior, and learning. It is my hope that our teachers will move into their careers with the knowledge and skills to apply contemporary brain research in their teaching practice. My research interests include teacher decision making, student teacher development & mentoring, and making teaching/learning visible to the families of young children. I earned my BA in Languages & Literature from Bard College, M.Ed. in Early Childhood Development & Intervention from the University of Pittsburgh, and Ph.D. in Special Education and Early Childhood from Â鶹ӰԺ. Previous professional experiences include: toddler and preschool teaching in family-centered, hospital-based, center-based, and home-based service agencies; early intervention program development; staff training/supervision for families of newborns in drug withdrawal in New York City; special education coordination for Maricopa County Health & Human Services' Head Start delegate; and developmental consultant/team leader with Child Protective Services.