To whom it may concern:
I am writing this recommendation on behalf of Catherine Shaw, a student teacher whom I
supervised in the fall semester of 2008. She demonstrated to me that she would be an
outstanding teacher for any teaching position at the secondary level. Her class room
discipline and mutual respect to and from her students was obvious. I think she is an
excellent candidate for any teaching position that you might have available.
Below is my evaluation of her for her secondary Mathematics teaching certificate from
the University of Northern Colorado.
Thank you,
Michael Tolmachoff
UNC Teacher Supervisor
970.324.3600
Standard I: Knowledge of Literacy
Catherine did a fine job of having her classes read from material that she presented.
Catherine used the Smart Board and demonstrated in precise written form how to do
problems of the day and to give instructions so the students could also proceed with their
exercises. I did not get an opportunity to witness writing on the days but I did see
samples of student work that demonstrated that they were required to write and take
notes.
Standard II: Mathematics
Catherin (Katy) knows mathematics. She presented material to the classes that I
observed without hesitation, and without error. Her Students demonstrated that they were
willing to learn, and showed through group work and individual work that they were
grasping the concepts introduced by Ms. Shaw.
Standard III: Knowledge of Standards and Assessment
Katy noted in her lesson plans which content standards would be addressed during her
lessons. I did observe assessments of homework assignments which were graded and
recorded with each student individually. At that time they were given instantaneous
feedback for the work they had done.
Standard IV: Knowledge of Content
Once again, I saw no flaws in Katy’s knowledge of mathematics. From the initial
observation, she showed a remarkable understanding of mathematics, and mathematics
education. She fielded questions from the class, and gave very precise answers and
solutions. She also requested help from the students, and let them answer questions from
other students.
Standard V: Knowledge of Classroom and Instructional Management
Ms. Shaw demonstrated remarkable classroom management in classes that could have
been unruly if given the opportunity. She warned me that one of the classes I would
observe could be testing to a positive learning environment. All of her classes
demonstrated very good discipline, and I saw nothing that would lead me to believe that
she did not have outstanding classroom management skills.
Standard VI: Knowledge of Individualization of Instruction
Rocky Mountain High School extends a lot of resource to its students. The facility is
well maintained, clean and very appropriate for classroom procedures. Katy took great
advantage of these facilities, and presented her classes with the best approach to meeting
her student’s needs. On one occasion, the Smart Board ‘acted up’ she moved to the white
board and without breaking stride, she continued with her lesson. She taught me a lot
about the use of the Smart Board, and her students seemed to appreciate the use of
technology and pen to writing surface presentations.
Standard VII: Knowledge of Technology
Please read Standard VI above.
Standard VIII: Democracy, Educational Governance, and Careers in Teaching
Katy allowed her students to make their own positive decisions. I did not notice any
situations which made me think a student was being treated unfairly. The students
seemed to enjoy being in the class.
Standard IX: Diversity
Catherine did not have to worry much about social or ethnic diversity. I think her
teaching situation matched her outline of Fort Collins that was described in her Work
Sample. She was able to do her job without any problems that can sometime crop up in
large schools. My observation of the student population was very positive.
Standard X: Professional Behavior
Catherine conducted herself as a professional. As a graduating student in Mathematics
Education, I believe she handled herself much better than teachers with years of
experience. She was actually put in a position to substitute the first few weeks of the
semester due to a teacher not reporting to duty. She has since been hired by the Poudre
Valley School District to teach at Rocky Mountain High School. Of the student teachers
that I have supervised over the past few years, Catherine Shaw demonstrated that she is
the strongest of the group.