IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
Intensive English and
Orientation Program (IEOP)
203 Ross Hall
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa 50011-1201
Phone: 515-294-3568
Fax: 515-294-2125
Email: ieop@iastate.edu
December 1, 2015
To Whom It May Concern:
It is my pleasure to recommend Kirk Wilkins as in ESL teacher. I supervised Mr. Wilkins during the
2014-2105 academic year in my capacity as the Assistant Director of the Intensive English and
Orientation Program at Iowa State University, where he was a Teaching Assistant serving as a class
instructor. Kirk’s role was as the sole class instructor for two sections of intensive English classes (5
hours / week each). He taught a Reading class and a Writing class each semester
As the sole teacher in his classes, Kirk was responsible for planning and implementing class meetings
that addressed the needs of his students and the Learner Outcomes of our program; of course, this
included classroom management as well as selection of content and class activities. His responsibilities
also included assessment of student performance, significant grade and other student record keeping,
attending teacher meetings in each of the skill areas he was teaching, attending new TA meetings, and
attending and helping with program events. Kirk met all of these responsibilities very well. He brought
thoughtfulness and a personable manner to his teaching work, as well as excellent academic background
from his Master’s degree course work and solid experience from his previous teaching in the foundation
writing course sequence for students at Iowa State University. In addition, he used his considerable web
design skills to present a class overview and weekly notices and assignments to his students in a wellorganized and attractive format.
Kirk was a valuable member of our faculty for the year he taught with us, and I’m certain would be an
excellent addition to any other teaching setting. In addition, he is a person of good character with a
strong interest in people from diverse backgrounds. I am happy to wholeheartedly support his
application for any appropriate position.
Sincerely,
Suzanne van der Valk, Assistant Director
Intensive English and Orientation Program
Iowa State University