Department of Curriculum and Instruction

January 5, 2015
To Whom It May Concern:
It is my pleasure to write a letter on behalf of Sarah Marston. I had the opportunity to get to know Sarah
as an undergraduate student in the course, Advanced Literacy Practices (LITED 3147/3192), informally
observe her in the field working one-one with a student during the Spring 2014 semester here at the
University of Northern Iowa. I am Sarahs advisor for her Honors Thesis and also work closely with her
in her leadership role in the Student Reading Association. In all of these settings, Sarah has been a
reliable, intelligent and respected student-leader. I am thrilled to write a letter on her behalf.
Sarah was responsible for synthesizing course materials and planning individualized instruction for the
field experience as part of our rigorous 6-hour course. The class met twice a week as typical
undergraduate courses do, but also required three 1-hour tutoring sessions at a school each week, and an
additional weekly seminar. Sarah balanced this intense schedule and course load with ease, earning high
marks. To say that Sarah is capable of multitasking is an understatement. She readily applied new
knowledge, took a practical stance to problem solving, and maintained an upbeat disposition over the
semester.
I looked forward to observing Sarah during tutoring. She worked with an interesting student who
struggled with inferring while reading as well as communicating her ideas while writing. Sarah designed
instruction specifically tailored to her students needs based on a series of assessments conducted (i.e.
DRA2, QRI-5, interest surveys, writing analysis, anecdotal notes, running records). Her student began the
tutoring sessions relatively hesitant and after a few short weeks, was eager to get started. She trusted
Sarahs instruction and as a result tried several new reading strategies, authored her own creative writing,
and developed much needed self-confidence. Her instruction stands out among other students because she
made every effort to tie her instruction to real world examples and maximize her students deep thinking.
I have also had the pleasure to observe Sarah with colleagues in many settings. During weekly course
seminar meetings, Sarah was required to share notable video clips of her teaching and respond to
questions about her instruction. She demonstrated awareness of her interaction style and made significant

progress in setting the purpose for instruction. She is the Vice President of the Student Reading
Association and has stepped in for the President on several occasions. She organizes the book fair twice a
year, a time consuming endeavor that supports the organization and local school libraries. She is
committed to improving pre-service teachers knowledge and her team has sponsored speakers about arts
integration, vocabulary development, and the hiring process. Sarah is also doing primary research with
me this semester and has been part of the planning process from the start. She is dedicated to fostering
literacy with multilingual students and our digital story telling/writing project will result in highlighting
the strengths and diversity in our community, while also supporting English language development. The
Burmese students we work with are new to the United States and have powerful stories to share. Sarah
knows that understanding the whole community and sharing their strengths will positively impact
teachers and pre-service teachers. She is a critical thinker and maintains a positive stance.
Sarahs academic strengths, leadership skills, and practical orientation to teaching and learning will
support her as a life long learner as she moves ahead in her career. She not only leads in educational
endeavors, but I know she has led extensive group camping excursions, volunteers each Saturday to
support English learning with a community center, and is a support for International Students on campus.
She will contribute positively to future classrooms based on her intelligence, open attitude, and
commitment to diverse students. She will quickly become an integral part of the learning community and
provide just the right amount of positive energy teachers need to manage the many challenges they face.
Regards,
Sarah Vander Zanden, PhD
sarah.vanderz@uni.edu

618 Schindler Education Center Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614-0606 Phone: 319-273-2167 Fax: 319-273-5886
Website: http://www.uni.edu/coe/ci/