¥ INDIANA UNIVERSITY EAST March 30, 2015 ‘SCHOOL OF EDUCATION ighly recommend Tommy Brown as a teacher in the profession of education. Mr. Brown has successfully completed his 60 days of student teaching in the high school language arts classroom. Mr. Brown used a variety of engaging a ivities in the classroom and conveyed enthusiasm and passion for his subject matter. One of Mr. Brown's strengths in the classroom was that he created a presence, with the goal of engaging every individual. | observed many classes sitting together in a circle for discussion and for sharing student work. From the circle activity, students would pair up in groups of two or three with assignments to bring back to the whole group. Mr. Brown's enthusiasm was always evident and positively interactive with every student. Mr. Brown easily built a good rapport with his students as well as his cooperating teacher. Itis through this good rapport that Mr. Brown successfully participated in parent- teacher conferences and parent phone contacts. He addressed a case of plagiarism and handled student discipline with professionalism Mr. Brown experienced many long hours in the classroom with extended hours after the school day in order to provide one on one tutoring for students, at the request of the building administrator. He worked with study skills and remediation, with the goal of improving upon standardized test scores. He also collaborated with other teachers and staff members to teach skills in using a computer program new to the district. Mr. Brown was always willing to offer a helping hand with students and fellow staff members alike. In pursuing his passion, Mr. Brown is on his way to building a successful career as an educator in the classroom, Sincerely, Indiana University East Supervisor School of Education om Ropar Holl 2325 Chester Boulevard Richmond, IN.47378-1289 (765)973-8224 fax (7E5) 973.8508,S E Seton Primary (Preschool-2) Seton Intermediate (3-6) _ Seton Junior/Senior High (7-12) "700 Nozth A Steet 801 West Main Steet 283 South Sth Street, Richmond, IN 47374 Richmond, IN 47374 Richmond, IN 47374 oO mM 765) 9625010 (965) 9624877 (165) 965.6956 SETONPCATHOLIC March 31, 20¢tonSchools.org To Whom It May Concern: ‘Tommy Brown has successfully completed a semester of observation and 60 days of student teaching at Seton Catholic High School. This experience included teaching general academic classes for seniors, juniors, and sophomores, and honors classes for juniors and sophomores. He also observed and contributed to the AP Literature and Composition class for seniors. Beyond preparing lesson plans, conducting five class periods daily, and grading assignments, he helped edit the student newspaper blog and assisted with technology needs. Tommy ‘wrote periodic updates for student progress reports, and he contributed to a student's service plan meeting by providing valuable feedback to parents concerning their child's needs and progress. He also worked successfully with this individual student to help improve her test-taking skills. He read tests for students with reading accommodations, and he participated in remediation instruction for students practicing to retake the ECA. ‘Tommy helped chaperone students attending The Great Gaisby at The Richmond Civic Theatre, and also chaperoned for an education day at IU Bast, and for a student lock-in. ‘Tommy's strengths include providing creative opportunities that engage students in learning. For example, while teaching The Great Gatsby to the junior classes, he instructed students to create Facebook pages as though they were characters from the book posting pictures of houses, cars, and clothes from the 1920s and interacting with other characters in the class. This activity helped student understand the context and cultural distinctions of that time period. Students were also required to respond in class as though they were a character. This motivated them to read assigned chapters in anticipation of answering questions about the character's actions in the book. ‘Tommy also chose the book, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, by Mitch Albom, for the sophomore classes. “This book directly addressed the importance of becoming a global citizen, challenging students “to think critically about their impact on the world today and in the future.” Tommy's varied assignments throughout the semester included formative and summative assessments along with differentiation based on student needs. “Tommy provided an authoritative teacher presence in the classroom without using threats or raising his voice. He has the ability to keep students guessing about his next comments or actions. He often required students to support their responses with evidence from the reading instead of simply stating that they are correct. He obviously enjoys interacting with students and he provides an interesting and challenging leaming environment for them. Although the class sizes at Seton are small, he was able to adapt classroom management and activities to each individual class ‘Tommy interacted in a professional manner with other faculty members. He sought help when needed and continued with plans set by the cooperating teacher. He showed progress throughout his student teaching experience by listening to advice and adjusting his plans. He demonstrated knowledge of what is required to participate on a team in addressing student needs. highly recommend Tommy Brown as a eandidate for teaching. ye i Fa hL ee Rachel Ramer M.A. Rhetoric and Composition English/AP/Speech