April 21, 2015

It was my pleasure to have Jessica Diaz as a student in two of my classes here at the University
of St. Francis. She was in my EDUC 330 Classroom Assessment class in the Spring 2014
semester and my EDUC 375 Methods of Teaching Elementary Math in the Fall 2015 semester,
during which time she was also involved in an Intermediate Field Experience in the schools.
Jessica is a very conscientious student, always striving to do her very best. Her work was
always on time and of the highest quality; so much so that I use one of her assignments as an
example for my other classes. In addition, Jessica created an instructional tool for her students
to help them in solving mathematical word problems and showed it to me one day before class.
I was very impressed, and she immediately gave me the tool to share with the other teacher
candidates. These two examples illustrate the high standards Jessicas work exemplifies, as
well as her willingness to share resources to benefit others.
Jessica has demonstrated knowledge and application of best practices in education through her
course assignments. Jessica is able to plan a unit using the Understanding by Design
framework; use manipulatives and childrens literature in mathematics instruction; and use
higher order questioning to further student learning. Jessica was also able to implement some
of the strategies and techniques taught in methods class in her field experiences. Jessica was
able to analyze data from a lesson she taught in her field experience classroom and discern
student strengths and error patterns. She was then able to determine next steps for instruction
according to each students needs.
In conclusion, the passion Jessica Diaz has for her students and the field of education shines
through everything she says and does. I think she will be a very effective educator and an asset
to any school faculty.
Sincerely,

Dr. Catherine J. Nelson

Professor
University of St. Francis
(815) 740 2277
cnelson@stfrancis.edu