THE

UNIVERSITY
OF UTAH URBAN INSTITUTE FOR TEACHER EDUCATION

College of Education, 1721 Campus Center Drive Rm 2260 Salt Lake City, Utah 84112 801.581.7158 FAX 801.581.3609

LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION

For: Beth Snow

By: Linda Sorensen, Ph.D.
Date: April 20, 2017

It is with great pleasure that I write this letter on behalf of Beth Snow. I have known Beth for the past
year in my role as her secondary cohort leader at the University of Utahs Urban Institute for Teacher Education
(UITE). In that position, I have interacted with her as her classroom teacher, graded her assignments, and
observed her teaching both her peers in class and high school students at her student teaching site.

The first thing I noticed about Beth upon meeting her was her confident, upbeat, respectful demeanor.
She greeted me with a pleasant smile, eye contact, and an outstretched hand, indicating to me that I was dealing
with someone impressive. I was not mistaken. In all our interactions during this stressful, busy licensure year,
she has maintained the self-assured poise she exuded from the start. This characteristic has enabled Beth to
establish the positive rapport with her students and colleagues that is prerequisite to success. Finally, she was
always open toin fact, she was eager forfeedback, and she implemented constructive suggestions
immediately.

One of the key teaching skills Beth honed during her student teaching experience was the ability to
prepare thoroughly for each days lesson. She utilized the core standards to provide her with the end goal of the
daily lesson, in the context of the larger unit, so she knew exactly what the students needed to be learning. Only
after determining what constituted acceptable evidence of student learning did she select the activities and
methods she would employ. Additionally, she displayed the objectives on the board so students never needed to
wonder what was expected of them. By following this deliberate, systematic planning regimen, she created a
stimulating learning environment that facilitated individual and collaborative engagement. Finally, she sprinkled
in formative assessment by strategically pausing for class discussion of thought-provoking questions and
continuously meandering the room.

Another of Beths strong qualities was her dedication to meeting the needs of each individual student in
her charge. She learned how to appropriately approach students on their level, with a caring attitude and
demeanor that created a positive, egalitarian classroom atmosphere. She strived to accommodate her English
language learners, and others who may have been struggling, by focusing on vocabulary development. For
example, she wrote down difficult or unfamiliar words and phrases on the board, as needed, to ease her students
memory and processing demands in her terminology-laden content area. Through this and other research-based
practices, she enabled all students to access the curriculum and increased the probability that the learning
objectives would be met.

Last, but not least, perhaps the most impressive thing I observed about Beth this year was that she is a
person of high character. She is respectful of her fellow students in the cohort and developed a strong bond with
her site teacher. I feel confident these behaviors are part of who she is and will continue to be evidenced in her
professional setting. As such, I highly recommend Beth Snow to you as an outstanding future educator at your
institution. Please feel free to contact me if you need additional information.

Linda Sorensen

Secondary Cohort Leader and Associate Instructor

Urban Institute for Teacher Education (UITE)
College of Education, University of Utah
SAEC 2248; 801-587-1743