COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND HUMAN SCIENCES

Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education

10 March 2015
Dear Colleague:
I am writing in support of Kelsey Pipers application to teach in your school. I worked
with Kelsey as her science teaching methods instructor during the spring semester of
2014, and I am currently her student teaching supervisor. Through our work together
in class, I found that Kelsey is prompt, efficient and professional. In her student
teaching, Kelsey shows great interest and ability in developing classroom scientific
communities, as well as a strong aptitude for planning instruction. I am most
impressed with Kelseys attention to using active learning principles, promoting
collaborative learning and using formative assessment in her teaching.
As a part of our methods final project, Kelsey and her classmates constructed an online
catalogue of student-centered instructional resources to support key concepts in
biology, and during her teaching internship, Kelsey is exploring and implementing
ways to make biology content more engaging and active. As a scientist, Kelsey chases
questions, and as a science teacher, Kelsey applies scientific principles to
systematically investigate her pedagogical approach, and uses student input and
performance data to assess the effectiveness of her teaching. Currently, Kelsey is
surveying her students to better understand their preferences and plans to use their
input as she creates future lessons. I expect Kelsey will continue to modify and
critically evaluate her practice throughout her career.
From the beginning of the methods course, Kelsey showed an interest in and
enthusiasm for developing effective classroom scientific communities. Kelsey
effectively facilitated and managed group discussions among her peers, and
contributed to and benefitted from group interactions. From my observations of her
interactions with her classmates and current students, I can tell that Kelsey values
individual students and their contributions to the classroom community, as well as the
home cultures and individual attributes her students bring into the classroom. She
works to create a comfortable, supportive and structured environment for her
students. Kelsey and I recently discussed her plans to use more collaborative learning
and structured discussion methods in class, and I look forward to seeing her plan in
action.
Kelsey regularly assesses student understanding by incorporating review questions in
every lesson, by encouraging students to explain their thinking, and through using
instructional strategies that make student learning visible. Kelsey is refining her bell
work activities, practicing open-ended questioning, and using what she learns about
students understanding to modify her instruction.
118 Henzlik Hall / P.O. Box 880355 / Lincoln, NE 68588-0355 / (402) 472-2231 / FAX (402) 472-2837

Like all beginning teachers, Kelsey will benefit from the support of more experienced
teachers and administrators as she negotiates her first year of teaching and works to
fine-tune her practice. I have confidence that Kelsey will focus on her teaching
techniques until they meet her high expectations. Based on my experience working
with Kelsey and other early career teachers, I suggest supporting Kelsey during her
first year with a well-structured and focused professional development program.
Based on my work with Kelsey as an instructor and student teaching supervisor, I
believe Kelsey will persist and excel as a teacher, and you will find her to be a reliable
and supportive colleague. It is my pleasure to highly recommend Kelsey Piper for a
teaching position in your school.
Sincerely,
Aaron Musson
Program, Research and Teaching Assistant
Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education
University of Nebraska-Lincoln