870 President Street Brooklyn, New York 11215 April 25, 2013 To Whom It May Concern: Last year

I served as the Field Supervisor from Columbia University Teachers College for Shaye Blegen. I observed her Phase I student teaching experience in 7th grade classes at School of the Future. I submitted the following as part of an evaluation of her work and I feel it serves as a valid recommendation for her in the field of education: Motivated, enthusiastic and energetic would be just some of the terms I would use to describe Shaye Blegen. When she began this term, she did not have an effective teacher voice and was a bit unsure in front of the class. For my last visit, she was a ball of energy that kept the class going at a fast pace but made sure they all were following her. Her confidence was evident in her use of her voice and body language to demonstrate that she was in charge and she expected her students to absorb the lesson, which they demonstrated that they did. Not only did she teach her lessons but when Pablo, her cooperating teacher was absent, informing her at the last minute that he was too ill to come in and had not given her a lesson plan, she was up to the task. I had to plan a lesson immediately, using my best judgment to decide what would be most beneficial to the students in the context of where we were. At another point she spoke about her efforts in lesson planning. I spend a considerable amount of time carefully crafting my lesson plans. I make sure I leave myself time to get feedback on my lessons and revise as necessary. I also do my best to incorporate feedback as soon as possible. She learned to write lesson plan which were detailed enough to distinguish between teacher activities and student activities. She also learned to pay attention to what the students were doing at each point in the lesson to ensure that what she did was studentcentered. Because Shaye taught Social Studies along with reading and writing, she often related these areas to one another. She brought in outside material and used the material they were working with in a creative way Interpersonal skills are one of Shayes strengths. The classes really bonded with her and she with the students. She worked closely with her cooperating teacher, the other teachers on that grade level as well as the aides in the room. If the aide had question about an assignment or classroom activity, I took time to discuss the activity with her so she could communicate it to her students. I also tried to involve the aide in classroom activities when appropriate (for example, if we need an additional judge to decide the winner of a team debate activity). Sometimes student suggestions did not adequately answer the question I asked, but I tried to draw out the positive aspects of student comments to use a kernel of what a student suggested to help move the class discussion forward. Shaye Blegen is well on her way to becoming a gifted professional in the future. For now, she will be the perfect first year teacherfull of enthusiasm, energy and ideas but willing to take instruction. She still has quite a bit to learn about the art of teaching but she has made excellent use of her student teaching experiences and will bring a great deal to her future in all areas of teaching. Lila Rieman Field Supervisor 718-783-5749