Rick Homan

107 Grand River Boulevard West

Lethbridge, Alberta T1K 7Y1

Phone: cell (403) 332-0923 / home (403) 328-7927

Email: rick.homan@shaw.ca or rick.homan@uleth.ca

January 3, 2019

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Rick Homan and I am a Field Experience consultant in the Faculty of

Education at the University of Lethbridge. I am writing this letter for Miss Andrea
Tkach, a former student of mine, as testimony that her development and performance in
Professional Semester Three at Saint Joseph’s school during the Fall Semester of 2018,
was exemplary. Here she created effective units and lesson plans for her Science Six,
Eight and Nine students that included differentiation for a variety of learning styles and
academic abilities.

Andrea is a very personable young lady who excels in many aspects of the teaching
profession. She is excellent in mastering in advance the content of a lesson and goes far
beyond finding resources and knowing what is to be taught as she researches answers to
questions she may not know the answers to and challenges her students to do the same.
Her lesson and unit plans have appropriate learning outcomes and objectives in
accordance with Alberta Programs of Study. Andrea is also very conscientious and fair
when doing assessment of student learning, using a variety of assessment tools and is
quick to modify and re-teach lessons and concepts based on her observations and results.

Andrea has excellent communication skills. She is able to explain difficult concepts to her
students using language that is age appropriate and her writing is neat and legible. She
does an excellent job of infusing Smart Board technology into her lessons, including
video excerpts, power points, example problems and so on. As well she is able to
question students to illicit intellectual responses that encourage them to engage in higher
levels of thinking. I observed Andrea utilizing a variety of teaching strategies during her
PSIII experience such as scaffolding group work, KWL charts, critical and creative
thinking activities, research assignments, to name a few.
Outside the classroom Andrea was involved in regular supervisions and chose to
volunteer her time to help coach a girls’ volleyball team.

In my observations, Andrea has strong classroom management skills. She understands the
importance of avoiding negative comments and of stopping and waiting for the attention
of the class. She has control without creating a negative environment and she applies the
rules in a fair and consistent manner. She is very professional in her delivery of her
lessons, in her interaction with her students, and in her relationship with colleagues.

Andrea has exceeded expectations in many of the identified categories portraying a

competent teacher and indicating a hard working, well prepared, professionally
responsible young lady. She is exceptionally well organized, she has a strong knowledge
base, and she relates well with both students and colleagues. It has been a privilege for
me to have worked with Andrea and to watch her evolve into a young women with
tremendous teaching potential, who would be a welcome addition to any staff.

(*Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about Andrea at all.)

Sincerely,

Rick Homan
Faculty of Education Consultant
University of Lethbridge