March 7, 2015

1221A School of Education

610 East University
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1259
tboerst@umich.edu
office phone (734) 615-9048

To whom it may concern:

It is my pleasure to write a letter of recommendation for Michele Zmich. Michele was my student in a
two course series focused on mathematics content and methods of teaching mathematics called Teaching
Elementary and Middle School Mathematics, in 2014. I was thoroughly impressed with Micheles
coursework and her engagement in teaching. I highly recommend her for a job in the teaching profession.
Michele came to our teacher education program with a wealth of early childhood teaching experience.
She approached learning to become a teacher of elementary grade children very aware of how it would
build upon her strengths and also challenge some of the ideas she had about teaching. She demonstrated a
love of learning and actively develops her understanding of subject matter. Throughout the courses, she
pushed herself to think about mathematics in new and different ways. Throughout the term, Micheles
assignments were consistently of high quality and her lessons consistently moved students forward in
their learning. Importantly, she was the consummate professional when working with students and she
modeled a very professional stance toward the work to her colleagues.
In the courses I taught, Michele actively engaged with 2nd grade students attending a summer school
program and 4th grade students attending an after school program for those encountering difficulty with
mathematics. In both of these settings she demonstrated an ability to carefully plan for and reflect upon
important aspects of mathematics teaching and learning. Her reflections on teaching were both honest and
insightful. She routinely engaged individual students, as well as small groups and whole groups, in
learning essential and challenging content- number, operations, place value, and core measurement
concepts. As she taught she analyzed mathematics tasks, anticipated and interpreted student responses,
and made evidence-based assertions about student thinking. While teaching, Michele successfully drew
on an array of curriculum materials to lead discussions and engage children in explaining their thinking.
Michele demonstrated her desire to make mathematics accessible and engaging. She also made students
feel comfortable sharing their ideas and motivating them to persist when learning posed challenges.
She has more than fulfilled the promise we saw in her when we awarded her the Rackham Merit
Scholarship. She is much more than an amazing student of teaching. Despite a very heavy course
schedule, Michele participated in extracurricular activities and also served as an ambassador for our
program. She made those visiting our campus feel welcome and was always ready to answer questions
and lend a hand. I am sure this sort of above-and-beyond approach will serve her future students well.
I am confident that Michele Zmich will be an outstanding teacher and a tremendous asset to any school. If
you have further questions or if I can offer additional information, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,

Timothy Boerst
Professor of Clinical Practice in Education and National Board Certified Teacher
Chair, Elementary Teacher Education
University of Michigan School of Education