Student: Jennifer N.

Langell

To whomever it may concern,

This letter is to enthusiastically recommend Jennifer Langell for a position in your

school. Jennifer was a student in my CHEM101 (Chemistry for Elementary
Teachers) class in the Fall 2015 semester. Jennifers performance in my class was
exceptional. Her dedication to learning, understanding, and applying the chemical
principles, presented throughout the semester, was exemplary.

To pursue a degree in education is a lofty goal. Dedicating ones life to the

education of children is a serious undertaking. Students enrolled in CHEM101 have
decided to go one step further; this course is a requirement for an integrated
science majors at Eastern Michigan Universitys College of Education. In addition to
the standard education curriculum, integrated science students have decided to
intensify their training by adding on the complication of biology, physics and
chemistry. Students who excel at this curriculum will be well prepared for their
future careers. Jennifer Langell is one of these individuals.

CHEM101 students are required to wear many hats. As future teachers, their
primary academic focus is gaining the requisite skills needed to be a successful
teacher. CHEM101 students choose to enhance their skill set through an integrated
science major. For these students, the chemistry requirement often presents a
unique set of challenges. On one hand, the effort required to understand the
principles underlying atomic structure, chemical nomenclature, chemical
equations, etc. are often daunting. Added to this is the fact that putting these
principles into practice requires superior mathematical skills. In my tenure as a
CHEM101 instructor, Jennifer is one of a handful of students that have mastered
both faces of the chemistry coin.

One of the highlights of the CHEM101 curriculum is Visitation Day. On this day, fifth
graders from a local school are brought in, and the CHEM101 students teach them
about a chemical principle through a series of activities. The text for this
assignment, Inquiry in Action, is published by the American Chemical Society. Each
chemical principle is demonstrated with five or six individual activities. The
CHEM101 students choose two or three of these activities to present to the 5th
graders. Jennifer took it upon herself to create a new activity for the principle she
was teaching. This initiative is, in my opinion, a indicator of future teaching
success. Jennifers creation of her own activity gives me confidence that her
classroom skills are already well developed.

Jennifers dedication to understanding all the material presented in CHEM101, and

her initiative on Visitation Day, demonstrated to me her desire to exceed as an
educator. If she approaches her career, with the same tenacity with which she
tackled CHEM101, I am confident that she will be a valuable addition to your staff.
Eric D. Schwab, Ph.D.
Instructor, Dept. of Chemistry, Eastern Michigan University
eschwab@emich.edu