University of

Lethbridge
4401 University

Drive

Lethbridge, Alberta,

Canada

Phone 403.329.2251

www.uleth.ca

Fax 403.329.2252

Tl K 3tvl4

Faculty of Education

December 19,2016

Letter of Reference for Danny Cormeau

Danny Cormeau has proficiently demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and attributes inherent in the
Teaching Quality Standard as they pertain to beginning teachers. I am very confident that Danny will grow
into being a highly competent professional teacher.
Early in his tenure at Crowther Memorial Junior High School, Danny sought to know the distinctive nature
of the school. He met with his mentor, principal, and other teachers and used these opportunities to expand
his knowledge of the school and the students it serves. He recognized the diversity of students in the school
and deeply appreciated the wonderful multicultural learning atmosphere it created. The multicultural
aspect comes came from a blending of children whose families have lived in the area for many generations,
children from the nearby Siksika First Nation, to children who are recent arrivals to the area. It was
pleasing to hear about the ways in which Danny followed the staff s lead in helping all adolescents find a
place to belong in the school.
Beginning teachers need to know the programs of study that they teach. Danny was challenged by not only
being expected to teach the program of studies he was most familiar with, but also to teach outside of his
subject major. Danny's main teaching assignment came directly from the Physical Education program of
studies, but he was challenged to also design and teach a grade 7 mathematics program. He was more than
able to put together programs that met curricular expectations while building on student interests and
abilities.
He blended his knowledge of the school with that of various progftrms of study along with a good
understanding of each of the students in his classes to create meaningful learning environments. Danny was
able to demonstrate that he believes that "all students can learn." From my reading of his plans and through
direct observation in his classes, it was evident to me that Danny was attending to various learning styles
and provided a reasonable array of differentiated leaming opportunities. During each observation, I saw
evidence of this blend when students were presented with the opportunity to participate in a variety of
learning activities centered on individual mastery of learning.
As Danny entered the Professional Semester III Internship, he was challenged to write subject specific
long-range plans. These plans were to cover all of the KSAs he was expected to teach during his semester
in Crowther Memorial. The long-range plans met the expectations of the school and that which is required
by the University of Lethbridge. In addition, Danny took those same KSAs along with items pertinent to his
students and developed unit plans and in turn daily lesson plans. Included in each unit and daily plan were
the appropriate connections to the programs of study, processes to be followed, the means to assess student
learning, a listing of resources to be used, as well as the ways in which student individual needs were to be

As much as planning is a clear indicator of success in teaching, so too are the skills and attributes
associated with forming healthy and productive relationships with the students. Danny attended to this
competency by putting in place a solid plan for forming healthy relationships early in his tenure in this
school. Danny used his quiet and gentle personality to his full advantage when forming relationships with
students. He approached life at Crowther with a determination to be open and transparent with the students
and to let them get to know him as a real person. In turn, he implemented a number of strategies that were
designed to let him get to know his students in the same manner. Danny described his relationship building

in this way, "Developing class expectations with the students helped them understand what type of person I
was going to be. We established ideas of respect between each other and myself and what was going to
happen if this expectation was not met. To further my relationship building, I would start to have
conversations individually or in small goups with students. This helped me to get to know them a little
better. These conversations were a two way process so the students could get to know me a little better and
hopefully we could furd common ground and relate to each other in some way. This is an ongoing process
which I continued throughout the year." Danny was able to use his proficiency with a unicycle as a means
of motivation for the students but also for the purpose of getting to know children and what their own
hobbies and interests were.
Educators often use an analogy of a toolkit when talking about their repertoire of instructional strategies.
Beginning teachers frequently enter the profession with just a few tools in the toolkit. It was pleasing to see
Danny in action as he employed a variety of instructional strategies. The following is a list and short
description (in Danny's words) of some of the inskuctional strategies Danny employed:

opportunity to critically evaluate something relevant to our learning. I carefully create questions,
often integral to my unit plan and unit goal. Sometimes, I ask them to evaluate their leaming and
my teaching as well. I lead the discussion by writing ideas as a mind map on a poster paper that
we can review and add to later. I also use talking circles to get some of the less extroverted
students a chance at voicing their reasoned judgments. A simple but effective way of
brainstorming in a PE setting is asking "what went well" followed by "what could we change".

frequency of feedback is crucial for providing qualrty education. A great way that I tried to
increase the quantity offeedback was to have peers give feedback on each other's work through
gallery walks, showcases, presentations, etc. Either brainstorming our criteria as a group or giving
the students a set of criteria for them to judge was crucial to building the necessary scaffolding for
them to provide qualrty and purposeful feedback."

and build offof their curiosity. For me, discovery learning inherently teaches the crucial skill of
making and testing conjectures. Discovery leaming allows learning through mistakes and moving
forward from them."

for their learning. However, I have found that Direct instruction is often needed to scaffold
students to give them the boost they need. Likewise, removing supports can be used for students
who are excelling to give them more of a challenge. Having alarge toolbox of scaffolding
techniques is a hallmark of an excellent teacher, and I am constantly trying to add to mine."

important part of leaming. While typically a PE strategy, I like to use it in all subjects. Fun and
low structured activities allow students to "let loose" and allow them to honor their humanity and
childhood in our sometimes rigid educational institutions. Through games many crucial skills can
be honed in on and worked on and I have found them to be more effective than "drill" t5rpe
activities. Some examples I've used are dodge ball to practice throwing mechanics, card games to
practice mental math, and ches*to practice visualization and problem solving."
This fine young teacher made frequent and appropriate use of technology. He came to his intemship with a
solid understanding ofhow to use technology to enhance student learning. In addition to the regular use of
the SMART board Danny used: Youtube, Voice to Text Apps, and Interactive Boards,
Fair and balanced assessment practices, often articulated as assessment for learning, assessment of learning,
and assessment as learning, are major elements inherent in the education program at the University of
Lethbridge. It was, therefore, very pleasing to see solid practices being employed in Danny's classroom. I

saw evidence of nice steps being taken by this teacher to ensure clear alignment between formative
assessments with the summative given at the end of a unit.

Danny seriously and generously offered his time and talent to the students of the school. Upon his arrival
at the school he discovered that the gade 7 students went on a week long camp. Danny quickly volunteered
to attend the camp as a supervisor and by so doing, helped the school run the program while also using it as
an opportunity to get to know the students. Danny also took time and initiative to create the school's Chess
Club.
From the evidence gathered related to his planning, relationship building, use ofinstructional stategies,
student assessment practices, and commitnent to the goals and priorities of the school, I have every
confidence in his abilities as a beginning teacher and frrnly believe that he will make an excellent
professional teacher.
Please feel free to call if you would like further evidence of Danny's abilities as a beginning teacher.

Dr.

6n Nforibourquette
Associate Professor

Retired Elementary, Middle, and High School Principal

403 329 2018 (Otrrce)
403 892 5370 (Cell)
carmen. mombourquette@uleth. ca