THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO

Department of History

March 19, 2018

To whom it may concern:

I first became acquainted with Lisa Molina this past August when she enrolled in my upper
division course titled “HIST 4330: Teaching History/Social Studies.” This capstone course for
pre-service secondary social studies teachers offered me the ability to observe Ms. Molina’s
active participation in group discussions on the scholarship of history teaching and learning.
I also evaluated her aptitude for professional development, peer and self-evaluation,
lecturing, and lesson planning. Overall, Ms. Molina excelled – a fact made evident by the “A”
she earned in the class. In fact, I was particularly impressed by her creative lesson planning,
engaging lecture style, and incorporation of music into the study of the past. She will make a
fine educator in the near future.

I also become familiar with Ms. Molina through her teaching philosophy and résumé. In
particular, she emphasizes effective classroom management and project-based learning. She
intends to demonstrate the ways in which social studies knowledge can be applied to life
decisions, as well as social and political matters. Yet, perhaps more importantly, she wants to
make sure her students succeed. In addition, she already has teaching experience as a
substitute teacher for Clint Independent School District and as a Shine Program Tutor in
Socorro, Texas. Lastly, in my classroom Ms. Molina was prepared, professional, and dedicated
to teaching social studies.

For these reasons I give Lisa Molina my highest possible recommendation, as I am confident
that she will become a tremendous asset to the school district fortunate to hire her.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely,

Brad J. Cartwright, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Practice
Director of the Center for History Teaching and Learning
bjcartwright@utep.edu

500 W. University Ave.

El Paso, Texas
79968-0532
(915) 747-5508
Fax: (915) 747-5948
www.utep.edu/history