MAED2

=**Jason Belter**=


 * Name and job title: Jason Belter science teacher Nova Classical Academy
 * Graduation Date: August 2010
 * Name of Course(s) for which I was your teacher: Capstone Practicum
 * Title of Capstone: EXPLORING UNDERSTANDING BY DESIGN FOR PLANNING A CHEMISTRY UNIT IN A PUBLIC CLASSICAL SCHOOL


 * capacity to encourage students to actively reflect on their personal growth, pedagogical approaches, and professional practice: When I began the Capstone Practicum course I had already done some very extensive recon of what to expect. I had perused some of the recently published theses and obtained a copy of a recent syllabus. I had also developed a fairly narrow focus for my Capstone topic. Vivian proved very adept at not merely accommodating this head start I had, she did not let me rest on my laurels. She was able to push me in a very productive way (primarily through very deft commentary on my chapter 1 draft) to continuing to refine my research question.


 * skill in successfully measuring student learning, interpreting data, and using results for continuous program improvement; NA


 * ability to articulate student outcomes and convey these in ways that facilitate candidate (learner) performance and ability to convey the same among learners they teach; Aside from student teaching (very few things can compete with teaching when it comes to effort), Capstone Practicum was easily the most labor intensive course I took at Hamline. The combination of pacing, clarity, and attention to feedback from the class though in many ways made it one of the least stressful classes I had taken. I knew right where I was, what was coming next. In short it was almost relaxing, each week for me brought a sense of progress and truly being one step closer to finishing my capstone.


 * ability to effectively advise, supervise, and mentor students-particularly those aspiring to be teachers and leaders in P-12 settings: When I started the Practicum course I not only had a fairly good idea about what I wanted to for a Capstone topic I also had the benefit of previous graduate experience working on a thesis. The best way that I can express how exceptional of a job Vivian did in mentoring me is to explain what she did not do. I realized quickly that my previous background and preparedness for Capstone practicum put me outside the mainstream of students who are taking the course. Much of my previous experience suggested that things could have gone badly in two ways. In the first my preparedness and experience could have largely gone unrecognized, and led to me wasting a good deal of time doing assignments that generally would be quite helpful, but I would have found redundant or basically busy work. I never felt this in the slightest. The far more insidious mistake though would have been to let me skate through. Vivian refused to take such an easy path and found ways to push me (while still being very supportive). As a result of her pushing not only was I able to grow professionally through the reflection and thinking during my thesis, but she also gently nudged me to think bigger. This lead to my first professional presentation at last years MNSTA conference. In a different vein my observations of her interacting with other students in the Practicum class indicate how flexible she is as a mentor. She seemed just as truly helpful and supportive to everyone in the class as myself. The ability to not just teach a wide spectrum of students, but mentor them effectively is nothing less than exceptional in my experience.