1. April 15th, 2015
To WhomIt May Concern,
I am writingonbehalf of myEDUC 1F95 TeachingAssistantRachel Brodie.Thisschool yearIhad
the privilege of beinginherEducationseminaronTuesdaymorning’satBrockUniversity.Iama
secondyearChildandYouth Studiesmajorhopingtoone daybecome a Kindergartenteacher.
BeinginRachel’sseminarthisyeartrulybroadenedmyknowledge abouteducationinafunand
innovative way.
Rachel isa pleasure tobe aroundbecause of herpleasant,positive andcreative attitude
towardsteaching.Each weekseminarwasstructureddifferentlyinwayswhichbestsuitedthe
lesson.Atthe start of the year Rachel broughtina snacksignup schedule toensure thateach
weekournutritionneedsweremetbefore startingclass.She alsoensuredthataweekbefore
our nextclasswe had some guidingquestionstoaccompanyourreadingstoensure meaningful
conversationswere hadthe followingweek.Hertechniqueof givingustime todiscusswith
elbowpartnersbefore sharingwiththe class,reallyallowedforeachpersontohave something
to say.By doingso everyone hadanequal opportunitytoattainparticipationmarksforthat
week.
Rachel providedqualitysupporttoeachstudentnotonlywithinclassbutalsothroughe-mail
whenstudentsneededclarification.If anyone wasuncomfortablesharingwiththe classor
didn’tattaintheirdesiredparticipationmarksforthe day Rachel providedthe supporttohelp
those students.She gave qualityreflectionandsuggestiononstudentassignmentstoensure
everyone received the highestpossiblegrade.She wasveryopenandinclusivetodifferent
learningstylesandaccommodatedeachstudent’sindividual needs.
One of the biggesthighlightsforme beinginRachel’sseminarwasthe endlessactivitiesand
collaborative group workshe broughttoclasseach seminar.Eachweekshe ensuredthatthere
were funyeteducational activitiesforusto learncertainconcepts.We alsosplitintogroupsand
made collaborative examnotesthateveryonehasaccessto whenstudyingforourfinals.Her
use of creative activitiesreallyaddedtothe classworkeachweekandmade seminarmore
exciting.
WithRachel’sendlessmotivation,creativityandcommitmenttoourclasswe hada very
successful seminarthroughoutthe 2014/2015 school year.I wouldhighlyrecommendRachel for
any award,jobor positionregardingteachingandeducation.Herpassionforteachingshines
throughin everythingshe doesandisveryclearthe momentyougetto know her.If youhave
any questions,pleasefeel free tocontactme at the numberbelow.
Regards,
CarleyKent
ck13dc@brocku.ca

2. May 16, 2015
To Whom It May Concern,
The purpose of this letter is to outline the teaching excellence that Rachel Brodie
demonstrated while acting as my TA throughout my EDUC 1F95 course at Brock University during
the 2014-2015 school year. She was a wonderful TA that positively contributed to my University
education and passion for the teaching profession.
Rachel conducted her seminars in such a way that everyone in the class felt comfortable.
These efforts were seen before each class; she promptly sent the class e-mails before seminar so we
knew exactly what we would be covering. This tactic allowed for more in depth conversation
because the students were prepared for the discussionand time was not lost searching through notes
for the answer. Before every group discussion, she had the class work in smaller groups so we would
feel confident about our answers when we spoke in front of the class. Another way that Rachel made
the seminar a comfortable environment for everyone was through the creation of a weekly snack list.
As a class, we all took turns throughout the year to bring in a snack for the class to enjoy. These
snacks increased the energy in the room, which in turn created a more stimulating environment for
the class. Rachel went above and beyond throughout this course to make sure that the seminar room
was a comfortable environment for everyone.
When assessing students, it is important to use a variety of different tools so that every
learning style can be accounted for. Rachel was able to do this when marking her students for
participation marks. Unlike most TAs that only give out marks for speaking in front of the entire
class, Rachel also gave students marks for talking with their group mates or e-mailing her the
answers to the seminar questions after class. This tactic made the assessment process fair to all
learning styles and promoted participation by all.
I believe that one aspect that separates good teachers from great teachers is support outside
of the classroom. Rachel was always available to provide feedback to her students for any writing
assignment or exam. On numerous occasions I received constructive criticism from Rachel that
certainly improved the quality of my essays. When I e-mailed Rachel I knew I was going to receive
more than a “good job”, I knew that she would take the time to look through my work and provide in
depth analysis on my paper. Due to the support that Rachel provided her students outside of the
teacher, I believe that she is not only a good teacher, but a great one.
Rachel promoted collaboration between our peers in our seminar and the entire course
through her innovative studying tools. Throughout the course we made exam study notes in class as
a group to help each other out for the final exams. She created an online resource called “Quizlet” for
everyone to put their notes together and share with the course. She also had the idea of creating a
course wide TA course review so that every student in the course could study from the same
resource.
I thought that Rachel was a great teacher that is committed to teaching. She consistently
goes the extra mileto ensure that her students can be the best that they can be. I was lucky to have
her as a TA and I am confident that she will continue to selflessly commit herself to the teaching
profession.
Sincerely,
Melissa Churchill
mt12ih@brocku.ca

3. May, 2015
To Whom It May Concern,
Rachel was my TA for Education 1F95 over the course of both the fall and winter semester at
Brock University every Tuesday morning. Being in my second yearof university, I have come across some
TA’s who put little or no effort into their seminars, and I have rarely encountered a TA who has displayed
effort that surpasses the expectations of a course. Rachel falls perfectly within the category of a TA who
goes well above and beyond the minimum standard of what a TA should embody. As a result of her
outstanding performance this year as my TA, I would have to say she was by far, my favourite TA due to
her commitment and dedication to the course,and her amiable personality.
I have always been relatively shy in seminars, but I enjoyed the atmosphere in the Education
seminar as a result of Rachel’s techniques,which allowed me to feel comfortable and more willing to
participate. Rachel allowed us to discuss topics with the people closest to us, which was a great idea
because I sat beside my friends and felt comfortable to share my ideas with them, rather than blurting out
answers to the larger group. It was extremely helpful that Rachel counted these for seminar participation
marks, as well. This did, however, allow me to feel more confident to speak in the larger group after the
small group discussions because Ifelt more confident from this method.
She also gave us the option to send in our questions through e-mail if we did not feel comfortable
at all to speak, which she counted for participation marks. I thought this was a wonderful way for people to
gain marks because I did it a few times and appreciated it. I haven’t had any otherTA make this option
available unless you speakto them personally, but Rachel made it an option for everyone from the
beginning, without having to approach her. This meant that Rachel would have to take extra time out of
her day to send the questions earlier to us,which I really think shows how much she cared about us and
wanted to give us as many options as possible to make the course a great experience. I liked that everyone
had an equal chance of getting marks because for me, I have a harder time speaking in seminar, but that
does not mean I do not understand the material, I just communicate it differently. I really liked this option,
and I know other people in my seminar did as well. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses,and
different approaches to learning, and Rachel definitely accommodated everyone. Rachel also brought up
the idea of us bringing snacks to seminar, which I thought was neat! I really liked bringing in snacks
because it made the environment of the seminar more inviting and comfortable for me. No other seminar
has done this in the past that I have been in.
In regards to support,Rachel was thorough when it came to breaking down the expectations of the
exams and assignments,and how to achieve good marks in return. The assignments felt less daunting when
she explained everything in detail, and gave us great strategies to ensure that we were on the right track. I
remember her allowing us to do brainstorms and go over each question so we understood them, along with
examples. I have never had a TA that explained the exams and essays so effectively. I was very thankful
that she did this for each assignment because I was never lost with what I should be doing as a result. In
addition, I was never in the dark in regards to where I was at in seminar and how I was doing. Rachel
would send out our updated marks on a regular basis,so I was always up to date with everything. Most
seminars I have had give me my participation mark at the end of the course,so by then it is too late for me
to do anything about it, which is extremely frustrating. It was very refreshing because I was able to
improve my participation mark from the first term this way.
In seminar, if someone said something that wasn’t quite the answer, Rachel never made that
person feel incompetent or less intelligent, she would help the person reach the answer, or simply build on
what the person was trying to say. I have had TA’s that are quite blunt and can make you feel unintelligent,
which (for me anyways)causes me to not want to speak anymore. Rachel, however, never made me or
anyone else feel like they couldn’t speakor what they said was foolish. She was very approachable and
easy to converse with. I also noticed that she allowed everyone to speak who had their hand up. If someone
put up their hand,but hadn’t spoke for a long time, she would pick them opposed to someone who always
answered to also give the person who barely spoke a chance to say something. From my observations,she
did a good job of including everyone in the discussion and had no biases or favourites.

4. Rachel was very effective in regards to posting recourses for us on our SAKAI site. Rachel
always posted the week’s reminders and seminar questions for us,from September to the end of classes in
March. She also posted something that she labeled the “Additional Teacher Recourses,” which included
instructions on how to right a proper cover letter, resume accomplishment statements,a sample CV
document, tips for a teacher resume and cover letter tips, and a teacher resume checklist. I was really
impressed with all of these recourses,because they will definitely help me in the future when it is my turn
to write all of these documents myself. Rachel did not have to do this for us, but she did, which proves to
me how much she wants us to succeed and how dedicated she is.
Rachel thought it would be a good idea for my seminar to make collaborative study notes for each
other to prepare for both exams. So, she split everything up for us and then posted what we completed in
our SAKAI group. I thought this saved a lot of time for individual studying,and was a great method in
regards to studying. I was able to feel more confident going into the exam because I felt very prepared.
Rachel also was the one who came up with the idea of putting togetherexam review notes for the entire
course,ensuring that the 19 seminars in the whole course would have access to the same materials.
Rachel also came up with fun activities that related to the topics we discussed for seminar.
Something I thought was really cool was when we wrote personal letters to our future selves. I thought this
was neat because I will be able to read where I was in life at the time and see how far I have come. She is
going to email these to us when we are in teachers college, so I appreciate that she is going outside of the
expectations of being a TA to do this for us! We also played a game of black jack with the people beside
us, and the winner had to move on to the next group. However, we could not speakand could not explain
the instructions to the next group because each group had different instructions (whoever was closet to 15,
or 18 for example), which really showed us how difficult it is without being able to communicate and not
knowing the rules prior of the next groups game. She did activities like this to help us understand the
content more easily, and I thought it was great because everyone learns differently. It was also fun, and a
different way of learning, so I really enjoyed this activity because it proved that not everyone has the same
chances in life if they don’t know the rules or have access to the same recourses. So Rachel did an
excellent job of incorporating fun activities into the seminar to help us understand topics more effectively.
In conclusion, I had a wonderful experience in Rachel’s seminar. She is by far my favourite TA
because she was willing to do more than what was required of her, and went out of her way to make sure
we were successful. I really feel that Rachel deserves this award because of her commitment to our
seminar, and her willingness to include everyone. She was extremely helpful throughout the year, and was
always thoroughly prepared to teach and discuss with us in seminar. She made feel like an equal, and was
always extremely approachable. Overall, I really enjoyed my time in that seminar because of Rachel’s
dedication and effort.
Sincerely,
Meagan Porter
mp12ub@brocku.ca
Brock Student

5. May 30, 2015
To Whom It May Concern,
It is with great pleasure that I write this letter of recommendation for Rachel
Brodie. She has been an outstanding teaching assistant in my EDUC 1F95 first year
course at Brock University. I have been very fortunate to be in her seminar class this year,
in which she helped every student to expand our knowledge on education.
Rachel is very open to understand individuals’ perspective in education and she
respects all of her students’ thoughts and knowledge towards education. I believe being
open to diversity is a strength and key point in education career. Rachel is a special TA
and an inspiration to me. With lacking confidence I had hard time reaching out my hand
to ask for help or raise my hand up to ask question but Rachel helped beyond my
expectations. Although there was hesitations at times, I felt really encouraged and
comfortable participating in her seminar.
Rachel creates a positive environment, whole-heartedly supports students and
always pursued student centered seminars and these are just a few of her many strengths.
In the time that Rachel has been a teaching assistant in my seminar, I strongly believe
that she developed a positive relationship with all whom she encounters. Her positive
personality, warmth and enthusiasm truly influenced all of her students. Rachel cares
about her students and it really shows.
With Rachel’s never ending passion towards her career, I once again highly recommend
Rachel for any position and sincerely wish Rachel the best in all her future endeavours. If
you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at the email below.
Best Regards,
Sungmi Kwon
sk13oh@brocku.ca