School of Education, Leadership Studies, and Counseling

April 21, 2016

To Whom It May Concern:
Brandi Beneke has requested a letter of recommendation for her prospective
employers and I am very pleased to do so, even though I taught her only one
semester during her progress through the teacher education program here at
Lynchburg College. Brandi was in my methods of science teaching course during
the spring of 2015. I initially found her to be quiet and attentive, and became quite
impressed early on with her detailed analyses of each class through her weekly
reflective journals. Her ability to observe and remember many details and then
reflect upon them from a teachers perspective was most impressive. She was also
thorough and well prepared for her peer teaching experience in the class. All her
work (curriculum unit, concept mapping, group work, etc.) was superlative. It is
rare that anyone aces my exams because they include a wide variety of questioning
methods as well as performance-based assessments. Brandi aced my final exam!
While I have no direct observation of her teaching ability other than peer teaching
within my own classroom, judging from her performance in my class I believe she
has great potential for becoming an educator. If you have any further questions or
would like to talk to me personally, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,
Woody McKenzie, PhD
Associate Professor, Science Education
School of Education
Lynchburg College
mckenzie@lynchburg.edu
434-544-8480

1501 Lakeside Drive Lynchburg, Virginia 24501-3199 / 434/544-8381 / Fax 434/544-8483 / www.lynchburg.edu