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Spring 2015

Dear ED201 Student,


I am thrilled for you that you have begun to first steps into your dream career
as an educator! Welcome into the Alverno College education program. I truly hope
you find all of the answers, knowledge, and experience you are looking for, as I
have. My name is Amanda Dlugi, and I am a senior at Alverno College. Over the
past five years, I have been pursing my degrees in biology and broad-field science
with a support in secondary education, as I am passionate about both fields of
science and education. As you are beginning your professional development as an
educator, I would love to take the time to provide you with a little bit of insight and
advice about the journey you are about to pursue, as both your peer and future
colleague in the field of education.
Within the first field placement course you are currently enrolled in, ED201,
you will already begin to gain experience and develop immensely as a future
teacher. Not only will you have your first practicum experience of collaborating with
current professionals in the field of education, but also you will be introduced to the
Wisconsin Teacher Standards (WTS) and the Five Alverno Advanced
Education Abilities (AAEA). My first piece of advice to you would be to be
sure to listen carefully and reflect on each of these often, as they both will truly
serve as a guiding tool for your growth throughout your educational program at
Alverno College. Looking back, I only wish I would have reflected more carefully at
the time of each of my field placements, on how the WTS and AAEA applied to
each lesson I had facilitated, as well as evaluated the efficacy of my performance
within each of these educational standards. This is an action which I highly
encourage you to consider performing throughout your program to be able to:
determine a deep understanding of the relationships between the WTS and AAEA
early on, observe how they are reflected in your instruction, and continue to analyze
them throughout your program in greater detail. The lesson plans you develop will
and should incorporate a handful of the Wisconsin Teacher Standards, as they
truly are tools which guide effective teaching. During your instruction, you will
realize that in order to be an effective educator, you must be able to do the
following: conceptualization of your discipline to make the material meaningful to
your students, diagnose the behaviors, attitudes, and types of learners in your

Spring 2015
classroom in order to make learning accessible to all of your leaners, communicate
with your students and all those involved in their education in order to convey
professional and educational messages, coordinate the materials, resources, and
learning processes, and lastly, perform integrated interaction through effective
balance of all of the previous abilities in order to develop a positive learning
environment based on student esteem, empathy, and equity.
Within the education program, you will have the privilege to have five field
placements, including an exceptional learner field. I cannot stress to you enough
the importance of these fields in your professional development process. I have
been extremely grateful to have been able to grow as an educator directly within
these placements, as they expose you to not only observation of teaching practices
that are currently being pursued in the field by your future colleagues, but also
provide you the opportunity to serve as a classroom teacher. My second piece of
advice to you would be that whenever possible, I encourage you to embrace every
opportunity provided to you; perceive every obstacle a learning experience that will
only help you to grow as a professional and a more effective educator. As you may
expect, the intensity the criteria you must demonstrate through your performance
in your field placements increases as the program goes on, as the requirements of
you as a developing educator increase per field. You will be provided more and
more teaching opportunities throughout your program, which also allow for you to
have the chance to reflect on your instructional choices and teaching abilities you
have.
My third and final piece of advice to you includes three expectations,
which I believe you should set for yourself at all times during your teacher
development. As an aspiring educator myself, there are definitely three goals which
I must stress upon you as a future educator yourself, as they are a few things I
learned to accept along the way:
1. Be prepared for anything.
Throughout your program, expect your professional and academic goals for yourself
to change. Sometimes, the original plan you establish for yourself may change
completely to something completely different. Do not hesitate to change your
mind; original plan may not even be the best plan for you. In education, you are

Spring 2015
entering into a dynamic, ever-changing field. This being said, adapting your plans
to meet your own needs at a given time in your life will only help you toward
becoming a more effective problem-solver and self-aware educator.
2. Be sure you are passionate about what you do.
As you take your steps into your first field placement, do not be afraid to be
nervous! You are taking the first steps into your future career, so this should be
something you feel excited and even anxious about! Overall, as you pursue
education, make sure you are passionate about not only facilitating a body of
knowledge to students, but also passionate about learning yourself. As an educator,
your learning will never end, and you will continue to learn with you students.
Please make sure this is your passion.
3. Be willing and open-minded to new perspectives.
Lastly, due to the previously mentioned fact that education is an extremely
dynamic field, you must be willing to accept changes, and be open to learning and
approaching education in different ways. You will not always be within your zone of
comfort, so being willing to approach and adapt to various situations (integrated
interaction) will make you an effective educator. Whether it be a new method of
organization, communication, assessment, or instructional strategies, being open to
new perspectives within teaching is essential in order to consistently meet the
academic and developmental needs of your students in your classroom. Also, it is
important to realize that you are not in this alone. You are surrounded by
colleagues and professionals who will be willing to support your development as an
even better teacher.
In closing, I wish you all the best within your development as an educator!
Please feel free to contact me via phone or e-mail if you would like to learn more
about the Alverno College Education program, discuss professional development or
even for support during your program. Also, if you have and questions, comments,
or concerns, feel free to contact me as well and I would be more than happy to
address these as well, as I would be more than willing to assist a fellow Alverno
educator in any way I possibly can.

Spring 2015

Sincerely,

Amanda N. Dlugi
Amanda N. Dlugi
Secondary Science Education Student
Prospective Candidate for Student Teaching Fall 2015

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