T H E U N I V E R S I T Y OF T E X A S A T E L P A S O

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION TEACHER EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

Re: Brenda Payan

Letter of Reference

April 24, 2017

To Whom It May Concern:

Please consider this letter as reference for Brenda Payan. Ms. Payan is a Secondary Science Major/Education Minor
and I am knowledgeable of her abilities based on her participation in two education courses in which I am/was the
Instructor.

Ms. Payan actively participated in coursework and demonstrated growth in her skills of writing and implementing a
standards based lesson plan in the Secondary Curriculum and Lesson Planning course. She has knowledge of the 5-
E and 7-E Models of Lesson Planning, Technological, Pedagogical, Content Knowledge [TPCK] and Tools, Tasks, and
Strategies. As a co-teacher and individual teacher, her lessons embedded pedagogical approaches to content that
were inquiry-based, engaging, and included elements of cooperative learning and formative assessment. Ms.
Payan is confident in her content mastery and continues to develop her teaching persona.

In the course, Methods for Secondary Science/Mathematics Education, Ms. Payan is required to co-teach a lesson
that she co-develops, including a video that would be applicable to a flip approach to teaching, thus incorporating
technology. She has been exposed to a variety of electronic applications that can be used to enhance student
learning and pedagogical approaches, including developing a learning center and collaborative/cooperative
learning approaches.

For both courses, Ms. Payan was required to complete 15 hours of classroom observation [a total of 30 hours],
which provides her with observational insight and the opportunity for first-hand experience in classroom structure,
teaching, and professional development, critical to her continued development as a pre-service science teacher. In
pursuit of her passion for teaching, Ms.Payans work habits include a commitment to assignment completion with
an educators perspective. Her work experience in the public sector demonstrates work habits desirable for
educators also. If you are in need of additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Ruby L. Lynch-Arroyo, PhD

Ruby Lynch-Arroyo, PhD
Assistant Professor of Practice
Teacher Education Department, STEM
915-747-7659
rllynch@utep.edu

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