Dr. Wade Kooiman is an assistant professor of education at the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota. As my professional mentor this year, Dr. Kooiman helped develop me into a better leader through many different meetings. We discussed many different things in relation to my professional development, such as future plans and degree oppurtunities. Dr. Kooiman also advised me in how to best implement specifc methods into my classroom, including a new technology called SWIVL. Overall, my time with Dr. Kooiman was well spent and helped me learn how to be a better, more professional teacher.
Mr. Matt Thornton
Mr. Thornton is a high school social studies teacher at Legacy High School in Bismarck, North Dakota. He mainly teaches economics and sociology classes. During my time with Mr. Thornton, I was able to sit in and see inner workings of being a social studies teacher. I had the oppurtunity to see PLC's in action, attend different types of classes, and take part in a staff meeting. With Legacy High being a new school, I also got the chance to see how they have made technological advances and utilized large amounts of teachnology in the classrrom. Along with that, Legacy also offers students increased time for collaboration and Mr. Thornton showed me how that translates into the classroom atmosphere.