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Ashley
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Experienced Research Analyst and InstructorSeattle, WashingtonAshley Thirkill-MackelprangBetterist in:Spanish Website: betterfly.com/seattlespanish Twitter Feeds: @SeattleSpanish Ashley is an experienced instructor and researcher in the social sciences and world languages. She has researched and worked in in Asia, Latin America, Europe, and Africa. Areas in which she hold special expertise include peace and conflict studies, politics, cultural studies and economics in Colombia, much of Central America, southern Mexico and Kenya, Uganda, and Sudan. With a Masters in Political Science, a Masters in International Studes and a graduate certificate in Statistics in Social Sciences, Ashley has significant experience carrying out analytical research on war, security and politics. Her undergraduate degree was in Economics, cum laude, from the University of Utah and University of Cambridge. Ashley has taught courses in Spanish, Peace and Conflict Studies and various Social Sciences (mainly Political Science) at the University of Washington, North Seattle Community College, Washington Academy of Languages/Seattle Pacific University and the University of Utah. Additionally, her experience includes teaching at the K-12 level, in which she taught language arts and social studies courses in the US, as well as China and Nicaragua. Ashley’s passion for teaching is seen in the reviews past colleagues, students, and employers have given her. These can be seen at the bottom of this page. Recommendations For Ashley Spanish Instructor “Ashley created a pleasant environment for learning spanish. She was full of good humor, sensitive to each of her students strengths and weaknesses and had many special tricks for how to remember what we learned. I walked away from the class with curiosity and courage to use my new language skills. I can highly recommend Ashley to anyone interested in learning spanish.” March 28, 2011 “Ashley is a terrific Spanish teacher. I took two classes from her. She helps even stumble-tongued beginners like myself find a proper Spanish accent with her grace, wit and patience. She was always on time, and ready for class (even when her students weren’t). Her good humor, careful persistent approach and attention to detail with every student made coming to class a joy. Ashley had a curriculum that was both current and interesting. I recommend her without reservation.” March 16, 2011 Spanish Instructor “Ashley taught my beginning level Spanish class at Washington Academy of Languages. As an aspiring English as a Foreign Language teacher, I appreciated her professionalism and the effective teaching strategies she employed. Though our class size was small, our needs as students were very diverse. Ashley did a superb job of assessing our language needs and adjusting her teaching accordingly. She always took time to answer students’ questions and gave us plenty of opportunity to use the language we were learning in an authentic context. I would reccommend taking a language class from her to anyone wanting to study Spanish.” March 17, 2011 Board Member “Ashley is intelligent, conscientious, innovative, and dedicated. I first worked with her professionally several years ago when she was a co-author an article on bioterrorism that we published in Social Work’s premier journal. When I created Access Without Borders, a non-profit dedicated to humanitarian work in developing countries, Ashley willingly agreed to serve as a board member. In addition, because of her background and expertise in developing countries, her command of Spanish, her understanding of violence and social justice, and her skills as an instructor, I have asked her to develop and lead a study abroad experience for college students to Guatemala.
In summary, I hold this young woman in high regard. She is an impressive young woman in the early stages of a career who is a positive influence on those with whom she works.” March 15, 2011 “Mrs. Thirkill was one of the most interactive, intelligent, and creative teachers I have ever had. I can honestly say that this class was much easier to understand and process when I was able to discuss topics with Mrs. Thirkill. She has the ability to break subjects down into easily understandable components, and then relate it directly to subjects that affect the student’s daily life. This method of teaching combined with her enthusiasm and knowledge allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of comparative politics. I felt free to ask questions and begin a discussion in her classroom. I believe that this sort of environment is incredibly important for students who wish to truly understand a subject, and Mrs. Thirkill certainly pushed us to explore topics further and discuss this during the time we spent together as a class. My knowledge of comparative politics was greatly expanded during that quarter and despite the fact that I am not a political science major, I continue to pursue the subject in my free time because of my great experience with Mrs. Thirkill.” March 24, 2011 “Ashley was my instructor for a class at the University of Washington and I regard her as one of the very best I have had during my three years there. As an instructor, she went above and beyond to make sure all students had a solid understanding of the material covered in lectures and made herself available for extra help when necessary. I would strongly recommend her due to her detailed knowledge in the subject area we focused on in the class and her ability to engage the students during our section meetings. She is incredibly personable and approachable to ask questions to and was always able to give accurate and insightful answers.” March 23, 2011 “Ashley was among my top two favorite instructors at the University of Washington. I took three classes in which Ashley was my T.A. or class facilitator: Intro to Comparative Politics, North Africa & Middle East Politics, and The Comparative Politics of Violence In Warfare. I wish I could have taken more classes with her because she has a profound ability to integrate course material, thereby making it more meaningful to students. She truly cares whether her students grasp the concepts, and she made herself very accessible to us. I especially enjoyed hearing Ashley’s astute perspectives on many of the topics we discussed in class, but that’s not to say she ever dominated discussions; Ashley centered every class around constructive student discussion and debate, and she incorporated group work that fostered collaboration within a subject area (Poli Sci) that rarely allows for group work. Ashley practiced well what she preached: that she saw herself more as a class facilitator and co-constructor of knowledge, rather than as a lecturer. My interest in the material, which she was instrumental in cultivating, allowed me to learn a lot in her classes and pursue extracurricular research just for the fun of it.
Ashley has inspired me to follow my passions and harness my talents, for which I am very grateful. I am fortunate to know Ashley as a colleague and a friend, and, I am confident in her teaching abilities. She will be an asset to any educational institution that is prudent enough to bring her on board!” March 23, 2011 “I had Ashley as a teaching assistant and instructor for two classes at the University of Washington. As I am about to graduate, I can safely say that her classes were easily among the best I had while at UW. Ashley cares about getting her students interested in the material and able to understand it, and her efforts were clearly realized in the form of higher than average student participation and interaction. She is very talented at the very difficult task of striking a balance between providing structured, guided learning and fostering bottom-up student participation, and her expertise on the subject matter was clear. Outside the classroom, Ashley was always willing and available in providing guidance regarding both class materials and general strategies for success. I would gladly recommend Ashley for any future position.” March 17, 2011 “Ashley was by far one of the best teaching assistants I had the pleasure of having at the University of Washington. She was always willing to engage with students to better facilitate their learning process. Her sections always enhanced the lectures and helped us to apply the concepts. She was always prepared and diligent. Not only did she answer our questions during class but always made herself accessible outside of class as well. Ashley made a point to connect with each student about their work. She would always meet us where we were at. I would gladly take another course with her. I recommend her in the highest regard!” March 15, 2011 “Ashley is a patient, knowledgeable, and encouraging Spanish professor. I’ve had roughly fifteen different Spanish instructors over the course of four years of study and Ashley easily stands out as one of the most competent and fun to work with. I studied under Ashley in 2006 at the University of Washington as a low-intermediate level student. Since then, I have lived in Mexico for nearly two years, worked in Spanish-speaking environments, and studied Mexican Literature at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) in Mexico City. Ashley was the last instructor I had stateside before living abroad and she did what all good language teachers do – taught me a few grammatical things and exposed me to new cultural and historical events. But more importantly, Ashley helped prepare me for the thousands of difficult, confusing, and awkward conversations that lay ahead and to stick with it. Teaching a foreign language is hard. Ashley does it as well as anyone I’ve worked with. Sinceramente, Jonathan” March 20, 2011 “Ashley was a teaching assistant for an International Relations Political Science course. Her ability to thoroughly and clearly convey complex issues and ideas to young students created a successful academic quarter. Her leadership in discussions, her diligence in students’ progress, and her clarity in expected work pushed and encouraged students to think beyond the surface material and welcomed new ideas and thoughts while staying in the realm of an introductory level class. Her role in students’ progress and comprehension set them up for great success in the course, as well as subsequent course in the field.” March 16, 2011 |