UW-River Falls
Lecturer
TESOL and English
Rhonda Petree is a lecturer in the English and TESOL Program at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. After earning her BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she served as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Kazakhstan. She has an MA in ESL from the University of Minnesota. In 2011, she became the founding director of the former English Language Transition Program at UWRF. During the 2018-2019 academic year, she was a Fulbright Scholar in Estonia. In 2022, she was selected as the Distinguished Teacher of the Year at UWRF. She has directed a summer English language camp in Lithuania and has conducted teacher-trainings and workshops in Singapore, Serbia, Slovenia, Great Britain, Northern Ireland, and Moldova. Currently, she serves as an Editorial Board member for the MinneTESOL Journal.
Teaching and Learning Philosophy
I often tell my students that it is an honor to teach them. Not everyone gets to do what I do – be part of the process as they gain new information, learn about significant concepts and events, and develop new understandings. I take my role – that of a guide, a facilitator, and a coach – seriously. I expect my students to take their learning seriously too. I share my teaching philosophy with my students and refer to it throughout the semester. Ultimately, this is about our relationship, so it is important to me that they know my beliefs. At the beginning of the semester. I expound upon these beliefs when introducing myself to my students, but at a foundational level:
I believe in appropriately challenging learning experiences;
I believe in constant improvement;
I believe in inclusive learning environments;
I believe in positive and productive relationships;
I believe in using resources to support learning;
I believe in opportunities; and
I believe in transformative experiences.
Sharing my philosophy with my students anchors my teaching and guides my decision making.
