Welcome

I'm Kenneth John Odle and this is my curriculum vitae. I am an English and Science teacher and a technology enthusiast. In my spare time, I like to take things apart and make different things out of them. This website is one of them.

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Education and Certification

My bachelor's degree is in biology, with a group science minor. In the fall of 2008, I returned to Western Michigan University to obtain my certification in English.

I currently have over 50 undergraduate hours each in both Biology and English, 27 undergraduate hours in other sciences, and 16 undergraduate hours in math.

View certificate

Western Michigan University — Major in English Education
December, 2010

Hover over course titles to read the course description. (Class descriptions are from the Western Michigan University course catalog.)

Fall Semester (September - December, 2010)

Spring Semester, 2010

Fall Semester, 2009

Spring Semester, 2009

Fall Semester, 2008

Western Michigan University — Bachelor of Science,
Biology Education, Group Science Minor, June, 1995

Biology Coursework

  • BIOL 101 - Animal Plant Biology
  • BIOL 102 - Plant Biology
  • BMED 211 - Human Anatomy
  • BMED 213 - Cell Biology
  • BMED 250 - Genetics
  • BIOL 301 - Ecology
  • BIOL 319 - Plant Physiology
  • BIOS 404 - Problems in Teaching Biology
  • BIOS 527 - Systematic Botany
  • BIOS 529 - Biology of Vascular Plants
  • BIOS 557 - Water Pollution Biology
  • BIOS 599 - Independent Studies in Biology (Plant Cloning)
  • BIOS 599 - Winter Ecology

Additional Science Coursework

  • ANTH 210 - Introduction to Archeology
  • CHEM 101 - General Chemistry I
  • CHEM 102 - General Chemistry II
  • CHEM 365 - Introduction to Organic Chemsitry
  • GEOL 130 - Physical Geology
  • MATH 122 - Calculus I
  • MATH 123 - Calculus II
  • MATH 200 - Calculus & Applications
  • PHYS 110 - General Physics I
  • PHYS 111 - General Physics II

Current Certification

Grades 6-12:

BA
  • English
  • Language Arts
  • Grammar
  • Writing
  • Poetry
  • Literature
  • Great Books
  • Shakespeare
  • Drama
  • Business Writing
  • Yearbook
DA
  • Biology
  • Ecology
  • Botany
  • Zoology
  • Human Anatomy & Physiology
  • Environmental Science
  • Life Science
  • Biochemistry
  • Genetics
  • Microbiology
  • Forensic Science
DX
  • General Science
  • Science
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Physics
  • Earth Science
  • Life Science
  • Physical Science
 
Computer Science
  • Computers
  • Computer Literacy
  • Keyboarding
  • Word Processing
  • Computer Applications
  • Web Design
  • Introduction to the Internet
 

Letters of Reference

Click on each persons' name to view their letter in a new window.

Teaching Experience

I have a unique combination of teaching experiences. I have taught in both rural and urban school districts, and have taught middle school, high school, and adult learners.

Kalamazoo Public Schools

English Teacher, Secondary Summer School Program (June 2013 – August 2013)

  • I will be teaching one section of 10th grade English as part of the credit recovery program.

Schoolcraft Community Schools

Middle and High School Spanish Lab Instructor (September 2012 – Present)

  • Expanded online Spanish program to grades 9-12.
  • Coordinated with classroom teacher regarding planning and assessment.
  • Collaborated in creating new Spanish curriculum for the middle school and high school.
  • Served on Technology Advisory Committee for the district, researching and advising on how to bring more technology into the classroom.
  • Developed and delivered onlinne summer course for eighth-grade students wishing to earn high school credit.
  • Prepared and delivered professional development on the use of Google Sites and Google Docs.
  • Assisted substitute teacher during extended absence of classroom teacher.
  • Promoted to Moodle Administrator
  • Additional Duties:
    • Served as freshmen class sponsor.
    • Assisted with Quiz Bowl, theatrical productions, and football concessions.

Evaluation (Opens in a new window.)

Middle School Spanish Lab Instructor (April 2012 – August 2012)

  • Instructed both seventh and eighth grade students in computer lab setting utilizing online courseware.
  • Coordinated with classroom teacher regarding planning and assessment.
  • Created and taught online course for 8th graders wishing to earn high school credit.

Evaluation (Opens in a new window.)

Battle Creek Public Schools

Physical Science Teacher (1998-2001)

  • Taught five sections of ninth-grade physical science.
  • Mentored new and developing science teachers.
  • Wrote new science curriculum (as part of a committee).
  • Evaluated and recommended new textbooks.
  • Mentored and supervised two interns during the 2000-2001 school year.

Benton Harbor Area Schools

Physical Science Teacher (1997-1998)

Taught three sections of ninth-grade physical science in a 4x4 block.

Other Teaching Experience

Decatur Public Schools

Adult Education/Community Enrichment Instructor (1995-1996)

  • Taught two sections each of General Science and Computer Applications to high school completion students.
  • Taught three sections of Computer Applications as part of the community enrichment program.

Lawrence Public Schools

Remedial Math/Reading Instructor (1992-1994)

  • Worked with junior high students under the auspices of the Article III grant in a variety of situations to build and reinforce basic math and reading skills.
  • Also worked on Junior High Curriculum Committee to develop and recommend policy, curriculum, cross-curricular activies, inter-disciplinary projects, portfolios, and evaluation instruments.

Professional Development

Professional development is one of the keys to a teacher's success in the classroom.

Good professional development both refines and extends what we currently do, and also provides us with addition tools to accomplish even more.

2012

2010

  • Carol Jago "Read Write Now: Teaching in a Digital Age"
    Western Michigan University — September 30, 2010 (3 clock hours)
  • Michigan Council of Teachers of English Bright Ideas Conference
    April 10, 2010 (6 clock hours)

2009

  • Michigan Council of Teachers of English Autumn Assembly
    Lansing, Michigan — October 30, 2009 (6 clock hours)
  • Michigan Council of Teachers of English Bright Ideas Conference
    Lansing, Michigan — April 17, 2009 (6 clock hours)
    See my blog entry about this event.
  • National Writing Project Rural Sites Network Conference
    Kalamazoo, Michigan — March 13 & 14, 2009 (8 clock hours)

2000

  • Grant Writing Workshop
    Calhoun Intermediate School District (3 clock hours)
  • Curriculum Leadership Institute
    American Geological Institute (35 clock hours)
  • PHYS 501 - Physics Modeling Workshop
    University of Michigan, Dearborn (4 grad. hours)
  • AIMS Workshop
    KRESA (35 clock hours)
  • AIMS Workshop
    KRESA (3.5 clock hours)
  • AIMS Workshop
    KRESA (3.5 clock hours)
  • New Teacher Training Institute
    Battle Creek Public Schools, as Instructor/Presenter (35 clock hours)
  • "Practical Activities for Strengthening Your Teaching of Physical Science,"
    Bureau of Education and Research (8 clock hours)

1999

  • ED 625, Western Michigan University
    Reading in the Middle School Across the Disciplines (3 grad. hours)
  • New Teacher Training Institute
    Battle Creek Public Schools (35 clock hours)
  • District Literacy Project
    Battle Creek Public Schools (28 clock hours)

1998

  • AP Biology Training
    Advanced Placement Institute, University of Notre Dame. (35 clock hours)

Conference Presentations

Good teachers are good scholars. Doing research not only keeps us apprised of advances in teaching and in our curricular areas, but shapes and informs our philosophy of teaching.

2011

Using Multicultural Literature to Teach About Social Justice

MLK Day
Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan — January 17, 2011

2010

Mind the Gap: Teaching for Reading and Writing Success to the Male Brain

Michigan Council of Teachers of English Bright Ideas Conference
Lansing, Michigan — April 10, 2010

2009

Mind the Gap: Teaching for Reading and Writing Success to the Male Brain

Sigma Tau Delta English Studies Conference
Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan — November 6, 2009

Publications

As a teacher of reading and writing, it is important that I read and write all the time. I have to model these skills for my students, as well as understand the struggles they face are.

Blogs

Additional Online Publications

Credits

How this site came to be:

Although I wrote most of the code for this site by hand, I had help from a lot of people. Some of them provided scripts, some of them helped debug code, and some various elements and giving me a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down. I owe all of them a debt of gratitude.

This site was built with jQuery, the "write less, do more" JavaScript library.

I also used the following plugins:

Help with designing a color scheme came from Color Scheme Designer by Petr Stanicek.

The icons and are from the "Silk" icon set by FamFamFam.

Other than the above items, I wrote all the other code—HTML, CSS, PHP—by hand. Sometimes it's best (and more fun) to do things the old-fashioned way.