When the University of North Texas received a Texas Education Agency grant in August to find and share effective teaching strategies with new teachers through its website, curriculum specialist Mike Gentry said he needed to visit Linda Stanhope at Amarillo Area Center for Advanced Learning.

Gentry said he thought Stanhope would be a good example to use in videos the university plans to publish on its website because of her leadership skills and how she interacts with students. Stanhope said she was pleased the university chose her as a teacher to highlight good teaching skills.

When the University of North Texas received a Texas Education Agency grant in August to find and share effective teaching strategies with new teachers through its website, curriculum specialist Mike Gentry said he needed to visit Linda Stanhope at Amarillo Area Center for Advanced Learning.

“We have worked with her, we know her, we’ve seen her present,” Gentry said. “We know that she has done new teacher training, We know that she would have insight into what we’re looking for to put on our website that are examples of excellence in teaching.”

Gentry filmed Stanhope’s health sciences class about identifying prescription drugs on Nov. 15 to capture strategies and methods she uses to teach her classes. Gentry said they plan to use footage of Stanhope and other AACAL teachers in “Best Practices” videos on its website to help students and new teachers learn from experienced teachers in a format that would be similar to having a mentor.

“With new teachers, when they walk into the classroom, it can be a daunting experience,” Gentry said. “You like that person there to kind of take you under their wing and answer your questions, answer your fears and provide some ideas that help make that new teacher a great teacher.”

Stanhope, 52, has worked at AACAL for 17 years. She also writes curriculum for the state and coaches new teachers to acquire skills that will help them get started in their careers, she said.

Gentry said he thought Stanhope would be a good example to use in videos the university plans to publish on its website because of her leadership skills and how she interacts with students. Stanhope said she was pleased the university chose her as a teacher to highlight good teaching skills.

“I just thought, ‘What an honor that they would choose me,’” she said.

She also said she hopes the video becomes an opportunity to show the rest of the state the strengths of AACAL teachers and programs.

Principal Jay Barrett said the school’s teachers visit places such as Austin and Dallas during summer breaks to train other teachers, and he is pleased they have an opportunity to be showcased at a broader level.

“I watch my teachers teach every day, and they’re amazing,” Barrett said. “For somebody else to recognize that, it is very rewarding.”

He said health sciences is the school’s largest program with about 350 students.

Gentry said the videos will specifically focus on career clusters such as health science, law and public safety, public administration, communication and information technology, as outlined in the university’s grants.

Stanhope said it is particularly important for to have resources such as the videos for career and technical education teachers because many of them come straight from the workforce and still need to learn skills such as how to manage a classroom.

“A lot of your new career and technology teachers have nobody to watch,” she said. “Here at AACAL we’re really blessed and we can train our new ones at help them out, but if you’re the only one at your campus, it’s kind of hard to have that contact.”

Gentry said the university has four videos planned, with the possibility of more. He said he hopes they serve as good teaching examples education students at the university and new teachers can imitate in their own classrooms.

“If you hang around the wrong crowd, you pick up those qualities of the wrong crowd,” he said. “If you hang around the good crowd, you pick up those qualities. By way of the Internet and these videos, we’re having new teachers hang around the good crowd.”