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Section 1

This document provides an introduction and overview of a teacher candidate's portfolio. The portfolio contains 6 sections that demonstrate the candidate's qualifications and preparedness to become an elementary school teacher. The sections include the candidate's background and experiences, artifacts from their coursework, alignment of their work with educational standards, a reflection, and a video interview. The introduction discusses the candidate's journey in the master's program and their desire to show how they can effectively engage and support students' learning.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
90 views7 pages

Section 1

This document provides an introduction and overview of a teacher candidate's portfolio. The portfolio contains 6 sections that demonstrate the candidate's qualifications and preparedness to become an elementary school teacher. The sections include the candidate's background and experiences, artifacts from their coursework, alignment of their work with educational standards, a reflection, and a video interview. The introduction discusses the candidate's journey in the master's program and their desire to show how they can effectively engage and support students' learning.

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Section One: Introduction, Overview and Rationale

The journey of being a Masters of Elementary Education student has been filled with

diverse, and rich learning opportunities. As I prepare to enter the work force and begin my

career, I have acquired a collection of work that I feel pride in sharing to show my

accomplishments thus far. Being a teacher is more than instructing a group of young people. An

effective teacher knows their students and knows how to engage them in a way that supports

their learning needs and provides them an opportunity to succeed. In addition, an effective

teacher can motivate their students to learn and engage them in what’s being studied. Teachers

require an intensive skill set to really reach their student’s full capabilities and support them in

their educational journey. I believe that the work I have included in my portfolio speaks

demonstrates my ability to be an effective teacher.

There are six sections in my portfolio to be explored following this introduction. The first

section is the Teacher Candidate Introduction to the Elementary Portfolio Project Introduction,

which you are currently reading. The second section is Teacher Candidate Background

Experience. Within this section you will read about my philosophy as a teacher and the

experiences that have prepared me for this career. Next, you will read through my Teacher

Candidate Artifacts. Here you will read through the various works I have created to demonstrate

to you my ability to instruct, engage, and explore new opportunities with my students. Following

my artifacts, you will read through the Alignment to Curriculum & Professional Standards

section where I will draw parallels between my artifacts and the curriculum and professional

standards. Next, you will find my Teacher Candidate Reflection. Finally, you will have the

opportunity to hear my Teacher Candidate Interview Video where you will have the opportunity

to hear my responses to various mock interview questions.


As you read further into my portfolio, my hope is that you will see the hard work that has

been put into my future career. To ensure my preparedness to be the best teacher I can be in the

field of education, I have focused my time and energy into each piece of work attached. I believe

that in addition to the time and effort I have put into the pieces of work attached, the help and

support I have sought out from my mentors in times of need speaks to my character as a future

teacher. I consider myself a constant work in progress, as I believe there is always room for

growth. With that, I understand that as I enter the field of teaching seeking out guidance and

support will accentuate the skill set I have acquired from my time at Medaille College. I am

excited for you to explore my portfolio, and even more so I am excited to begin my transition

from student, to teacher.

Portfolio Development

As briefly outlined above, this portfolio has six major sections that you will explore

beginning with this introduction, Section One, Teacher Candidate Introduction to the

Elementary Portfolio Project. Section Two of my portfolio project is the Teacher Candidate

Background Experience portion. Within this section, I will share with you my educational

background, and the work experience I have acquired that has brought me to this point in my

education. My school observations and experiences, philosophy of education and result will also

be shared here. This section will provide a deeper look into the personal and professional

experiences that have brought me to become a teacher candidate.

Section three will provide the Teacher Candidate Artifacts, which are pieces of academic

work created over my time as a teacher candidate. The pieces of work I have included in my

portfolio represent my best work, and the work I am most proud to share with you. Some of the

artifacts showcased in my portfolio include lesson plans, assessment samples, and a mock
classroom website I created which demonstrates my ability to not only utilize technology in my

classroom, but also my ability to actively communicate with those in my classroom community.

Something important to take away from every piece included is my enthusiasm when engaging

students. I have enjoyed being creative and finding new and exciting ways to indulge them in

learning. All of my artifacts include a different method/activity that is used to entice students and

enhance their learning experience, something I am passionate about.

Section four, Alignment to the Curriculum and Professional Standards, will draw

parallels between the artifacts I have provided in my portfolio with the New York State and

Ontario curriculum and professional standards. Within this section I will demonstrate how I, a

teacher candidate and future professional, adhere to the requirements of a teacher in the field.

The standards and curriculum are put in place and mandated to ensure students are provided the

best opportunity possible to succeed in their education. As a professional embarking into a career

as a teacher, I feel as though these standards hold me accountable to my students, and their right

to be provided an education.

Within this section I will explain how the artifacts I have included are in alignment with

the following standards and curriculum: INTASC Standards, NYS Code of Ethics for Educators,

Ontario Teacher Ethical Standards, P-12 NYS Common Core Learning Standards (ELA, Math

and Social Studies), NYS Learning Standards, Ontario Ministry of Education Curriculum

Expectation, DOE Claims & CAEP Standards, International Society for Technology Education

for Teachers and Students (ISTE), International Literacy Association (ILA) Professional

Standards and, Council for Exceptional Children (ECE).

Section five, Teacher Candidate Reflection, will provide an opportunity for the reader to

understand the Portfolio Project/Teacher Education Learning Experiences I have had and my
Reediness to Become a Teacher. My experiences leading up to Medaille College and the

experiences I have been privileged enough to have throughout finishing my graduate degree have

all shaped me into the eager teacher I am ready to become. This reflection will emphasize that I

take my role as a future teacher seriously, and that I have worked incredibly hard to ensure I

have acquired the necessary skills required to be the best teacher I can be.

Finally, section six, Teacher Candidate Interview Video, provides you with the

opportunity to pair a face to all of the work accumulated in this portfolio. I have picked my best

work to be showcased in this portfolio, but I believe that equally important to my written skills is

my ability to present myself in a professional manner. I have worked in retail, the service

industry, and in an educational setting as a therapist. Although all of my work experiences differ

greatly, what they all have in common is the requirement to interact with a variety of people. As

a result, I believe that my communication skills and ability to present myself professionally will

be extremely apparent in my video, and I look forward to you having the opportunity to see me

“live in person”!

Theories, Theorists and Experts in the Field of Education

The field of education as a whole has been greatly shaped by many highly influential

theorists and experts. I feel extremely lucky to be pursuing a career that has so many different

theorists to reference and look to for guidance. For me, there are four theorists I feel have

influenced, and will continue to influence my practice. The four theorists are as follows: Lev

Vygotsky, Jean Piaget, Benjamin Bloom, and Howard Gardner.

To begin, Lev Vygotsky is most well-known for his work with the concept of “Zone of

Proximal Development”. The zone of proximal development is defined by Vygotsky as “the

distance between the actual development level as determined by the independent problem
solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under

guidance or collaboration with more capable others” (Eun, 2017). When discussing Vygotsky in

my graduate classes, we discuss how the zone of proximal development is what our students

know versus what they can achieve when supported by a more knowledgeable other. With

scaffolding and the support of teachers and support staff, students are given the opportunity to

reach deeper levels of thinking and attain more knowledge. In my strong opinion, learning is not

a linear process. Students with often require guidance in the classroom and I believe it is

important that teachers take on that role in supporting our students.

The second theorist that I find highly influential in the field of education is Jean Piaget.

Piaget’s work was centered around constructivism, and he theorized that children’s cognitive

development happens in four stages. The first stage is the sensorimotor stage, where infants

explore their world using physical touch and movements (DeWolf, 2018). Next is the

preoperational stage, where preschool aged children begin having some symbolic play and

possess the ability to make mental representations, however their memory, attention, and mental

flexibility is still lacking (DeWolf, 2018). The third stage is the concrete operational stage, where

school-aged children are able manipulate several concrete objects (DeWolf, 2018). Finally, the

last stage is the formal operational stage. In this stage, those entering adolescence possess the

ability to think more logically and have the capacity to consider more abstract, hypothetical

concepts (DeWolf, 2018). When working with elementary students, I think it is important to

understand what a child’s cognitive capabilities typically are at that age. Students learn in

different ways as they age and grow cognitively, which is something I believe teachers should

reference when working with the children in their classroom.


Next, the third theorist that will continue to influence me greatly in my work is Benjamin

Bloom. Bloom is best known developing Blooms Taxonomy. It is inevitable that when learning,

some tasks will challenge us more than others. Within Blooms Taxonomy there are levels of

learning, with key words/concepts to reference, that require learners to think more deeply and

critically about the topic at hand (Adams, 2015). Bloom’s levels begin with knowledge, and

increase in complexity, ending with evaluation (Adams, 2015). As a teacher, I want to be

providing students with learning opportunities that build upon what they know, to challenge

them to go one step further. Blooms Taxonomy is something I have used in every lesson plan I

have created and will continue to use to instruct my class appropriately.

Finally, Howard Gardner is the last theorist I find extremely influential in the field of

education. Gardner theorized that humans possess a vast range of capabilities and intelligences,

which include the following eight: Linguistic intelligence, logical-mathematical intelligence,

spatial intelligence, bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, musical intelligence, interpersonal

intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence, and naturalistic intelligence (Armstrong, 2018, p 2-3).

With this Gardner is saying that humans naturally possess different intelligences and we learn in

different ways. Personally, I am a bodily-kinesthetic learner, but I recognize that I will have an

array of different intelligences present in my classroom. If there are numerous types of

intelligences sitting in one room, that means there cannot be a “one-size fits all” approach to

teaching. It is extremely important to adjust your teaching style to help support different kinds of

learners to the best of your abilities as a teacher.

Conclusion

I have dedicated the time and effort necessary to be the best possible teacher candidate I

can be. This portfolio is a collection of my most outstanding work, and the work I feel the
upmost pride in sharing with you. Throughout my time as a working professional and Master of

Education student, I have acquired skills that I will take with me moving forward in my career as

a teacher. After reviewing my project, I believe you will see that I am eager and ready to enter

the workforce as a qualified teacher. In addition, I also hope you will see the thought and care I

put into my work, ensuring my teaching matches the standards and curriculum outlined by both

New York State and Ontario. I will continue to dedicate myself learning and will continue to

grow my pedagogical teaching methods, referencing the theories developed by experts in the

field such as Howard Gardner and Lev Vygotsky. I look forward to continuing this journey and

beginning my time as a certified teacher.

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