Section Five:

Teacher Candidate Reflection Guidelines

Introduction
I came into this field ready to start the next chapter in my life. I was a new father to a
beautiful baby girl and I wanted to create a secure future for her and myself. I had always
wanted to pursue higher education. It was a goal for me and a dream for my parents, who came
as immigrants to Canada looking to make a better life for their families. My wife is a teacher
and we discussed even before getting married that I should go to Teachers college and become a
teacher. Life unfortunately got in the way as there were never enough finances to take the leap.
Last year I finally took that leap and have not regretted a single moment of it.

In this section I will reflect on my time in this program. A lot has happened in a short
amount of time and reflecting is a way of organizing all of the knowledge gained. I have broken
my experience up into three sections, Experiences at Medaille College, Teaching Placements and
the putting together the portfolio project itself. These three subsections are the biggest and most
important elements of the program and I wanted to devote time to each part. In the Medaille
section I will talk about my time in the Medaille classroom and course content. It is the basis for
my education and felt it was really import to delve into detail about what it was like. The second
section is about my teaching placements. These placements are essentially job training and are
even more important than the courses taken at Medaille, because it is reality, with real students,
real teaching and assessing. The third section is about creating the portfolio itself and how that
in itself is a type of reflection.

I will complete this section of the portfolio by sharing my thoughts on why I am ready to
go out in the field and teach. I feel I have the background knowledge and field work experience
to really get out become a successful educator.

Portfolio Project/Teacher Education Learning Experiences

Experiences at Medaille College
On my first day at Medaille College, I was extremely nervous and excited to start my
new career path that took me so long to reach. I had never attended any kind of schooling this
far home. Even the university I attended for my Bachelors degree was only a twenty minute
ride away. To me I was entering another world. The first few days were extremely
overwhelming, mainly because we were instantly informed about the state wide certification
exams and the capstone project. I was also nervous because I was starting a masters program at
age 30. I thought to myself, Can I do this? My cohort was small with only around five people
including me. We were all Canadian and there was in instant friendship and rapport, which
helped relax every ones anxieties. I go my first syllabuses and I knew there was no turning back;
it was time to put in the effort and push forward. After the first couple of weeks I got into the
mindset of being a student again was starting to see great results from the instructors who were
giving me praise for my assignments. I knew then, I can and will finish!

The most important learning experiences that I had at Medaille were the knowledgeable
instructors who really taught me important teaching practices and lesson planning skills. Before
attending Medaille I had never looked at a curriculum book before, or even knew how to read it.
Lesson planning was just out of my realm of expertise. The courses and instructors really

prepared me to write, instruct and teach lessons to reach a diverse group of learners. Everything
I know thus far is because of the program at Medaille. I liked that fact that an emphasis was put
into lesson planning and teaching the lessons to our cohort. It really helped prepare us future
educators to go out into the field which is the first claim by the Division of Education. Claim 1:
Medaille College graduates know the subject matter in their certification area(s). This is
absolutely true, as I feel fully knowledgeable and prepare just based on the course content at
Medaille.
Teaching Placement Experiences
I had completed two semesters back to back before attending my first teaching placement
in Ontario, Canada. I felt I had the knowledge and confidence to plan, instruct and teach in a real
classroom, because of the excellent education I had receive so far. To me being in the classroom
environment was the most crucial and important part of the whole program experience. This was
when all the practice lessons, and theories were all going to be put to the test and you would
instantly know if you had what it takes to thrive in this profession or if you even wanted to
pursue it any further. I was enjoyed my time tremendously in the classroom. I worked with
great teachers that really mentored my and gave me practical advice towards best teaching
practices.

It was during my teaching placements that I really found myself and my method of
teaching. I like humor and it really helped during lessons and building a quick rapport with the
students. I also really like using technology in the classroom as previous artifacts sections
showcases in this portfolio. I found myself planning lessons with the students in mind. Before
at Medaille, we only had an imaginary class that we were designing lessons for, now in reality

we know who we are teaching and think of ways to engage them. The most important lesson that
I learned during my placement is, dont be afraid to try new things and prepare to think on your
feet. I was encouraged my associate teachers to try lessons that were out of the box like Using
PowerPoint instead of any white board or chalk board and allowing more use of tablets in the
classroom. From this experience I believe I met the second claim from the department of
education. Claim 2: Medaille College graduates meet the needs of diverse learners through
effective pedagogy and best teaching practices
Portfolio Project Experiences
The experience of collecting and reflecting on my Medaille education has be a fun trip
down memory lane. Even though it has only been fourteen months since I started, it has been a
busy fourteen months. This biggest surprise to me is how much content Ive created from
scratch since I began. I couldnt not believe the amount of PowerPoints, handouts, lesson plans
I had on my computer that I made for various courses and teaching placements. I now see why
my wife has filled up the basement with schools supplies, because you never know when you
might need something.

The portfolio project has also been a gratifying experience because there is a sense of
finality that comes along with it. Im collecting summarizing and displaying everything I have
learned, because I am almost finished the program. Ive worked extremely hard and had my
family sacrifice a lot to get me to this point. I am grateful and will really feel a sense of
accomplishment when I finish this program. I think it will set a strong example for my daughter
to work hard and to never give up.

Reediness to Become a Teacher

The areas that have been a focus of this portfolio is our ability to plan assess and instruct.
I have no doubt in mind that I am more than capable of planning, assessing and instructing
students at the elementary level. The foundation of knowledge from Medaille was thorough and
informative. They really stressed the importance of diverse student needs, best teaching practices
and the curriculum. I had zero surprises or misconceptions heading in to teaching placements
because the courses at Medaille had prepared me well. My lesson plans have always been
received extremely well by the instructors and associate teachers and have often been told that
my lesson planning ability is on par with teachers with years of experience in the field. Ive
always used the NYS Common Core and Ontario Curriculum standards, and clearly related them
to my lessons.

I feel one of my biggest strengths as an educator is my ability to build rapport with the
students. This is vital for classroom management. Building trust and rapport with students
allows me as a teacher to connect with the students in a more meaningful way then just as adult
and student. That type of environment is bland and not stimulating. Having a strong rapport
with the student allows for a strong social interaction, where learning takes place in a creative
and expressive environment. I can incorporate pop culture into lessons and have high
expectation for success, because students will feel comfortable asking for help. I can
communicate efficiently with parents because there child enjoys being in my class. A student
learns better if they feel comfortable in the classroom. I believe I have a skill at building the
comfortable classroom environment.

A second strength of mine is integrating technology into the classroom. I think we are on
the cusp of a huge shift in education and technology is going to be that force for change. In
Ontario, we already have the BYOD Bring Your Own Device initiative. Students are
encouraged to bring their devices to school to assist in learning. Ive gravitated towards
PowerPoint, smart board and documents camera in my teaching practices because I feel they are
more interactive and engaging than chart papers and white boards. Students are already on their
devices at home. We as teachers should harness these new technologies to create engaging
lessons. I feel I am ahead of the curve and was constantly commended for my use of technology
during my teaching placements.

Teaching is a profession that requires constant learning. We can always improve or refine
something we are doing in the classroom. I know I am already looking to take technology course
to improve that aspect of my teaching in the future. What I think makes me ready to become as
teacher is that I enjoy my time in the classroom and I care about the impact I have on students. I
come from an educational background that was focused on society as a whole and how to
improve it. I believe no other institution has as big an effect on society as our schools. Teachers
can help students reach their potential and even help lift students out of dark places. I am ready
to take on that responsibility. I want to do my part in creating engaging safe learning
environments.

Conclusion

Reflection has always been an important part of our lesson planning. It helps to see
where we succeeded and where we need to improve. It only makes sense that our portfolio

should have a reflection of its own. In this section I wanted to go back to the beginning and
share my mindset. I am a completely different person then when I started. I can truly say that I
am a professional educator now. I developed strong foundational teaching skills at my time in
Medaille. I excelled at my teaching placements, which reaffirmed to me that I will thrive and
succeed in this field. I created custom content that was praised by peers and have made strong
contacts that convey to me that I am a natural educator. I learned a lot and now I am ready to be
in the classroom teaching a diverse group of students in a culturally responsive way and a safe
environment.