Section Five:

Teacher Candidate Reflection Guidelines

Introduction
After having the pleasure of showcasing my areas of competencies for the position of
professional teacher as a teacher candidate, I now entertain and display my abilities to put serious
thought and or consideration into the works of the previous four sections of my portfolio and my
experiences within the Medaille College M.S. Ed. program. As mentioned and demonstrated
throughout the portfolio my areas of competencies for educational success are planning,
instruction, assessment, student motivation, technological prowess, classroom management
skills, accommodation awareness, culturally responsive practices, professional collaboration and
disposition, understanding of professional and academic standards, use of best teaching practices
and proficiencies of pedagogy.
Throughout this section of the portfolio project I will be constantly demonstrating
connections to and referencing the professional standards of the Teacher Education Accreditation
Council / Council for Accreditation for Educator Preparation (TEAC/CAEP) Claims. These
claims demonstrate that I know the subject matter in their certification area(s); that I meet the
needs of diverse learners through effective pedagogy and best teaching practices; and that I am a
caring educator. As mentioned in section one, my intensions were to take you the reader on a
specific journey. I have provided that journey and now it is time for you to peruse my growth as
a teacher candidate through my reflections as I conclude and demonstrate my readiness for the
role of professional teacher in section five.

Portfolio Project/Teacher Education Learning Experiences

The road of life has many twists and turns and I believe throughout that road one never
stops learning about themselves or the world around them. While on that road I chose to explore
a direction of travel that has lead me to an institution of higher learning. This institution has
enabled me with tools and knowledge that is transferable and valuable not only to myself but to
the younger members of or society in a way that will promote and cultivate growth
(TEAC/CAEP Claim 1: knowledge of subject matter, TEAC/CAEP Claim 2: effective pedagogy
and best teaching practices for Diverse Learners, TEAC/CAEP Claim 3: caring educator).
Building a portfolio project has been a test in time management.
Looking back the foundation of this project began when my parents and teachers
imparted knowledge upon me that allowed for me to grow. The preverbal clock of producing
and collecting artifact began at the start of my first semester while attending the M.S. Ed.
program at Medaille College. The fruits of my labor have been crafted and honed and some
placed on display. I chose to share some of these artifacts as they exemplify my knowledge of
the subject matter, showcased my effective pedagogical and best teaching practices for diverse
learners and my care for the teaching profession.
While not all artifacts could be put on display some of my experience will be better
described through my reflections. Developing unit and lesson plans have not only been an
invaluable practice it has allowed for me to understand the NYS Common Core Learning
Standards for ELA, Math and Social Studies, NYS Leaning Standards, Ontario Ministry of
Education Expectation, and the International Society for Technology Education for Teachers and

Students (TEAC/CAEP Claim 1: knowledge of subject matter, TEAC/CAEP Claim 2: effective

pedagogy and best teaching practices for Diverse Learners).
Developing unit and lesson plans have also allowed for me to embrace the INTASC
Standards and explore Council for Exceptional Children (TEAC/CAEP Claim 1: knowledge of
subject matter, TEAC/CAEP Claim 2: effective pedagogy and best teaching practices for Diverse
Learners, TEAC/CAEP Claim 3: caring educator). Group work and microteaching in many of
my courses have allowed for me to draw on the important practice of NYS Code of Ethics for
Educators and the Ontario Ethical Teacher Standards (TEAC/CAEP Claim 3: caring educator).
Research and technology are courses that exposed the need to be constantly searching for ways
to improve education. Research enabled ways to explore how to best serve and or meet the
needs of our younger generation while technology sought for the ways to engage, motivate and
enrich (TEAC/CAEP Claim 2: effective pedagogy and best teaching practices for Diverse
Learners, TEAC/CAEP Claim 3: caring educator). As with any good structure a foundation has
to be solid.
At Medaille, one of the many constants is the referral to the foundation of education. The
foundation of education is explored through philosophies of education and the theorists that
helped create and maintain them. This knowledge clearly proved to be invaluable as it helped
me develop and reconstruct my own personal philosophy, which I understand will continue to
develop as I broaden my knowledge base and seek the best practices as a professional teacher
(TEAC/CAEP Claim 1: knowledge of subject matter, TEAC/CAEP Claim 2: effective pedagogy
and best teaching practices for Diverse Learners). The experiences of learning continue to
flourish as I embark on the pedagogy of literacy, language arts, math and sciences. These
subject matters have provided me with practical hands on tools that will translate as effective

practices for the real world situations that I will face once situated in a classroom of my own. In
the literacy course learning to evaluate and administer running records for reading
comprehension and writing, in language arts developing and practicing methods to engage and
motivate student learning, in math and sciences developing and practicing ways to understand
the patterns of student learning while incorporating best teacher practices for the ultimate success
of the students (TEAC/CAEP Claim 1: knowledge of subject matter, TEAC/CAEP Claim 2:
effective pedagogy and best teaching practices for Diverse Learners, TEAC/CAEP Claim 3:
caring educator).

Reediness to Become a Teacher

In section one of the portfolio project I stated that constructing this elementary portfolio
increases my visibility as a professional and is paramount in making a positive first impression
on potential employees such as you the reader. The elementary portfolio also acts as a polished
way to display my up and coming expertise while emphasizing my continuous learning processes
over time and commitment to growth in all areas of life.
In section two I mentioned that becoming a professional teacher wasnt a vision.
However, I clearly depicted that my actions display a different story through the use of a
willingness to help others and to be seen as an asset to the team. I go on to note that I dont wish
to have the sole spotlight on me but rather to be seen in the spotlight with those whom are and I
perceived as great. This is a testament to being a professional on a level that embodies the NYS
Code of Ethics for Educators and its six principals of Educators nurture the intellectual, physical,
emotional, social and civic potential of every student; Educators create support and maintain
challenging learning environment for all; Educators commit to their own learning in order to

develop their practice; Educators collaborate with colleagues and other professionals in the
interest of their students leaning; Educators collaborate with parents and community, building
trust and confidentiality; Educators advance an intellectual and ethical foundation of the learning
community; and is also inline with the four Ontario Ethical Teacher Standards of care that states
the ethical standard of care includes compassion, acceptance, interest and insight for developing
students' potential.
Members express their commitment to students' wellbeing and learning through positive
influence, professional judgment and empathy in practice; respect which is intrinsic to the ethical
standard of respect is trust and fair-mindedness. Members honor human dignity, emotional
wellness and cognitive development. In their professional practice, they model respect for
spiritual and cultural values, social justice, confidentiality, freedom, democracy and the
environment; trust that states the ethical standard of trust embodies fairness, openness and
honesty. Members' professional relationships with students, colleagues, parents, guardians and
the public are based on trust; integrity that states honesty, reliability and moral action are
embodied in the ethical standard of integrity. Continual reflection assists members in exercising
integrity in their professional commitments and responsibilities.
My areas of strength are highlighted in section three of the portfolio project as I
purposely showcased artifacts that display my talents as a well-rounded teacher candidate for the
role of professional teacher. Artifacts such as my physical education unit and lesson plans, and
my science lesson plan embodies my abilities to plan, be a culturally responsive teacher, displays
my knowledge base and research abilities of both NYS learning standards, NYS Common Core,
and Ontario curriculums. My strengths continue to stand out as I showcase my DASA
certificates achieved in my course Cultural Competencies as an Emancipatory Pedagogy.

Masterful technological capabilities are on display with the use of my Pecha Kucha Presentation
and my Cyber Safety Digital Citizenship presentation. Classroom manage skills although not
listed in section three of my portfolio with my other strength can be clearly seen on my resume
located in section two, that I have nine years of experience working with some of the most
behavioral challenged students that you can find in the educational system. As with all portfolios
the goal is to impress and tilt the scales in favor of the teacher candidate wishing to gain
employment.
In my case I do believe that I have an impressive portfolio, I also believe that coupled
with my portfolio are some excellent life experiences through work and education. However,
ultimately I do not hope that the process comes down to whom shows better on paper. My hopes
and beliefs are that my colleagues and I are all equip to take on the role of professional teacher,
but more so when the time come we will be hired because we are the seen or felt to be the best fit
for that particular administrator, school and classroom. In the end the process is to create a
connection, an environment for the purpose of educating and being educated.

Conclusion
Reflecting upon my educational experiences while making connections to TEAC/CAEP
claims and reflecting upon my readiness, as a teacher candidate has been an enlightening
experience. This experience has taught me that even with the vast information that I have
received through my work and educational experiences there is still a magnitude of information
waiting to be discovered and shared. The journey of my portfolio for the purpose of the M.S. Ed.
program may be at it end but my journey within the realm of education continues. As mentioned

in previous sections, it is my hopes that you have enjoyed the journey of that I have taken you on
within my Master of Science in Education Portfolio project as much as I have producing it.