3

MSED ELEMENTARY
Section One: Teacher Candidate Introduction to the Elementary Portfolio Project
Introduction, Overview and Rationale

Becoming an educator is something that I have been preparing for since I was in elementary
school. How could I have possibly started preparing at such a young age? Well, I knew that I
wanted to be a teacher since I was in the fourth grade. All throughout my educational career, I was
always the student who would be helping my classmates and explaining concepts to those who did
not understand something. I always felt a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction knowing that I
was able to help a friend or classmate understand something. I even remember helping some of my
elementary school teachers with marking tests and I had so much fun doing it! I realize now that all
of those moments, and many others, were helping me prepare for where I am today. The purpose of
this Elementary Portfolio Project is to reflect upon everything I have done to prepare to become an
educator and highlight those experiences which demonstrate my readiness to become a professional
educator. This Elementary Portfolio Project will showcase my competencies such as: planning,
instruction, assessment, technology, culturally responsive teaching, learner accommodations,
classroom management, professional collaboration and development, and professional and
curriculum standards. This Portfolio will also highlight my competencies in pedagogy and best
practices. Through artifacts, experiences, and connections to theories and philosophies, the above
mentioned competencies will be displayed which will prove that I am truly a qualified educator.
Portfolio Overview and Rationale
The Elementary Portfolio is a very important and valuable document as it is a compilation
of my work which is a reflection of my attitude, knowledge, and skills in the classroom. It can be
used by prospective employers to get an understanding and insight of who I am inside and outside
of the classroom. The portfolio consists of six sections which will be introduced briefly here. The

4
MSED ELEMENTARY
first section is the Teacher Candidate Portfolio Introduction which is what you are reading now,
where the Elementary Portfolio Project is being introduced. The second section is the Teacher
Candidate Background Experiences where I will outline my educational and work related
experiences along with my philosophy of education. The third section is the Teacher Candidate
Artifacts section which will showcase my pedagogical knowledge, skills, best teaching practices,
professional disposition, and attitudes to prove that I am a qualified and competent educator. The
fourth section is the Alignment to the Curriculum and Professional Standards section where I will
present my knowledge of and ability to align curriculum and professional standards to the daily
work and responsibilities of an elementary teacher. Section five is the Teacher Candidate Reflection
where I will reflect upon on my overall experiences of my journey to becoming a professional
educator along with experiences acquired while making this portfolio. Lastly, section six is the
Teacher Candidate Teacher Interview Video which will be a mock interview using a screencast and
I will also have the opportunity to showcase my Weebly teacher website. These six sections will be
explained in more depth below.
Portfolio Development
As mentioned above, there are six components to the Elementary Portfolio. Section One, the
introduction, provides an overview and rationale of the portfolio and gives you, the reader, an
outline of what to expect from the portfolio. The purpose and importance of the portfolio is also
explained. The introduction also includes connections to theories and experts in the field of
education which are in line with and support my work.

Section Two, the Teacher Candidate Background Experiences section is where I will
introduce myself through my educational background and work related experiences and how they
connect to being a qualified educator. This is where I will outline my journey of becoming a

5
MSED ELEMENTARY
teacher, from elementary school, to post-secondary school while I was getting my Bachelor of
Commerce, to my work experiences in the business world, and finally to my present work and
educational experiences in the field of education. My entire journey consists of diverse experiences
that are not limited to just the field of education, which highlights the fact that I am a well-rounded
and culturally responsive individual and teacher. In Section Two, you will also get an insight into
my philosophy of education which discusses the role of the school, the teacher and the learner, and
the best practices that are important to apply in the classroom to ensure students are receiving the
most appropriate instruction, assessment, and accommodations.

Section Three, Teacher Candidate Artifacts is where I will be presenting the material
evidence to support and prove that I have the skills and knowledge required to be a prepared,
qualified, and competent elementary teacher. This section will include samples of work that I have
completed that show that I am able to plan, instruct, assess, accommodate, teach culturally
responsively, manage a classroom, and collaborate professionally. Each artifact will be
accompanied by a rationale which will include connections to curriculum and professional
standards. There will be a total of 8 artifacts presented to highlight my qualifications and readiness
to be an elementary teacher.

Section four, Alignments to the Curriculum and Professional Standards goes hand in hand
with Section Three because the standards will come from the artifact rationales. This section will
have a chart for easy reference summarizing the curriculum and professional standards that relate to
each artifact. The standards that will be addressed are the: Interstate New Teacher Assessment
Support Consortium (INTASC) Standards, NYS Code of Ethics for Educators, Ontario Ethical
Teacher Standards, NYS Common Core Learning Standards for ELA, Math and Social Studies,

6
MSED ELEMENTARY
NYS Learning Standards, Ontario Curriculum Standards, Ontario Ministry of Education
Expectations, Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC)/ Council for Accreditation for
Educator Preparation (CAEP), International Society for Technology Education for Teachers and
Students (ISTE), and the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). Each standard will be defined,
explained and then connected to each artifact from Section Three.

Section Five, Teacher Candidate Reflection is where I will display my abilities to be a

reflective teacher. Self-reflection is essential for one to grow and improve and is a necessary for all
educators. This section will include reflections on my educational experiences during my time with
the Division and Education at Medaille College, my experience putting this portfolio together, and
my areas of strength that demonstrate my readiness to be an elementary teacher.

Last but not least, Section Six, the Teacher Candidate Teacher Interview Video will be an
interview simulation which will be posted on my Weebly website. The mock interview will start
with me sharing some background experiences that have brought me to where I am today in my
education career. Next, I will talk about what I have learned in my teacher training program at
Medaille College. Then, I will provide an example of a lesson I have taught and discuss its results.
Towards the end of the this mock interview, I will discuss how my knowledge of currents trends in
education will inform me as an educator in a school or a board and lastly, I will give my reasons for
why I should be hired instead of other applicants. The interview simulation will also give me an
opportunity to showcase my technology skills as I navigate through my website in the screencast.

7
MSED ELEMENTARY
Theorists and Experts in the Field of Education

I first learned about Howard Gardners Multiple Intelligences when I was in grade 5 and his
theory has stuck with me ever since. I would always try to, and still do, figure out what
intelligences my friends and classmates associated with, which is something I will definitely be
doing as an educator. In his book Frames of Mind: Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Gardner
mentions that educators must individualize and pluralize (Gardner, 2011). To individualize means
to know as much as possible about a student, especially his or her intelligence profile, and I could
not agree more with this (Gardner, 2011). The ultimate goal as educators is to ensure that each and
every one of our students understands the concepts that we are teaching them. In order to do this
successfully, we must know our students! Each and every individual is unique in their own way.
Our students will all be coming from different walks of life and it is our job to cater to each and
every one of these students learning styles. Knowing my students also allows me to be a culturally
responsive teacher, helps me make the most appropriate and effective accommodations for my
students and helps with classroom management. To pluralize means to decide which ideas and
concepts are most important and then present them in different ways (Gardner, 2011).

In my lessons, I like to incorporate a variety of modes of delivery such as videos, songs,

manipulatives, independent study, and group work so that I can keep my students engaged while
catering to different learning styles at the same time. This also allows me to make accommodations
for different learners in the class. For example, on a handout, I would include pictures and graphics
along with text to accommodate for ESL students. Making accommodations and using a variety of
learning styles however, does not come easy. Proper planning plays a huge role in being able to
create these types of meaningful and engaging lessons, which is a skill that I have strongly

8
MSED ELEMENTARY
developed throughout my career. Proper assessment also plays a key role because that is the only
way we will know if we are actually getting through to our students or not. Again, you will find in
my lessons that I am always formatively assessing my students throughout my lessons whether it be
through observations, asking review questions, or simply asking students if they need clarification.
Howard Gardners Multiple Intelligences theory has a very big impact on my lessons and teaching
style.

When it comes to instruction and learning, I am a strong believer of thinking critically and
problem solving. These are two very important skills that everyone needs from childhood to
adulthood. We must get our students thinking critically and solving problems from a young age in
order to prepare them for adulthood. We all know that as adults, we are faced with complex
situations that require critical thinking skills. Therefore, my instruction follows a pragmatic view,
influenced by theorist John Dewey. In very simple terms, Dewey recognizes in his book How We
Think that a curriculum that builds critical thinking skills will benefit not only the learner, but
society as a whole (Dewey, 1910). He is an advocate of applying the scientific method in education,
not only for science but in any subject. His reason being that childrens curiosity, imaginations, and
love for experimental inquiry are very close to the attitudes of a scientific mind (Dewey, 1910). I
too believe that children should learn in a student-centered environment through inquiry by making
a hypothesis, and solving problems to find the results. I do not believe in spoon feeding answers
to students as this does not make their educational experience meaningful. Another method of
instruction that relates to this is the Socratic Method (Ambury, n.d.). If a student has a question, I
would rather engage in dialogue to lead the student to the answer instead of feeding them the
information. This way, the student develops their critical thinking skills and learns in a meaningful
way because they will think back to the process and dialogue that brought them to the answer.

9
MSED ELEMENTARY
In areas such as math and literacy, you will find that my lessons are influenced by the
Gradual Release of Responsibility Model, stemming from the works of Lev Vygotsky, and later
coined by Pearson and Gallagher (1983). This model calls for a lot of time and planning, which
highlights my planning skills. As mentioned earlier, I am an advocate of student centered learning
and although this model starts with teacher-centered instruction, the ultimate goal is for students to
assume responsibility of completing a task through proper scaffolding (Fisher, n.d.). The gradual
release model is an effective way to teach ENL students as it allows for multiple opportunities to
practice a task with help from a teacher, then working collaboratively, and finally working
independently on the same task (Fisher, n.d.). I find Gradual Release of Responsibility to be very
effective and while planning instruction, I always keep this model in mind.

Conclusion

This section of the Elementary Portfolio Project serves as an outline for the portfolio as a
whole. As discussed above, this portfolio is a compilation of my work which highlights my skills
and competencies. You will see from by background experiences and through artifacts my
planning, instruction, assessment, technology, culturally responsive teaching, learner
accommodations, classroom management, professional collaboration and development, and
professional and curriculum standards skills along with my competencies in pedagogy. You will
also see that my teaching methods and best practices are influenced by theories of Howard Gardner,
John Dewey, Socrates, and Lev Vygotsky. The Elementary Portfolio Project is an extremely
valuable document in which I showcase my preparedness to be an elementary teacher.

[Back to Table of Contents]