Section One: Teacher Candidate Introduction to the Elementary Portfolio Project

Introduction, Overview and Rationale

Teaching is a unique, challenging, meaningful profession. It is unique in that every day

provides an opportunity for personal and professional reflection and growth, in that every person

has experiences with teachers and opinions about teaching, and in the wonderful effects one can

have on future generations. It is challenging in that every day is different from the next, in that

plans must be fluid and accommodate quickly changing circumstances, and in the many variable

standards and demands teachers must meet each day. This blend of unique challenges, daily

variability, opportunity for personal connections, and opportunity for consistent personal and

professional growth is enticing to me because I have a strong intrinsic drive to contribute to the

community in a meaningful way, to share my knowledge and curiosity with those around me,

and to excel in my professional endeavors. That said, these desires alone are not enough for a

successful career.

To succeed as a teacher, I must also plan appropriately for each group of students. Every

group will have different needs to accommodate, different lived experiences to embrace, and

different cultures to value. I must ensure that I plan and deliver appropriate differentiation, apply

culturally responsive strategies, and provide empathy and support for students. I also must plan

to use a wide variety of instructional methods, as this will help students engage in active,

meaningful learning (Maxim, 2018). I must manage my classroom space and environment to

foster safety, respect, and high expectations, because this positive environment is conducive to

student risk taking (Marzano, Marzano, & Pickering, 2003). Also, I must constantly reflect upon

my practices and opinions to grow as a professional. Throughout my preservice studies I have

professional future. I have compiled this portfolio to demonstrate that I am successfully able to

produce high level materials and consistently connect them to these skills.

This portfolio is a culminating collection of my compositions, lessons, effort, opinions,

and growth over the course of this preparation program. As a prospective teacher candidate, I

realize that my ideas and approaches to teaching are in their infancy. That said, I have assembled

this collection to document my growth and development to this point. This capstone reflects my

interpretation of the concepts that we’ve studied throughout this preparation course. As a

reflective teaching practitioner, I expect that these practices and opinions will develop

throughout my career.

Portfolio Development

The contents of this portfolio will be organized into six main sections. Each section will

play a role in explaining how I integrate best practices, research-based strategies, cultural

responsiveness, appropriate planning and preparation, and other aspects of teaching competency

into my professional demeanor as a teacher. The sections of this portfolio are as follows: Teacher

Candidate Introduction to the Elementary Portfolio, Teacher Candidate Background Experiences,

Teacher Candidate Artifacts, Alignment to the Curriculum and Professional Standards, Teacher

Candidate Reflection, and Teacher Candidate Teacher Interview Video.

In section one, Teacher Candidate Introduction to the Elementary Portfolio, I will

introduce myself and the contents of this portfolio. I will explain my rationale for compiling this

portfolio and highlight the contents of each section that will follow.

In section two, Teacher Candidate Background Experiences, I will highlight past

experiences in work, education, and life that I believe will enhance my abilities as a teacher. I
will connect my resume and philosophy of education with these experiences to outline how my

background is conducive to teaching.

In section three, Teacher Candidate Artifacts, I will include a series of eight artifacts.

These are lesson plans, professional development certificates, and other materials that I have

completed during my preparation course. Each will be accompanied by a brief commentary

which will align the artifact with professional competencies and outline my rationale for

including it in this compilation. This section will make up the main content of this portfolio, as

these materials constitute the evidence that I have showing that I have am prepared to serve as a

skillful, knowledgeable elementary school teacher.

In section four, Alignment to the Curriculum and Professional Standards, I will explain

various professional standards that will affect me daily as an elementary teacher. I will also

connect each of the artifacts within section three to a current curriculum requirement or

professional standard. This section will demonstrate my knowledge and understanding of the

modern requirements for teachers, and my ability to create content within the framework of

relevant curriculum.

In section five, Teacher Candidate Reflection, I will present a reflection on the process of

compiling this portfolio. This section, though not the largest, is important because continuous,

skillful reflection is an integral part of professional growth and improvement for teachers.

In the sixth and final section, Teacher Candidate Teacher Interview Video, I will create a

video in which I will respond to common interview questions while highlighting aspects of the

items included in this portfolio. This interview, along with several artifacts from this portfolio,

will be presented succinctly on a website.

My current theoretical inclinations are largely influenced by myself as a learner and an

individual. This is partly because I have developed much of my opinion about learning as an

actively engaged adult learner. It is also partly because I believe that most learners thrive under

similar conditions, even if they may prefer information to be delivered in different packages. In

the next section, Teacher Candidate Background Experiences, I will elaborate fully on my

philosophy of education. For the purpose of this introduction, I feel it is important to touch on

the main theories that constitute the backbone of my philosophy as a teacher because this

pedagogy is the basis with which I approach the production and reflection of each artifact and

experience included in this compilation.

There are two main statements that direct my alignment with pedagogy. They are that

moderation in all things is desirable, and that interest and curiosity are the best driving forces for

active learning. I believe that interest is the intrinsic motivation that drives students to actively

engage in their learning. In this way, constructivism is the educational approach that I have the

highest affinity with. While both Vygotsky and Piaget have been hailed as fathers of

constructivism, I feel that, between the two, I align better with Piaget, due to his focus on the

internal, cognitive aspect. Though I recognize that Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development is

an excellent tool for pushing learners to achieve higher learning standards than they may attain

independently, I feel that without an internal desire for students to build their own meaning and

interpretations, they will never blossom into life-long learners.

In alignment with this recognition of the importance of student autonomy and interest,

some may expect me to support Montessori’s methods of entirely student selected learning. I do

not, however, as this is where my fist guiding statement – that of moderation – becomes relevant.
Instead, I find I continually refer to Dewey as an excellent advocate for both student-centered

learning and balance in the classroom. Dewey emphasizes the importance of moderation when he

states “the child and the curriculum are simply two limits which define a single process. Just as

two points define a straight line, so the present standpoint of the child and the facts and truths of

studies define instruction” (Dewey, 1902, p. 11). There is no single theory which has all the

answers. There is no single instructional method that will reach every student. The job of a

teacher is to select the most appropriate methods, responses, and instructions for each scenario

that arises throughout each day. In the following sections I will refer to these experts and many

others as I demonstrate the broad range of knowledge I have gathered and my ability to apply it

appropriately to support my teaching practices.

Conclusion

In this introduction I have discussed my rationale for joining the teaching profession. I

have outlined the sections of the portfolio in which I will present the evidence of my preparation

as a beginning teacher. Following this, I will connect my personal pedagogy to competencies

including lesson and long-term planning, curriculum and professional standards, assessment

planning and delivery, technology, classroom management, culturally responsive teaching,

differentiation, professional development and reflection.

The next section, section two, will outline the experiences I’ve had which have developed

me into a natural teaching candidate and a passionate instructor. This will include a summary of

my current teaching pedagogy as well as a resume of my relevant experience.