Section One: Teacher Candidate Introduction to the Elementary Portfolio Project

Introduction

What does it mean to be an effective teacher? To me, an effective teacher is someone

who brings passion, determination and flexibility to the classroom. An effective teacher sparks

energy and enthusiasm in the students and maintains student engagement. An effective teacher is

someone who values teamwork and independence. This is someone who understands that each

student brings something unique of their own to the classroom. This portfolio highlights my

achievements, strengths, and preparedness to become an effective teacher. It is my hope that this

portfolio expresses my passion and determination to becoming an effective teacher.

This portfolio is organized into six sections to provide you with a better understanding of

the skills I am able to bring to the classroom. The six sections include: an introduction to the

portfolio, background experiences, artifacts, curriculum and professional alignments, a reflection

and a teacher candidate interview video. The artifacts included in this portfolio highlight my

abilities as an effective teacher to plan and assess, understand curriculum requirements and how

to effectively deliver instruction using technology, abilities to teach in a culturally responsive

way, abilities to accommodate or modify for a wide range of unique learners, classroom

management skills as well as abilities to maintain professionalism while collaborating on

projects and planning for curriculum.

Overview and Rationale

Why a portfolio? Not only does this portfolio serve the purpose of providing you the

opportunity to learn about my accomplishments and ability to be an effective teach, it also

provides me with an opportunity. This portfolio provides me an opportunity to reflect on my

career and educational experiences. Reflection is such an important part of the learning process
as it helps improve future performance by analyzing what has already been learned. As a teacher,

it is important to reflect during and after lessons. Reflection allows teachers to move from

experiencing to understanding.

Portfolio Development

As mentioned above, this portfolio is organized into six sections to provide you, the

reader, with an understanding of the type of teacher I have become. The six sections that compile

this portfolio include: Teacher Candidate Portfolio Project Introduction (Section One), Teacher

Candidate Background Experiences (Section Two), Teacher Candidate Artifacts (Section Three),

Alignment to the Curriculum and Professional Standards (Section Four), Teacher Candidate

Reflection (Section Five), and Teacher Candidate Interview Video (Section Six). Within each

section consists of varying subsections (detailed below) which summarize the importance of the

particular section.

Section One: Teacher Candidate Portfolio Project Introduction:

The importance of this section is that it provides the reader with the overall purpose of

the Portfolio Project. This section includes subsections such as: Portfolio Overview and

Rationale, Portfolio Development, Theorists and Experts in the Field of Education, and

Conclusion of the key components. Section one is the building block to express my preparedness

of becoming an effective teacher.

Section Two: Teacher Candidate Background Experiences:

This is an important section of the portfolio as this section highlights my educational and

work-related experiences, my philosophy of education, and my resume. These subsections will

STEM, volunteer experience with the District School Board of Niagara, recent fieldwork through

two elementary schools in Buffalo, New York, my philosophy of education including references

from expert theorists in the field of education, and my detailed resume covering professional

development, certificates, references, technological skill sets, educational and work backgrounds.

This section will support me by providing the reader with evidence of my preparedness to

become an effective teacher.

Section Three: Teacher Candidate Artifacts:

This is the largest section throughout this portfolio. This section contains artifacts related

to my experiences within my relative educational experiences. These artifacts will be discussed

for their importance toward the portfolio and relevance to the curriculum, professional and

technological standards. Connections are made between artifacts and appropriate standards and

expert theories and theorists. Artifacts such as unit plans, lesson plans, presentations, (to be

determined). This evidence continues to express my preparedness to fill the role as an effective

teacher.

Section Four: Alignment to the Curriculum and Professional Standards:

In this section, the professional and curriculum standards, both New York and Ontario,

are connected to the artifacts outlined in Section Three. This section will express my skill set in

developing lesson plans, unit plans, incorporating technology in the instructional process, and

my ability to incorporate creative educational strategies in order to reach each of my students’

unique learning styles. These artifacts relate to the NYS Code of Ethics Standards for Educators,

NYS P-12 Common Core Learning Standards, NYS Learning Standards, and the Ontario
Curriculum Standards in order to effectively demonstrate that my achievements in the field of

education are recognizable by national, state, and provincial government institutions.

Section Five: Teacher Candidate Reflection:

As I mentioned before, reflection is an important aspect of the learning process.

Reflection helps improve future performance by analyzing what has already been learned. As a

teacher, it is important to reflect during and after lessons. Reflection allows teachers to move

from experiencing to understanding. This section provided me with the opportunity to reflect on

my experiences while developing this portfolio project, my experiences on becoming an

effective teacher and my preparedness to become a certified teacher. This section will provide

me with the opportunity to grow and improve my teaching abilities which, in the end, will

provide my future students with an effective and fulfilling learning experience.

Section Six: Teacher Candidate Teacher Interview Video:

An interview video is an informative tool that showcases me exploring and making

connections for potential job interview questions. This video allows me to showcase my artifacts

and technological skills while providing an opportunity to verbally and visually reinforce my

teacher candidate skills in professional collaboration, responsive teaching, classroom

management skills, and best teaching practices. This video also provides the reader with a natural

reflection of the efforts while creating this portfolio for the purpose of showcasing my effective

teaching skills.

Theories, Theorists and Experts in the Field of Education

There are various influential theorists and experts in the field of education that have

contributed and inspired my knowledge of teaching. Theorists such as Howard Gardner, Jon

Kabat-Zinn, Robert Marzano, and Lev Vygotsky specifically stick out to me because their work
on learning and education is significant. As a teacher, it is important to understand how our

students learn and to understand that each student is unique in order to deliver effective

instruction. The contributions of these theorists have provided me with the best teaching

practices that I will incorporate into my teaching technique. For the purpose of this project, I

listed these theorists in the order that I find most value, however, each theorist’s contributions

are as equally important to the field of education.

For decades, curriculum was delivered to students in one generalized format. Fortunately

for Howard Garner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences (1983), curriculum is now delivered in

various ways. Garner’s theory states that humans learn, remember, perform and understand in

unique ways. It is important as a teacher to be flexible with the unique teaching methods in order

to effectively reach each individual student and their needs. Garner’s theory outlines eight

intelligences: Verbal-Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical, Musical, Visual-Spatial, Bodily-

Kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Naturalist. In order to meet the needs of our

students, one best teaching practice laid out in this theory is varied instruction methods to teach

content in a number of different ways. Integrating technology into instruction will provide the

students with a variation of instruction which connects itself to the multiple intelligences within

the classroom. You will see through my numerous artifacts included in this portfolio my ability

to differentiate instruction for my students.

I decided to include this theorist second on my list because mindfulness is crucial for

anyone’s day-to-day life, not just for students. Jon Kabat-Zinn, an expert in mindfulness, defines

mindfulness as “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and

nonjudgmentally” (PositivePsychology.com). With a background in psychology, I learned the

importance of being able to cope with life’s stressors and the impact stress has of an individual’s
health. Mindfulness-to-Meaning Theory states that being mindful allows an individual to

decenter from stress into a state of awareness that broadens attention, reduces distress and

promotes positive emotions. Through my volunteer experience and field work experiences, I

have noticed that mindfulness has become a large part of the curriculum. It is crucial to teach

students the importance of being self-aware and how to effectively concentrate in order to

complete a task. The classrooms I have been apart of have incorporate daily mindfulness

activities either in the morning, after lunch, or before they return home as a reflection activity.

Mindfulness activities teach students self-awareness and how to effectively express their

emotions, thus creating a positive classroom environment.

Similar to Howard Garner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Robert Marzano (2010)

believes that because students learn in their own unique ways, they should also be assessed

according to their unique learning styles. Varied assessments could be multiple choice questions,

short written responses, essays, oral responses, presentation and performances. You will see

through my numerous artifacts included in this portfolio my ability to differentiate assessment

for my students.

According to Lev Vygotsky (1962), constructivist learning is the ability for students to

construct their knowledge through problem solving and critical thinking. Prior knowledge is an

essential building block that is required in order to make connections with new information.

With an undergraduate degree in psychology, I understand the importance of making

connections when learning new material. Making a connection between prior knowledge and

new information is crucial for understanding the new information. (should I support this

information with a research article?) Vygotsky is known for the Zone of Proximal

Development (ZPD), which is essentially a student’s range (assistance to independence) when

Proximal Development is scaffolding. Scaffolding is the changing levels of support that a student

requires when completing a task. It is important as an educator to be able to provide each student

with a varied level of guidance depending on their needs. Students that are having difficulty with

a task may require more guidance and assistance compared to a student who is excelling at the

same task. Scaffolding helps to maintain the child’s potential level of development.

Conclusion

Section One of this portfolio project is a building block for the rest of the project, but

more importantly, section one is a detailed introduction of what the rest of the portfolio has in

store beyond the first few pages. Section One provides evidence of the major areas of

competencies that I possess as a teacher candidate. This portfolio and all of its content will

demonstrate that I am a professional, I am eager, I am adaptable, I am knowledgeable, and I am

able to be an effective teacher for our future generations. The ideas presented in this section will

reappear throughout the remaining sections of this portfolio.

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