Section Two: Teacher Candidate Background Experiences

Introduction

In this section I will introduce myself and my experiences both in and outside of a

classroom. The goal of this section is for you to be able to see how my background experiences

will lead me to being an excellent teacher. I would hire myself because I am a dedicated, caring

educator who does their research and uses evidence to base my decisions. I care deeply about the

individuals around me and will do anything required to have their best interests met. I am a

patient teacher and am willing to explain things in multiple different ways. I like to work at the

pace of the people I am helping as I feel that this means that I have to repeat myself less, they

learn better, and everyone involved is less frustrated. I believe in having a Universal Design for

Learning classroom and including differentiated instruction and assignments for my students. I

know that I will give them the best opportunities to learn and to be recognized for their talents,

strengths, and their capabilities. I will demonstrate this throughout this section.

Teacher Candidate Education Experience

This section will introduce you my experiences, during childhood and later life, as a

student, in the education system, which lead me to want to be an educator myself. I have had

many excellent educators whose strategies I hope to emulate when I become a teacher.

One of my favourite high school teachers was my grade 10 and 11 Literature teacher. She

was always really engaging and had fantastic lessons planned out. One of my best memories

from her class was when she read aloud Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado. Most high school

teachers don’t bother to read to their students, but we loved it when she did. She brought the

short story alive for us, we were all so engaged that you could have heard a pin drop in the

pauses in the story. Now, 15 years later, I can still remember the story; still remember the stones

being mortared in place as he was being walled up in that wine cellar. I still remember how
listening to it made me feel, and while there have been many books I have read for classes since,

and many I have forgotten, this one has stayed with me. This showed me that it doesn’t matter

how old your students are, everyone loves to hear a good story, and confirmed for me that when I

became a teacher I wanted to be like her. I want to inspire in my students a love of literature and

hopefully one day they will think fondly back on my classroom and vivid picture how listening

to a story I read made them feel.

Another great teacher I have had was one of my instructors at Medaille College in my

first semester. We were a large class of 22 students, but she made a point of greeting us each by

name as we walked into the class. I knew when I came into her classroom that she saw me and

me being there mattered to her. It’s an amazing feeling knowing that you are valued the moment

you walk into a room. Her first lecture had the theme of “be good to people as you never know

when you might need their help.” She brought this theme through the entire semester, and

introduced the idea of filling up a relationship with positive experiences so that if you ever have

a negative one it’s taken better. When we spoke about parent teacher conferences, and having to

call home to advise of negative behavior, she told us how much easier it would be to speak to a

parent with whom you already have a positive report.

In every class she would ask how we were doing, and at the end of class, before we were

let go, everybody had to share one thing that had stood out to them or that they had learned that

class. There was never a wrong answer, every answer had value. For her, being kind wasn’t just

something to be taught but a way of living, a way of making the people around her feel valued.

Because of this we tried much harder in her class, there was more participation from the people

who often don’t speak up. From this experience I have learned how much greeting your students

by name and listening to how they are means to them. I learned that it makes for a much more
positive environment. I also learned that students are more willing to share when they know that

at the end of the day it is an expectation and that it won’t be individuals being called out but each

person will get a moment to share.

I know that for this example I was already in college to become a teacher. But it

solidified for me that this was a profession that I wanted to go into. Both of these experiences

opened my mind to the possibilities that can exist in a classroom. These experiences made me

want to be that memorable teacher that inspires learning and a sense of worth in my classroom

and in my future students.

Work Experiences

My resume showcases the many jobs I have worked in customer service jobs. Through

these jobs I have learned how to deal with people who are not always happy. I have learned to

de-escalate people and to get to root cause of their issues through my time as a technical

specialist. I have also learned great research and troubleshooting skills through this role as well

as I have to be able to research a problem, find possible solutions, analyze what solutions are

practical and which may work, and finally act on this information.

Through my work experience I have also had the opportunity to act as a trainer in most of

my roles as I assisted the training team. As a dietary aid and then later as a team member, at Tim

Hortons, I assisted with training new employees in the job tasks I was familiar with. This was the

beginning of learning how to give clear, precise directions, which are easy to follow. My

experience at OTIP has perhaps been the most beneficial in my ability to teach in a clear and

concise manner. My experience on the phones providing navigational directions and insurance

information taught me how to rephrase information in many different ways and which way to try

first as it was most effective. In my real time support role I was the support person to the phone
agents, I taught them how to phrase information, where to find it, and how to understand it. I

learned through this role that each individual has a different way of learning and was able to

adjust my instruction to meet their needs. As a technical specialist I often have to educate

members who have escalated. Through this I have learned skills of de-escalation, but also of

working through information with someone who is frustrated with the process and doesn’t want

to deal with it anymore. I think this will directly apply to school when I will have students who

have given up on a subject or lesson and are frustrated because they can’t understand it.

I hope that this introduction to my work history will help you to see where I am coming

from into this program and how I will take this experience and use it to become a better teacher.

School Observations and Classroom Application

During my experiences volunteering in classrooms I have learned a lot from the teachers

and the students. From reflecting on these experiences and observations I can grow as an

educator.

My first classroom volunteering/observation experience was in a grade one French

immersion classroom in fall 2018. I had asked a friend if I could volunteer in her classroom as I

was considering applying to an education program and wanted to make sure that this was still

what I wanted to do as a career. It was an amazing week and consolidated for me that teaching is

my vocation. This experience also gave me the desire to become French teaching certified so that

I can teach in French or teach French when I become a teacher.

The first thing that stood out to me was the classroom decoration. Student art was on the

walls, there were the students names listed on the wall under their months of birth. The

blackboard was set up with a calendar and the schedule of the day, and at the front of the room

there was a welcoming rug for students to sit on and learn or listen to stories. The week I was in
the classroom was special as it was Remembrance Day. The teacher, Ms. G, made use of this fact

to introduce students to World War I and to tell them why we wear poppies in remembrance. She

read an amazing story: Bunny the Brave War Horse by Elizabeth MacLeod. This is a story about

a horse from Canada who goes across the ocean to fight in the First World War.

The choice of using this story is a great example of scaffolding your lesson for your

students. War can be a difficult subject to introduce to students, especially those who are very

young. Vygotsky recommends scaffolding your lessons so that students are able to grasp the

information. I learned from this lesson that you don’t need to change the subject or skip teaching

something to students that you feel is outside of their zone of proximal development, but rather

to find a way to scaffold the lesson for your students.

Another great tactic that I first learned in Ms. G’s classroom was explicit instruction. For

Math class she brought the students to the carpet and introduced the concept of patterns to them.

First she taught the lesson, introducing what a pattern is, and taught the vocabulary used in the

lesson. She then demonstrated on the whiteboard several patterns using coloured markers to

make different sizes and shapes. After she had demonstrated for the class she had them

participate in identifying the core of the patterns that she had drawn and then advising of the next

component(s) that went into each pattern. Finally the students went back to their desks and

individually completed pattern worksheets. Once she had collected these sheets, and graded them

later she was able to see that the students had been confused as to what they had needed to do

with the worksheets. She was able to identify areas that she could improve her instruction and

modified her next day’s class to fill in these gaps.

From this experience I learned how effective explicit instruction can be when done well

and the power of formative assessment. Explicit instruction teaches the student in the “I do”
portion, allows the teacher to interact with the student in the “We do” portion to ensure that they

have understood the concept, and then lets the student work on it in class during the “You do”

portion of the instruction. This then allows the teacher to circulate through the classroom to

answer any questions and provide further guidance. At the end of class the teacher can use the

work the students did as a formative assessment to see how the class did as a whole, how each

individual students did and can then adjust the instruction to reteach areas that were missed, or

know that they are good to more on to the next lesson.

This class being grade one French immersion class meant that it was taught 75% in

French and about 25% in English. Being able to understand the class and interact with the

students in French helped to quell my fears that my French language skills were not good enough

for me to teach in a core or immersion French classroom. Ms. G affirmed for me that my French

is definitely good enough, and the experience in this class backed that up. I believe that every

student should have a teacher who cares about what they are teaching. I’m looking forward to

being that passionate French teacher one day and giving my future students the confidence in

French that I still struggle to find for myself some days.

My classroom observation experience this spring was in an inner city school in London,

Ontario. I had the opportunity to join the Music classroom for a few days. This opportunity

allowed me to see the full range of classes from grade one to grade eight side by side. This

classroom was split into two parts, one was your traditional music classroom with chairs, music

stands and many recorders and other instruments. The other side of the classroom had a large

carpet with numbered spots around it and a smart board on the wall. The older students had their

class in the chairs while the younger students sat on the carpet for their class.
 The difference in seating for the grade levels set the tones for the class, the older grades

were expected to be able to sit still, focus on the lesson, listen to the music that was being played,

and fill out their graphic organizers. The younger students on the carpet were allowed to make

more noise and move around some. Their lessons also involved movement, rhythm, and

activities to learn the beats and measures. I appreciated how the music teacher, Ms. C, had

different lessons for different age ranges so that everyone would be engaged and would learn

something about music.

One of the lessons that I really appreciated for the older students was drawing what the

music made them think of while they were listening to pieces and then discussing it afterwards.

So often in older classes students are told to write about how it made them feel, but having them

tap into their artistic side brought out many unique answers and perspectives from the students.

Even the students who often fool around in class participated in this lesson and were quiet while

the music was playing. I learned from this that giving students something different that they

didn’t expect from the class can produce fantastic effects. The students while listening to music

and drawing didn’t feel as though they were doing work, but they were learning one of the most

important aspects of music which is how it makes you feel.

The younger students got to play games involving songs that they sang which involved

related movement. They also played games that taught them the different beats and measures in

music. Ms. C read music related story to them and asked them what they thought of the character

in the story who had learned to play saxophone so well that he began to levitate. The students

were amused by the story and engaged by the songs and games. To them music class didn’t feel

like learning but was a break from their normal teachers and classrooms and a fun way to engage
with their classmates. I appreciated how Ms. C engaged her students with her lessons by having

them be grade appropriate.

There was one negative aspect to Ms. C’s classroom that I noticed and the students had

picked up on as well. Ms. C did not have any classroom management skills. She was very sweet

and nice until the students had gone too far and then she shouted at them. She didn’t have any

clearly laid out rules for the students to follow in her classroom and this lead to the students

goofing off in class and not paying any attention to her when she asked them nicely. At times

when there were certain Education Assistants in the classroom the students would behave better

and they would shut down any unwanted behavior, but when they weren’t there, there were

always students acting up or off on the other side of the classroom doing their own thing. This

may partially have been because Ms. C was a new teacher and this was her first year as the

Music teacher and in this school but it clearly drove home for me the importance of classroom

management. I now know that in order to have successful classroom management that I need to

have clearly laid out rules that both the students and I understand, I need to maintain consistent

behavior and react proportionally, and I need to make sure that I treat each student the same

when it comes to breaking the rules so that the students know that I’m being fair. I’m sure that it

will take some time and trial and error before I get it right, but I can’t just leave it up to the

students to behave.

I think these experiences will make me into a better teacher. From them I have seen the

importance of scaffolding my lessons, of using explicit instruction, to design lessons that take

into account the age and grade of my students, and the importance of classroom management.

Philosophy of Education
 My Philosophy of Education is still evolving as I learn more about being an educator. I

believe that one’s philosophy of education should always be in flux as we experience new things

and as technology, curriculum, philosophies, and students change over time.

School

I believe that schools should be an open, welcoming, and inclusive space. As an educator

it’s my responsibility to ensure that I provide this space in my classroom and the halls and

playgrounds that I monitor. School is one of the first communities that our students belong to.

Making this a welcoming community will foster mental and emotional growth and will provide a

better learning environment for the students. School should be a place when the students become

engaged in social activities within their communities, be it just the school community or the

community that the school is in. Social engagement within school will help the students be better

prepared for life outside of school.

Curriculum and Learning

I believe in having a Universal Design for Learning classroom and including

differentiated instruction and assignments for my students. I know that this will give them the

best opportunities to learn and to be recognized for their talents, strengths, and their capabilities.

Gardner believed that everyone has all eight types of intelligences at varying levels. Therefore he

hypothesized that people can learn in many different ways, not just through their primary

intelligence (Multiple Intelligences: What Does the Research Say?, 2016). By having multiple

modes of learning in my classroom I can facilitate my students learning so they all have a better

chance to succeed and learn the curriculum

Learner
 Every student has the potential to grow, learn and succeed. Success may mean a different

thing for each student and teaching them to be okay with that will be a part of my classroom.

Each student should be on a journey of personal growth and achievement. Each student will have

their strengths and weaknesses and life outside of school is about learning how to manage that.

What I teach in my classroom will help them to have the growth mindsets to succeed both within

and outside of the classroom.

I believe in being open with my students. We’re not always perfect humans and showing

your students how to handle mistakes or errors can be a good lesson to them on how to handle

life. I also believe in being humble as a teacher. I will show them that it’s okay to make mistakes

as long as you recognize it and fix it. I am a lifelong learner and learning through my mistakes is

a great way to foster a growth mindset both in myself and in my students.

Assessment

I will use a mixture of formative and summative assessments. Through formative

assessment I will be able to see not only how the students are doing at learning the material but

also how I’m doing teaching it. This will allow me to make adjustments to how I am teaching in

order to facilitate learning in the classroom. Some of the ways that I will implement formative

assessments are class discussions, closing activities, and mini quizzes. The goal of this is for the

students to see how much they have learned and for both the students and myself to see where

we can improve.

Classroom Management

Classroom Management is a mix of setting out clear rules and guidelines, ensuring that

you are always fair and consistent with your students when giving out both praise and

punishments, and engaging the students in their own learning. “As students feel success in
learning, problem behavior decreases. Teaching to a student's strength helps increase learning

success” (Jackson, n.d.) Students act out when they are bored, feel undervalued, or do not feel as

though they are being treated fairly. It can be difficult with “problem students” to see beyond the

behavior and to remember that this is a child with feelings and motivations individual to

themselves. If the issue moves to a conflict between students I believe in trying to use the

restorative justice method to resolve the conflict. “Restorative justice empowers students to

resolve conflicts on their own and in small groups, and it's a growing practice at schools around

the country” (Davis, 2013).

The Teacher

"I wasn't born to 'just teach'. I was born to inspire others. To change people. And to never

give up- even when faced with challenges that seem impossible." – Anonymous. This is the

educational philosophy that I want to embody every day as an educator. Anybody can get in

front of a classroom and present the class material and then go home at the end of the day. I want

to be so much more than that, I want to see my students for who they are, and I want to be their

champion encouraging them and helping them to see their strengths. Someday, when my

students are grown up and they think back to elementary school, I want to be the teacher they

remember fondly as having seen them and made a difference in their education.

Resume

Introduction

My resume below will give you a broad overview of my work and education experience

as well as highlight my qualifications and work experience that will contribute to making me an

effective and caring educator.

My resume
ELIZABETH KROL 613-662-2083
K72 – 223 Pioneer Dr, Kitchener, ON N2P 1L9 [email protected]

HIGHLIGHTS OF QUALIFICATIONS
 Organized, able to keep track of a wide variety of tasks and prioritize them
 Pick up job tasks quickly with minimal training and supervision.
 Trusted to complete sensitive projects accurately and with minimal supervision
 Proficient at analyzing trends and flagging issues
 Comfortable working with computer programs such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook
 EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
Technical Specialist, OTIP
Waterloo, ON May 2019-Present
 Provide technical expertise to all team members, managers, clients by providing feedback,
clarification and direction in procedural, technical, administrative and systems issues relating to
benefits and eligibility
 Investigate complex issues and escalations from all Benefits Services Representatives and clients,
performing root cause analysis and resolution
 Audit the output of new Benefits Services Representatives, including call coaching, contract and
process training and troubleshooting skills
 Work with the insurance carriers as a technical liaison to clarify escalated technical claims and
coverage information related to claims adjudication issues, coverage eligibility errors, and
administration eligibility issues
 Participate in partner meetings, acting as a subject matter expert with the carrier, clients and our
Consulting and Insurance Services department regarding operations issues
 Develop and document formal procedures and manuals to create various administrative resource
materials for the Call Centre and Administration teams. Create department templates in word and
excel to standardize processes
 Recommend and implement changes in processes, working with management, the Benefits
Services Trainers and the Quality Assurance Coordinators

Real Time Support Representative, OTIP

Waterloo, ON Apr 2018-May 2019
 Provide troubleshooting and informational support to OTIP Benefits Services Representatives
(BSRs) both while they are on the phones with members and through internal logs
 Handle time sensitive inquiries, ensuring OTIP’s members inquiries and concerns are resolved
quickly and accurately
 Utilize a strong understanding of all of our processes, benefits, and systems as well as clear
communication skills to educate BSRs, thus increasing their understanding and reducing overall
call volume
 Own my responsibility to ensure that the BSRs have the support they need while on the call in
order to provide the best customer experience to OTIP members
 Provide coaching and feedback, where necessary, to address knowledge gaps and areas of
improvement
 Handle callout projects effectively, reaching out to members to advise them of action required or
premiums due

Benefits Services Representative (Contract to Permanent), OTIP

Waterloo, ON Sep 2016-Apr 2018
 Provide timely and accurate information in response to phone inquiries
 Investigate and resolve member complaints and concerns and document outcomes for future
reference
 Respond to member email inquiries; preparing and processing responses to routine
correspondence
 Ensure a high level of customer service through effective support and excellent customer service
 Support New Hires’ questions as needed and providing call shadowing upon request
  Facilitate sensitive premium project to intermediate between OTIP and the plan members,
managing payment plans and resolving data issues

Customer Services Representative (Contract), Manulife

Kitchener, ON Apr 2016-Sep 2016
 Provided timely and accurate information in response to phone inquiries
 Investigated and resolved member complaints and documented outcomes for future reference
 Ensured a high level of customer service through effective support and excellent customer service
 Drafted letters and preparing and processing responses to routine correspondence

Team Member, Tim Hortons, Lancaster, ON Dec 2015-Apr 2016

HR Administrator, Walmart Canada Logistics ULC

Cornwall, ON Sep 2014-Mar 2015
 Prepared and delivered orientations to new hires
 Assisted employees and manager with any questions that they had, following the policy of getting
the answer or concern met within the same day
 Answered questions regarding benefits and ensured proper information was gathered to enroll
employees in benefits
 Managed WSIB claims and leaves of absence: medical, maternal and parental
 Maintained spreadsheets and ran reports and audits, ensuring accuracy of data at all times
 Utilized computer programs including Microsoft Outlook, Excel and Word, and HRIS system:
ADP

Poll Clerk, Elections Ontario, Williamstown, ON June 2014

Human Resources Assistant Coop, itec group Inc.

Cambridge, ON Nov 2013-Mar 2014
 Updated candidate and job information on resume database to improve recruitment matches
 Created policies for health and safety, harassment and violence, PIPIDA, and AODA to ensure
itec group compliance
 Sourced potential candidates from job sites, LinkedIn and company database to present to clients
 Conducted numerous reference checks to ascertain candidate work skills and ethics mainly in the
fields of IT and Engineering
 Used Microsoft Excel, and Word to manage data and produce reports

Dietary Aide, Waterloo Heights Retirement Residence

Waterloo, ON 2010-2013
 Organized 90 residents and guests in the dining room on a day to day basis, making sure to meet
needs and preferences
 Trained new staff on duties required for the job

Groundskeeper, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON Summer 2012

Farm Hand, Curldale Farms Ltd. Williamstown, ON 2007-Dec 2015

 EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATION
French
 Successfully completed French II, III, and IV at Conestoga College 2017-2018
 French Course in Paris for 1 month 2015
 3.5 months French immersion as an au-pair in Switzerland

Masters of Science in Elementary Education 2020 - Present

Medaille College, Buffalo, NY

Human Resources Management – Post Graduate Co-op Program 2013 - 2014

Conestoga College, Kitchener, ON

Bachelor of Liberal Arts Degree 2008 – 2013

St. Jerome’s University, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON

REFERENCES

Available upon request

Conclusion

This section served to introduce to you who I am and the life, work, and school experiences

that lead me to want to become an educator. The next section will showcase Teacher Candidate

Artifacts that I have created throughout my education program at Medaille.