Section One:

Teacher Candidate Introduction to the Elementary Portfolio Project

Introduction to the Portfolio Project
Who dares to teach must never cease to learn.
~ John Cotton Dana.

This portfolio is not only a catalogue of my education thoughts and prepared lesson, it
also displays my ongoing struggle to be the best educator I can be. This struggle occurs as I
pursue relevant educational theories, learn new and effective instructional techniques and seek
the wisdom of experts currently in the educational field to mentor my ongoing education. Woven
into my philosophy of education is the belief that the student is primarily responsible for their
own learning and so I endeavor to incorporate this thinking within lesson plans and interactions
with students. This portfolio will show case an example of my previous educational experience
as well as demonstrate my skill in developing unit and lesson plans that engage, motivate and
challenge students. My portfolio will also highlight my personal educational philosophy as well
as my understanding of best pedagogical practices and demonstrate my growth mindset in all I
do. I am keenly aware that my thoughts are not solely my own but have been fostered by many
power thinkers and teachers who have shared their educational insights with me, it is to them that
I owe a debt of thanks for their wisdom and encouragement.
Portfolio Overview and Rationale
As I enter into an every increasingly competitive profession, the need to highlight my
strengths and skills in a clear and concise manner to potential employers is essential. This
portfolio will do just that by conveying my educational philosophy as well as demonstrate my

knowledge of teaching best practices. This portfolio will also illustrate my passion as a learner
and educator in developing lifelong learners that are able to be active participants within society.
As my background experiences will show, all my professional endeavors have followed this
pattern. I have worked with children, adolescents and adults in the role of caregiver, companion,
instructor, supervisor and advocate. In each of these roles, I have sought to develop my skills
through continuing education as well as seeking out the guidance and support of mentors who
were able to provide valuable insight into the skillset of the job.
The background section of my portfolio will introduce me as an educator and student
who focuses on building community and supporting young people to reach their full potential. As
the reader moves through the portfolio, the artifacts they will find are focused on problem
solving, collaborative group work with a large focus on independent decision making and the
power of community. The reader will notice that my lesson plans are rooted in the core standards
and use evidence based curriculum to achieve those standards. My constructivist philosophy of
education will come out throughout the portfolio, but this section will highlight theorists who
have had significant impact on my educational thinking such as pioneers like Piaget and
Vygotsky, but also contemporary thinkers such as Howard Gardner, Ron Berger, Carol Dweck,
Steven Katz and Kathleen Palmer Cleveland whose thoughts have influenced how I work with
boys who struggle in school. Lastly, my video interview will clearly demonstrate that I am a
confident self-motivated person who a varied and diverse past from which to draw my
educational knowledge and experience. My passion, drive and values will be present in all I do
and be clear to the reader.

Portfolio Development
Having worked in the field of education for 23 years in various settings, from care and
treatment to public education with students from age 6 to 21 with various abilities and struggles,
I have been fortunate enough to have been exposed to and worked with some extraordinary
educators who have mentored me along the way, allowing me to develop my skills as an
educator, instructor, and facilitator. Not only have I taught exceptional students, I have been
allowed to facilitate learning opportunities for my peers in the areas of crisis management,
adventure based cooperative learning, and working with exceptional students. I continue to seek
out professional development opportunities in the following areas; the effects of trauma on
students, early literacy intervention as well as support students with mental health issues. These
are the significant areas that will be addressed further in part Section Two, Teacher Candidate
Background Experiences of my portfolio.
Section Three, Teacher Candidate Artifacts will be composed of a number of my
educational artifacts to date. It will highlight my knowledge in pedagogy and best teaching
practices in planning, instruction, and assessment as well as my skills in developing engaging,
motivating, instructional lessons as well as tools to motivate and guide students through the
curriculum with an emphasis on literacy and math. This section of my portfolio will demonstrate
to the reader that I am proficient with the integration of technology into my lesson plans to
enhance and motivated the students. As well as technology, the reader will find I am a teacher
who is strongly motivated to create, support, and maintain not only a classroom community, but
strive to involve the school community, parents, and community members in the development of
my lessons. I believe that the lessons the students are exposed to should reflect, not only the
curriculum, but the broader community.

While Section Three deals with my educational artifacts, its Section Four, Alignment to
Curriculum & Professional Standards where these artifacts are rooted. Section Four takes a
closer look at my use of curriculum and standards which are used to drive my instruction. This
section is my professional accountability, it ensures I do what I say Im going to do and am
required to do as well as providing evidence of my knowledge of the importance of integrating
standards in the curriculum into my daily teaching This section also allows me to demonstrate to
the reader that my teaching practices are rooted in good science and I am following educational
best practices as I grow and develop into a caring educator.
It is my belief that in order to succeed in anything someone does, it is essential that
reflection be a part of the process. Reflection allows us to learn from our past experiences and
improve upon them. Section Five, Teacher Candidate Reflection does just that, it allows me to
reflect on my educational process to date as well as reflect on the experience of higher education.
It allows me to gain some insight into my strengths and weaknesses while developing a plan on
how I am going to improve. This is a crucial part in any profession, but especially important in
education where if we as educators are not reflective, we put at risk the solid educational
grounding that all children need to become productive contributing members of civil society,
capable of 21st century life. We do not learn from experience... we learn from reflecting on
experience. John Dewey (1916) The final section of my portfolio, the Teacher Candidate
Teacher Interview Video is my opportunity to present face to face in a video interview why I am
qualified to be an educator working with children. The video interview not to provide evidence
to the interviewer, it allows me to gain valuable feedback from my professor and peers about
what areas I excel in and which I can improve upon as I showcase myself in this very
competitive field. The video interview is my final opportunity to clearly convey my educational

philosophy, my passion for education and my belief that every child can be excited and
motivated to be a student. The Interview Video allows me the opportunity to thoroughly discuss
my awareness of best educational pedagogical practices while at the same time demonstrating
my ability to engage and develop relationship with others.
Theorists and Experts in the Field of Education
My personal philosophy of education has continued to evolve over the past 23 years as I
have been exposed to different teaching styles, learned about educational best practices, studied
educational theories all in an effort to improve my own teaching style and skill. When I first
entered the educational field, my past experiences as a student and human services worker lead
me down the path of the behaviorism where Skinners theories of learning influenced my
understanding of education and the drill and kill method of learning was widely used. As I
continued to develop as an educator and be exposed to new theories of learning and education,
my personal philosophy began to be blended with the theories of pioneers like Piaget and
Vygotsky, but also contemporary thinkers such as Gardner, Berger, Dweck, Katz and K. Palmer
Cleveland. These constructivist thinkers all have influenced my present education philosophy
and moved my thinking away from drill and kill to a more collaborative inquiry approach of
learning. My classroom management strategies have also evolved from a Skinnerian approach to
an approach that has been influenced by thinkers such as Carol Dweck and Ron Berger who
espouse a more student directed collaborative approach to classroom management and problem
solving. Berger advocates for the use of critical peer and teacher feedback to modify and manage
behaviours (Berger, 2003). In Kathleen Palmer Clevelands book, Teaching Boys Who Struggle
in School suggests using a direct instruction approach to teach and model classroom
management with boys who struggle. Her suggestion of verbal cues is I believe an effect

approach to use with students who struggle to attend (Cleveland, 2011). I believe that there is no
one size fits all model and an effect teacher needs to use several strategies as well as develop
positive relationships while fostering a community that uses a Growth Mindset to view
learning and life.
Conclusion
As I continue to complete my portfolio, my excitement continues to build as I reflect on
the new knowledge and skills I have learned on my journey to become a caring teacher confident
in current ways to plan, instruct and assess the knowledge of my students as they become 21st
century learners. As the reader will see in the following sections my past experiences in
education as well as in the social service field have laid a strong foundation for becoming an
excellent teacher.