Section One: Teacher Candidate Introduction to the Elementary Portfolio Project

Introduction

When it comes to being an effective teacher, Benjamin Franklin said it best: “Tell me and

I forget; teach me and I may remember; involve me and I learn” (“Benjamin Franklin Quotes,”

n.d.). As a hands-on learner myself, I truly appreciate the importance and necessity of learning

through doing. It wasn’t until my second semester of Medaille College’s Master of Science in

Elementary Education program that I learned this concept is the foundation for many educational

theorists, such as John Dewey, Jean Piaget, and Jane Addams. For example, Dewey (“John

Dewey Biography,” 2014) believed that education should be based on human experience, not

universal curriculum or standardized testing. And, “Piaget believed that children take an active

role in the learning process, acting much like little scientists as they perform experiments, make

observations, and learn about the world” (Cherry, 2018). You will see throughout this project

how this theory plays an important role in my teaching style, in addition to a number of other

insightful concepts I have learned throughout the course of this program.

I have also learned many reasons why educators need to consider the needs of all their

students when planning, instructing, and assessing, including differentiating instruction and

accommodating students with diverse needs. The reality is, our classrooms are comprised of

different types of learners, each with unique requirements and personalities. In order to be a

successful teacher, one must be able to identify their students’ needs, strengths and weaknesses,

and then create engaging, effective and culturally responsive lesson plans that address these

differences. I believe, through my education at Medaille College, as well as my diverse

background, I have been well prepared to do this successfully as an elementary teacher, and this
Elementary Portfolio Project will highlight my key skills, accomplishments, pedagogy, and

relevant experiences to validate this claim.

Overview and Rationale

The purpose of this Elementary Portfolio Project is to showcase my skills as a teacher

and my preparedness to successfully lead a classroom. The information and artifacts contained

within this portfolio are important because: they reflect my ability to create effective and

engaging lesson plans that align to curriculum standards; they highlight my superior technology

skills; and, they demonstrate how I will successfully manage and motivate my classroom by

either modifying my instruction or providing creative options for busy, distracted students. By

the end of this portfolio, you will be able to envision the type of teacher I strive to be:

knowledgeable, compassionate, engaging, adaptable, motivational, and, above all, effective.

Portfolio Section Development

The Elementary Portfolio Project is important because it ties together several pieces of

information that highlight my path and demonstrate my capacity to becoming a successful

educator. It is broken into the following six sections:

Section one: Teacher candidate portfolio project introduction. The current section is an

overview of all the components of this project. It includes the purpose and importance of this

portfolio, a description of the individual sections, the process of developing this portfolio, and

the theories, theorists, and best practices that support this project.

Section two: Teacher candidate background experiences. This is a detailed résumé of my

education and work experience, and how they connect to my work in education. In this section

you will also find my philosophy of education, my classroom observations, and my culturally

responsive applications throughout this journey.

 Section three: Teacher candidate artifacts. This is a collection of my best work done

throughout the M.S.Ed. program, and highlights my skills, knowledge and preparedness to

become an effective educator in the elementary classroom. These samples of work, also called

artifacts, showcase my competency to plan, instruct and assess successfully, my knowledge of

the elementary curriculum, my current pedagogy, and my superior literacy and technology skills.

The artifacts I chose for this project are: a literacy lesson plan, a grade 4 mathematics learning

segment, assessment tools, my classroom management toolbox, my Weebly website, my

philosophy of education paper, a SMART Board presentation, and my Pecha Kucha presentation

on traumatic brain injury.

Section four: Alignment to the curriculum and professional standards. This section

demonstrates the importance of curriculum and professional standards, and my knowledge of and

ability to align both NYS and Ontario curriculum and professional standards to my daily work

and lesson plans. Specifically, I will use a chart to present the NYS and Ontario curriculum

standards that apply to the artifacts I present in Section three. The standards addressed in this

section include: The New York State P-12 Common Core, The New York State Learning

Standards, Ontario Ministry of Education Expectations, the New York State Code of Ethics for

Educators, The Ontario Ethical Teacher Standards, The Interstate New Teacher Assessment

Support Consortium (INTASC Standards), Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC),

International Society for Technology Education for Teachers and Students (ISTE), the Council

for Exceptional Children (CEC), the Department of Education (DOE) Claims and Council for

Accreditation for Educator Preparation (CAEP) Standards.

Section five: Teacher candidate reflection. This focuses on my personal experiences

while working on this portfolio project, including my educational experiences throughout

Medaille College’s M.S.Ed. program, and my ability and readiness to become an elementary

teacher. It will also include my areas of strength, which I have developed over the course of this

program and will serve me well in the teaching profession.

Section six: Teacher candidate teacher interview video. This is a mock interview that

showcases my work, technology skills, and preparedness to become a teacher, as well as my

ability to make relevant connections to respond to job-related questions. The video is created and

edited by me, using Screencast-o-matic, and features my Weebly website to highlight some of

my work.

Theories, Experts, and Best Practices

When I started the M.S.Ed. program, I did not have a background in education and my

knowledge of educational philosophers and theories was very limited. I did, however, have many

ideas about what education should be, based on my own personal experiences and what I saw in

my children’s teachers. As mentioned above, a lot of my pre-conceived ideas of education align

with John Dewey’s progressivism and experimentalism theories. Specifically, that students

should be taught how to think rather than what to think, and that they should learn through

experience, not just memorizing text. This is an important foundation of my teaching philosophy.

Another important influencer of my teaching style is Maria Montessori. I enrolled my

middle child in a Montessori school last year, and I was amazed by how much my son learned in

such a short period of time. At the time, I was not fully educated on the Montessori method but I

now have a greater understanding of her constructivist approach, and theory that all children

should be treated as individuals, create their own learning, and are able to move around the

classroom freely (“Maria Montessori Biography,” n.d.). The concept of helping children to help

themselves is something I also strongly believe in as a mother.

 There are a number of other philosophers whose theories I strongly believe in and will

incorporate into my teaching style, such as: Lev Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development,

which encourages students to push themselves slightly out of their comfort zone to enhance their

learning; B.F. Skinner’s behaviorism theory, specifically using positive reinforcement to

strengthen a child’s behavior; and, Benjamin Bloom’s hierarchy of learning objectives in order to

create meaningful learning objectives and effective assessments.

Something else I learned throughout the M.S.Ed. program is the importance of classroom

management. Maintaining a classroom of students who are engaged and excited to learn can be

difficult. Children’s attention spans are short and they are easily distracted, therefore, effective

teachers should always have a few ‘tricks’ up their sleeves. Robert Marzano (2003, p.1)

suggested one of the most important roles of a teacher is that of a classroom manager, and “well-

managed classrooms provide an environment in which teaching and learning can flourish”.

Based on this, a classroom management fun box is the perfect way to ensure you always have a

few ways to motivate your students and get them back on track. This toolkit could include items

to reward good behavior or work ethic, encourage kindness and respect, help reinforce positive

behavior while correcting inappropriate behavior, or calm down anxious students. This tactic,

along with modeling my expectations, being prepared to ensure smooth transitions, and doing

frequent checks for understanding, are all best practices I will implement in my classroom.

Conclusion

This Elementary Portfolio Project is the culmination of my education at Medaille

College, and it will be an invaluable piece of my professional portfolio. Throughout this project,

I will share my strategies, values, pedagogy, artifacts, and a video, which showcases my

exemplary skills as a teacher. My knack for creating effective and engaging lesson plans using a
multitude of technology resources, and my ability to manage and motivate students by modifying

my instruction or providing creative options to get them back on track also demonstrate my

preparedness to successfully lead a classroom. I am relatable, adaptable, and a hard worker.

Above all, I want to enhance the education of our children to create future leaders.

In the next section, you will learn more about who I am personally and professionally,

and how I ended up at Medaille College to become an elementary teacher. Despite not having

much experience in the classroom before this program, my professional experiences and personal

beliefs have shaped me into, what I believe to be, a great teacher.