Section One: Teacher Candidate Introduction to the Elementary Portfolio Project

Introduction, Overview and Rationale

The purpose of creating this elementary portfolio is to demonstrate my readiness

to become a teacher and showcase my knowledge and skills I have developed throughout

my education and professional career. It will convey my passion and drive to be a

teacher, and life-long learner committed to constantly growing and bettering myself. This

portfolio allows me to reflect on my educational experiences and my professional

experiences that have made me into the teacher I am today, and showcase my growth and

continual professional development in this field of work.

Throughout this portfolio I will be reflecting on my educational background and

experiences. Sharing the experiences that have influenced my desire to become a teacher,

and created the passion I have within me. I will take you through ups and downs of my

elementary, middle school and high school experiences, and how they have made me

who I am today. I will reflect on a few mentors along the way, and showcase my growth

and constant drive to better myself in all areas of life.

I will also take you through my career path thus far, and how it has led me to

where I am today. From working at a grocery store and babysitting, to becoming a respite

worker and early childhood educator, I will explain how the experiences have influenced

my philosophy of teaching. I will showcase my philosophy of teaching, best teaching

practices and my ability to plan, instruct and assess in the meaningful ways and provide

artifacts to give a visual and provide concrete samples of this. I will demonstrate my

knowledge and experiences with children of various backgrounds, dispositions and

exceptionalities, and how I have accommodated their individual needs to ensure all
children are successful. I will reflect on my previous experiences within the classroom in

collaboration with other teaching professionals and professionals related to the field and

how that has shaped me to become the teacher I am today.

Throughout this portfolio, the reader will go through six sections, the

introduction, background experience, artifacts, alignment to curriculum and professional

standards, reflection and an interview video. These sections will demonstrate my

knowledge and beliefs in respect to teaching, and highlight my strengths and capabilities

in areas such as planning, instruction, and assessment of the curriculum standards,

accommodations, classroom management, professional development and technology

integration. After reading and reviewing my portfolio I hope that the reader has felt my

passion and drive, learning more about my pursuit to become a teacher and what that

means to me.

Portfolio Development

The portfolio has 6 sections that take you through in a logical order of what I have

to offer as a candidate for a teaching position. From my background experiences to

concrete evidence in form of artifacts, continuing by providing direct alignment to

curriculum standards and finishing off with a reflection and mock interview, this

portfolio is designed to offer an in depth analysis of what makes me a strong teacher

candidate.

Section one is titled, Teacher Candidate Introduction to the Elementary Portfolio

Project. This section provides overview of what the portfolio contains, dissecting each

section and subsection to explain its contents. It continues by describing theories,

theorists and experts in the field of education that are relevant in education today and
have shaped my approach to teaching.

Section two is titled, Teacher Candidate Background Experiences. This section

provides a deep overview of the personal, educational and professional experiences that

have shaped the teacher I am today. Subsections delve into the education and work

experiences, school observations and classroom applications, philosophy or education

and a current resume. This is where you get to know me personally and learn of the

personal and professional journey I have taken and the influences that have led me to

where I am today.

Section three is titled, Teacher Candidate Artifacts. This section provides tangible

evidence to support the claims I have been making and prove that I have developed the

skills and knowledge needed to be prepared to teach in the elementary classroom. These

artifacts will reflect my professional development and ability to plan, instruct, and assess

in meaningful ways and my ability to accommodate children, be a culturally responsive

teacher and demonstrate appropriate classroom management skills. Furthermore, the

artifacts will have description to provide insight into the connections to the curriculum in

areas of math, literacy, science, social studies, and technology, and connections to my

own philosophy of teaching and pedagogy.

Section four is titled, Alignment to Curriculum and Professional Standards. This

section will link the artifacts directly to the curriculum standards and explain how my

teaching methods align with the New York State and Ontario curriculum. This section

will include a graphic organizer with headings, INTASC Standards, NYS Code of Ethics

for Educators, Ontario Teachers Ethical Standards, P-12 NYS Common Core Learning

Standards (ELA, Math and Social Studies), NYS Learning Standards, Ontario Ministry of
Education Expectation, TEAC/CAEP Claims, International Society for Technology

Education for Teachers and Students (ISTE), and Council for Exceptional Children

(ECE) Under the heading lists each artifact, the standard tile, number and key words to

accurately provide meaningful context.

Section five is titled, Teacher Candidate Reflection. This section provides a

reflection of my experience working on this portfolio, obtaining my MSED, and my

abilities and readiness to become a teacher. Reflection is an important part of growth

within yourself and your practice. Reflection helps us to be aware of what works and

what doesnt and be aware of when change is needed. It helps us to figure out ways to

reach greater teacher heights and constantly evolve into a better teacher.

Section six is titled, Teacher Candidate Teacher Interview Video. This section

includes a short video mock interview answering a series of 5 questions sharing my

experiences that have led me to a career in education, what I have learned in my MSED

program, examples of lessons and my knowledge of current trends in education according

to my district school board. It ends with why I think I should be hired, allowing me to be

reflective in my practice and experiences and conclude what makes me the best

candidate. This will give further opportunity to learn more about who I am and what

makes me a great teacher. This video will be uploaded to a website that I have designed

for my future students and parents, which will highlight my tech abilities that I have

learned over the past years working as an educator.

Theories, Theorists and Experts in the Field of Education

There are many theories, theorist and experts in the field of education that have

helped to shape my teaching philosophy and pedagogy overtime. Theorists such as

throughout my studies, and I have adopted some of their theories in my practice. In my

personal life and I have been heavily influenced by Steven Covey, the writer of a book

titled, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. After reading and re-reading, many

times, this has become a bible for me to follow in both my personal and professional life.

It helped to build my character and lead a life characterized by fairness, integrity, honesty

and dignity. Coveys philosophy promotes character ethic, principles and values that I

hope to instill in my students.

Jerome Bruner is another cognitive theorist who developed the theory of

discovery and guided learning. He drew on childrens past experience and existing

knowledge and allowed them to explore deeper using their interests to guide their own

learning (Hammel, 2003). He believed the teacher was there to facilitate the learning

process in which the students are leading (Hammel, 2003). In the classroom today, this is

referred to as inquiry based learning in which the childs interest lead the learning and

our job as the teacher is to give them the information and materials they need but allow

them to discover, interpret, and organize it on their own, essentially building children

who are learning to learn on their own. Again, supporting the idea of scaffolding in that

you are slowly releasing the freedom to complete the task independently.

Bruner also believed in symbolic representation. He believed in the use of

tangible and manipulative items, visuals, and words with symbols to engage the learner

and make the learning more meaningful (Hammel, 2003). He called it enactive

representation (action based), iconic representation (image based) and symbolic

representation (language based) (Hammel, 2003). Using these three modes of

ability to store and encode knowledge primarily by words (Hammel, 2003). This also

supports the idea of having a variety of teaching strategies in order to reach each childs

mode of representation. Instead of just explaining something with words, use

manipulative items and visuals to help those learners who are still in that stage.

Vygotsky researched cognitive development and led us to what is now known as

the Social Development Theory. His theory of cognitive development centered around

the idea that social interaction and imaginative play is essential in the role of child

development (Kozulin, 2004). This is something I practice in my kindergarten room

where we equip the children with the materials they need and allow them to explore and

let their ideas and interests lead the learning. He also believed to fully understand a

childs growth you have to understand the societal and cultural context in which they

come from (Kozulin, 2004). It is very important to have a culturally responsive learning

environment in which you are relating the curriculum to authentic student experiences. It

is only then that meaningful connections can be made and students are fully engaged in

the learning.

Vygotsky believed in the importance of having a More Knowledgeable Other to

aide in the scaffolding of the learning. He used the term Zone of Proximal Development

to explain the range guidance to independence (Kozulin 2004). Through cooperative

learning exercises with the teacher and more skillful peers, the students gain confidence

to develop the skills and strategies in order to eventually complete the task on their own

(Kozulin, 2004). This supports the theory of collaborative learning in which students can

develop higher-level thinking, communication skills, self-management, and leadership

engaging in deeper learning and retention of material.

Steven Covey is another philosopher who wrote a book titled, The Seven Habits of

Highly Effective People. His philosophy is based on character ethic being the foundation

of success in life. He focuses on seven habits that progress from dependence to

independence and ultimately interdependence (Covey, 2004). The book walks you

through seven habits that help you gain personal effectiveness and healthy relationships

with other people. The seven habits are, be proactive, begin with the end in mind, put first

things first, think win-win, seek first to understand and then to be understood, and

sharpen the saw. The first three habits work through moving from dependence to

independence, and the next three work through to interdependence. The last habit is

continuous improvement and growth (Covey, 2004). These seven habits are habits I

practice and I hope to instill in my students. I believe education is not just teaching the

curriculum and academics, but more importantly it is about teaching students good

character and how to be successful people in society and life.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this portfolio will demonstrate my knowledge and abilities in the

field of education and showcase my readiness to become a teacher. While learning about

my background through education and professional experiences, you will gain insight as

to who I am as person and what makes me a great educator. After viewing my artifacts

and reading about the concepts and theories behind them, you will learn about my

teaching style and abilities. I will dive further into my teaching philosophy and the

theories I continue to learn from and be influenced by. You will get a sense of my passion
and drive to reach my goal of becoming an educator and the yearning for constant growth

and lifelong learning experiences. This portfolio will continue to delve further into who I

am as a person and the educator I hope to be.