Section One

Teacher Candidate Introduction to the Elementary Portfolio Project

Introduction, Overview and Rationale

Teaching is one of the most important jobs that a person can have. A teacher is not just

someone that stands up at the front of the class while the students sit at their desks and listen. A

teacher’s job is to create an environment that is inclusive to students of all backgrounds and

abilities. In teaching, a teacher needs to build a relationship with their students, include them in

their learning as active participants and ensures that each child is able to participate in their

learning to the best of their abilities.

Creating a teacher portfolio is a great way for a teacher candidate to show their abilities

as a professional. In creating this portfolio, I can show future employers why I am a good teacher

for the job. This portfolio outlines my abilities as a teacher, and provides examples and proof of

what I have accomplished as a student teacher at Medaille College. In my portfolio, I will discuss

my educational and work related experience, artifacts that include my professional development

as a teacher candidate, lesson plans and training that I have completed and alignment to the

curriculum and standards and connect these to the artifacts that I have presented. I will also

complete a teacher candidate reflection of my overall experiences of creating this portfolio and

finally I will include a teacher candidate teacher interview video where I will answer questions

that may be asked of me in an interview.

These six sections will be a platform for me to show that I am a dedicated teacher who

takes the time to carefully plan each lesson that I create. It will show my ability to include

technology into my lessons to keep my students engaged as well as how I use technology for my

modifications and accommodations for IEP students. As a student teacher, I had many students

with various needs and backgrounds; I will show in my artifacts section how I accommodated
these students using the culturally responsive teaching practice. As a teacher, I hope to make

connections with my student’s to ensure that they feel welcome and comfortable in my

classroom. By doing this, my hope is that they will come to school each day ready and willing to

learn and put their best effort in.

Portfolio Development

Section One, Teacher Candidate Portfolio Project Introduction, introduces me as a

teacher candidate and why this portfolio is important. I will highlight what I believe is important

as an educator in a classroom, and well as talk about the most important theorists and experts in

education that helped shape me as the educator that I am today. In this section, I will discuss

Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development, and John Dewey’s

Experiential learning theory.

Section Two, Teacher Candidate Background Experiences, highlights what has shaped

me as an educator. I will highlight my teaching philosophy and my experiences as an Early

Childhood Educator. I will discuss how my career as an ECE has lead me to the teaching

profession and when I knew that I wanted to be a teacher. I will discuss my experience as a

student teacher, my volunteer experience with working with children, even when I was still a

child myself and my goals as I become a teacher.

Section Three, Teacher Candidate Artifacts, will show my skills as an educator and what

I have done as a student teacher through my time at Medaille College to grow and become more

experienced in the field. These artifacts will display how I am a great teacher candidate with lots

of experience and knowledge to offer. I will include the following artifacts in this section:
  Conduct Disorder Pecha Kucha Presentation

 SAVE Child Abuse Seminar Certification

 Persuasive writing learning segment

 SMART Board presentation created in EDU 571

 Literacy Assessment project from EDL 650

 Literacy Newsletter from EDL 650

 Weebly Website created in EDU 571

 Final Student Teacher Performance Evaluation from my student placement

All of these artifacts show how prepared I am to be a teacher and what I have worked on and

learned during my time at Medaille College. Specifically, I will be highlighting my lesson plans

such as my persuasive writing unit. These lessons show my ability to accommodate and modify

the learning standards to fit all types of learners, as well as my ability to integrate technology

into my lesson plans. In my persuasive writing unit, I scaffold my lesson for my learners to fully

understand each part that I am teaching. My Pecha Kutcha presentation that I created will

highlight my knowledge of Conduct Disorder, as well as my knowledge of a new learning

technique for students and my technology skills.

Section Four, Alignment to the Curriculum and Professional Standards, will show my ability

to align my artifacts that I presented in Section Three, to the Ontario and New York Curriculum

Standards. This section will also show my ability to be a caring, supportive and effective

teacher.

Section Five, Teacher Candidate Reflection, I will reflect on my experience in creating this

portfolio. I will mention my challenges and my success in creating this and show how I have a

growth mindset as a teacher and the importance of that. Teacher reflection is an important part
of being an educator and one that many have a difficult time doing. This will highlight my

ability to reflect on my own practices and what I overcame while doing so.

Section Six, Teacher Candidate Teacher Interview Video, will show a screencast of my work

as a teacher. I will answer specific questions that may be asked of me in a teacher candidate

interview. I will connect back to my artifacts shown in this portfolio, standards, and my skills as

a teacher. I will show my Weebly website that I created in EDU 571 to show my

accomplishments in an interactive way.

Theories, Theorists and Experts in the Field of Education

Theorists and experts in the field of education are an important part of teaching and the

way in which the classroom foundation is set. As a student at Medaille College, I have learned

about many theorists in the field and their importance to how education is today. Some of these

theorists include, Howard Gardner, Lev Vygotsky, and John Dewey.

Howard Gardner developed the theory of multiple intelligences. This theory is one that

has shaped my lesson plans throughout my student teaching experiences. Howard Gardner

believed that all people have different kinds of intelligences (Cherry, 2019). Gardner developed

eight intelligences that students may fall into: Visual-Spatial, Linguistic-Verbal, Logical

Mathematical, Bodily Kinesthetic, Musical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Naturalistic

(Cherry, 2019). I believe that Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences is an important theory

that educators should consider because it allows us to take into consideration that we may have

all types of learners in our classroom. By incorporating the multiple intelligences into learning

segments, we are ensuring that all students who learn in different ways are included and will be

able to understand the content that we are teaching.

me as an educator. The ZPD is “the range of abilities that an individual can perform with

assistance, but cannot yet perform independently” (Cherry, 2019). Individual that is learning is

close to accomplishing the skill, however needs more direction first, which is why it is called

proximal (Cherry, 2019). Cherry (2019) mentions that the direction can come from an educator

or a parent, but it can also come from another peer. I think that it is valuable for students to learn

from their peers as well as their educators and parents. In my teaching experience, I have used

the ZPD as well as scaffolding in my instruction to my students. More specifically, I have used

scaffolding in my Persuasive Writing learning segment, which I will discuss more in Section

Three. I found this to be an effective way for the students to learn new material.

As an Early Childhood Educator in a Full Day Kindergarten classroom in Ontario, I have

come to learn a lot about John Dewey and his theory of Experiential Learning. In Ontario, our

Kindergarten Curriculum is inquiry based and John Dewey’s theories align with that. Dewey’s

experiential learning theory states that

learning by doing (or experiential learning) is based on three assumptions that: people learn

best when they are personally involved in the learning experience, knowledge has to be

discovered by the individual if it is to have any significant meaning to them or make a

difference in their behavior; and a person’s commitment to learning is highest when they

are free to set their own learning objectives and are able to actively pursue them within a

given framework (Ord, 2012, pg. 55)

This learning theory is important in education because I believe it is the foundation of Culturally

Responsive Teaching. As educators, we need to ensure that our students are active participants in
their learning. I believe that as an educator, I need to take into consideration the various

backgrounds and needs of my students. If we create our lessons based on the student’s interests

and needs, and align those into the curriculum standards, our students are more likely to be

successful in their learning.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Elementary Education Capstone Portfolio project is an asset to show

my abilities as a teacher candidate. It allows me to fully explain my background and experiences

as an educator to prove that I am a qualified teacher through the display of artifacts I have

competed throughout the program and align those to the curriculum standards. This portfolio

will also show that I am able to reflect on my learning and myself as an educator and show my

technology skills through screencast and my Weebly website. This project will show my

effective planning skills, classroom management skills, technology skills and my knowledge of

diversity and culturally responsive teaching. It is a great way for me to prove myself as an

educator to those who are looking to hire me.

Cherry, K. (2019, April 3). Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Retrieved from Very Well Mind:
https://www.verywellmind.com/gardners-theory-of-multiple-intelligences-2795161
Cherry, K. (2019, March 16). What is the Zone of Proximal Development? Retrieved from Very Well:
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-zone-of-proximal-development-2796034
Ord, J. (2012). John Dewey and Experiential Learning: Developing the Theory of Youth Work. Youth &
Policy, 55.