Section One: Teacher Candidate Introduction to the Elementary Portfolio Project

Introduction, Overview and Rationale

This portfolio was created to showcase work that I have done throughout my collegiate

courses as well as to prove that I have the potential to become an educator. Medaille College has

given me the chance work alongside professionals who have been in the field previously,

continue to work in the field, and those who will someday be working in the field. The education

that I’ve received has shaped my passion dedication for teaching as a career. Although I began

college working toward my goal of adolescent education in math and special education, I’m

continuing to work hard toward becoming an elementary educator.

Throughout this portfolio, the reader will understand my ability to plan and instruct

engaging lessons, assess student learning, apply culturally responsive teaching techniques,

implement modifications and accommodations for students with specific needs along with my

familiarity of technology in the classroom. In addition to these competencies, educators must

have knowledge of their students’ needs and background and create home-school connections

whenever possible. Educators must also have the capacity to collaborate with fellow educators

while also continuing their own personal learning through professional development. I

understand that these teacher competencies in addition to others help create a rounded education

for students. Educators who can master these competencies are truly inspiring. I have observed

many effective teachers during my college career and after watching them teach, in comparison

to others, I only aspire to be an effective teacher myself.

This portfolio contains six sections which include; the portfolio introduction, teacher

candidate background experience, teacher candidate artifacts, along with alignment to both

curriculum and professional standards, teacher candidate reflection, and the teacher candidate
interview video. Medaille College has prepared me to be a well-prepared and educated teacher

candidate. I’ve also included certificated that I have earned by completing and attending different

professional development trainings and seminars.

The portfolio introduction highlights both the purpose and importance of the portfolio

itself. Section two, teacher candidate background experience will introduce my educational and

work-related experiences. This is also where the reader will find my philosophy of education and

resume. Section three will include artifacts and rationales that prove my hard work and readiness.

Section four presents my knowledge and ability to align my artifacts with curriculum and

professional standards. In the fifth section, I will be reflecting on previous learning experiences

as well as my readiness to become a teacher. Finally, the sixth section will contain a teacher

interview video where I answer specific questions that may be asked at a job interview. This

portfolio demonstrates the hard work I’ve completed in years past, in addition to my

preparedness to enter the field of elementary education.

Portfolio Development

As mentioned previously, there are six sections within this portfolio project. Each section

differs both in their content and purpose. While creating this portfolio the sections played an

important role in the organization and flow of it.

Section one is called teacher candidate introduction to the elementary portfolio project.

Within this section there are four subsections. These include an introduction, overview, and

rationale of the portfolio itself, as well as portfolio section development, information about

theories and theorists or experts, and lastly a conclusion. This section provides insight to some of

my own ideas and philosophies. After reading this section, I hope it is made clear that I have a

passion for educating students and hope to become an effective teacher in the future.
 Section two is named teacher candidate background experiences. There are six

components of this section. They include an introduction, my educational and work experiences,

school observations and classroom applications, my philosophy of education, resume, and

conclusion. When introducing this section, I include some personal background information

about myself and the goals I have for this portfolio project. When giving information about my

educational and work experiences, the reader will begin to understand where I’m coming from

and where I hope it takes me in the future. Both my educational and work experiences have

fueled my desire to become an educator. Throughout my college career, I have visited several

schools in the Buffalo area. In this section I will share some of the experiences I’ve had while in

these schools. The philosophy of education enhances this portfolio because it tells the reader my

opinions and ideas about teaching, learning and education as a whole. The resume which will be

included in this portfolio will encompass what I’ve been doing in my life to reach my goals as a

future educator. All of the material and information throughout this section will give the reader a

better glimpse into my recent experiences and beliefs about education.

Section three includes all of my teacher candidate artifacts. Following each artifact will

be a rationale specifying details of the artifact. These rationales will include information about

standard alignment, connections to theories/experts in the field, best practices, and much more. I

hope that these artifacts prove to the reader that I am motivated and dedicated to be the best

educator I can be. These artifacts are pieces that I have completed as coursework, and

professional development.

Section four is called alignment to curriculum and professional standards. Within this

section there are four parts. They are an introduction, curriculum and professional standards, an

alignment to the curriculum and professional standards chart, and conclusion. This section is
important because it will explain each artifact included in the previous section with the

corresponding curriculum and professional standards. This will be explained and portrayed in

chart form for easier viewing. Although I am young teacher candidate, it is my hope that I can

instill a sense of understanding of my preparedness and readiness to becoming a teacher in the

reader throughout this section.

Section five in where the reader will find the teacher candidate reflection. At this point in

the portfolio I will be reflecting on several aspects of my journey through the Master program at

Medaille College. I will reflect on the portfolio project processes along with the elementary

education program itself. I will also be reflecting on my personal experiences, observations,

lessons I’ve learned, and the strengths I’ve found within myself during this program. I will lastly

explain in detail how I’ve met both the Medaille DOE Claims and CAEP Standards. These

reflections will describe the dedication I have had to both Medaille and myself. This dedication

is definitely something that I’ve strived for all my life and I’m happy to have found it when I did.

Lastly, section six includes the teacher candidate teacher interview video. There will be a

ten-to-fifteen-minute video attached to this portfolio where I answer questions that are likely to

be asked in a future interview. I’ll be making connections to artifacts that I’ve included, theories

and theorists/experts, best teaching practices I’ve used, standard alignment, my individual skill

set, effective strategies, and professional dispositions. This video will simulate a real-world

interview in order to prepare and think about what would happen at real teacher interview.

This portfolio encompasses everything I’ve worked for recently and have done in the past

several years. To see it all come together in one amazing, organized, promising piece is very

exciting.

Theories, Theorists and Experts in the Field of Education

 Throughout my courses in the Master of Science in Education program at Medaille, I’ve

been introduced to many theorists and experts. Benjamin Bloom, Jerome Bruner, and Howard

Gardner’s theories have influenced my teaching practices immensely. Without theorists and

experts in the field of education, today’s education could lack important and necessary aspects.

Benjamin Bloom has enhanced the field of education by developing Bloom’s Taxonomy. This

theory is based on the fact that learning happens in stages and those stages have an order. The

order is as follows; knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

The stages have since been revised to; remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing,

evaluating, and creating. The ideas are similar between the versions however the terminology

was changed from nouns to their verb forms and the last two stages are also switched in the

revised version. Bloom thought that in order to truly learn something one must be able to

‘remember’ the piece of information, ‘understand’ it correctly, ‘apply’ it to something

accurately, ‘analyze’ it accurately, ‘evaluate’ it in the right way, and finally ‘create’ something

using that piece of information. I too, believe this to be the way in which students learn best.

Learning a concept once and never hearing or using it again is not considered to engage students

in active learning. I believe that active learning occurs when all stages of Bloom’s taxonomy are

used to their fullest extent. Benjamin Bloom is an advocate for students having higher-order

thinking skills and I too think that having those skills help students both in their educational lives

but also in their personal lives. “Bloom’s taxonomy engendered a way to align educational goals,

curricula, and assessments that are used in schools, and it structured the breadth and depth of the

instructional activities and curriculum that teachers provide for students.” (Lasley II, 2014)

When students are able to answer higher-order thinking questions or ask them themselves, they

are then able to prove mastery of a concept.

 Jerome Bruner’s theory of the spiral curriculum is a cognitive theory that incorporates

learning at all ages. Bruner thought that if taught properly, even the youngest of students could

learn complex concepts. He once said, “We begin with the hypothesis that any subject can be

taught in some intellectually honest form to any child at any stage of development.” (Johnston,

The Spiral Curriculum. Research into Practice, 2012) Spiral curriculum theory includes three key

components. The first being, learners are introduced a topic, theme or subject multiple times

throughout their school career, the difficulty of the topic or theme should raise with each

introduction, and the thought that new and old learning have a connection. There are believed to

be benefits of the spiral curriculum as well. These are; each time information is learned, the

student’s knowledge is strengthened, the gap from simple to complex ideas is filled, and students

are able to use information learned early on to later learning. I think that students have a hard

time wrapping their head around concepts until they have worked with them at least three times.

(Johnston, The Spiral Curriculum, 2012) Revisiting information is essential to student learning. I

also think that no matter how young or old a student is, they are capable of learning the same

material as long as it is presented to them in a way they can understand and process. Jerome

Bruner’s work has brought this to my attention and I will remember it when I become a teacher.

He has definitely come up with a theory that will be used in education for a long time.

Howard Gardner is a highly thought of and appreciated theorist within the field of

education. His work regarding multiple intelligences. Before him, teachers thought that students

all learned the same way for the most part. However, Gardner proved this to be incorrect. He

identified eight intelligences which include; spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, linguistic,

logical-mathematical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic. (BlueLuna, Victoria Nichols,

n.d.) Since I started my college career at Medaille I have been taught about Gardener and his
work. While studying Howard Gardener in class I was able to discover while intelligence I

identify most with. I found myself to be a logical-mathematical learner. Knowing this, I was able

to change the way I study and complete assignments. I became a better student in doing so. I find

it to be inspiring as well as exciting that teachers today have this knowledge and are better able

to gauge their teaching styles based on the needs of their students and the way they learn best. I

am anxious to make a difference in students’ lives using this theory. My classroom will be a

place where students with any of the eight intelligences will be able to excel. There are many

techniques that can be used in the classroom to help students with each intelligence learn better. I

will use these techniques to help my students achieve goals that I have for them and goals that

they have for themselves.

Conclusion

In summary, I am anxious to complete this portfolio project and showcase what I have

learned and successfully completed during my time at Medaille. This portfolio will include my

best work along with evidence that I have the capabilities to become a great educator. My

philosophy of education will give better insight to the teacher I will be and the beliefs I have

regarding different aspects of education. I hope to someday be an educator who cares for their

students while at the same time making sure they are receiving the education they deserve. I will

use the theories that Bloom, Bruner, and Gardner have developed to enhance my teaching. I am

prepared to enter the field of education.