Overview and Rationale

Many educators have varying views when it come to the purpose of education and their

view of the learner. I have heard many teachers say that children are blank slates and that it’s a

teacher’s job to fill that slate. Others say that children are empty vessels waiting to be filled. I

however, do not see children in the light of being empty but rather filled with their own unique

experiences shaped from the direct exposure of their upbringing, with the teacher’s job being to

tap in to children’s prior knowledge in order to scaffold/build upon their current knowledge. This

is one example of my view of education and the learner. The objective in writing this elementary

portfolio is to allow me the opportunity to demonstrate my thinking and passion for teaching and

what I feel I can contribute to the field of education today. I will demonstrate my exceptional

skill set by showcasing all I have accomplished throughout my life regarding my experiences

both personal and professional, my educational attainments, who I am as an individual and my

personal educational philosophy and outlook on the education system today, and why I know I

will be an effective elementary school teacher.

Not everyone is cut out to be a teacher and I’m sure we can all attest to that having

experienced both effective and not so effective teachers in our past. Having said that, I feel that

this portfolio will set me apart from other individuals as I feel that I have the necessary

credentials and skill set that are uniquely shaped from my education and work backgrounds, my

hardworking and friendly dispositions, my open mindedness and flexibility, and my ability to be

a team player which will all be displayed later in this paper. I view my current situation of

starting a teaching career later than some; albeit, I feel that it is my journey thus far that has

shaped who I am and without a doubt my preparedness to teach in the field of education.
 Currently, my progression of becoming an educator has brought me to my latest journey,

Medaille College. As I come to the near end of completing my Masters of Science in Elementary

Education, I feel as though I have strengthened my current knowledge and understanding of

effective pedagogical practices. In this portfolio, I will explicitly demonstrate my competencies

in the area of planning, instruction, assessment, technology, learner accommodation, culturally

responsive teaching, classroom management, professional collaboration, best teaching practices,

curriculum standards, and knowledge of professional standards.

Portfolio Development

The Masters of Science in Elementary Education Portfolio is composed of six sections. These

sections are as follows: Section One -Teacher Candidate Introduction to the Elementary Portfolio

Project; Section Two - Teacher Candidate Background Experiences; Section Three -Teacher

Candidate Artifacts; Section Four - Alignment to the Curriculum and Professional Standards;

(Section Five) -Teacher Candidate Reflection; and Section Six - Teacher Candidate Interview

Video.

Section One: Teacher Candidate Introduction to the Elementary Portfolio Project is the

introduction that has been developed to explain to readers the purpose of this portfolio project.

Subsections will consist of an overview and rational of the portfolio, my knowledge of overall

planning as seen in the many lesson plans I have mastered during my educational experiences at

Medaille College, best teaching practices when it comes to instruction embedded in a social

constructivist view of teaching and learning, the use of relevant assessment in order to

effectively assess students as a means of reliably measuring students’ knowledge and next steps,

implementation of current and effective use of technology in the classroom as a means of

enhancing learning experiences, and use of proper means of accommodating students as

specified in individual education plans and/or for the purpose of assisting students’ individual

learning styles and needs. In addition, I will demonstrate my understanding of culturally

responsive teaching in that the first step that a teacher must consider is to ensure that students

feel safe in their environment so that they are able to take the necessary risks so pertinent in their

learning. Culturally responsive teaching means that teachers take into account the diverse needs

of the children in their classrooms and understand the child from the context in which they come.

I also believe that culturally responsive teaching means setting up children with not only equal

opportunities but equitable ones so that everyone has a chance to succeed. Further, I will

showcase my knowledge of classroom management practices and the importance of maintaining

a well-managed classroom while allowing students the autonomy in making informed decisions

about their behavior in the classroom and assumed consequences be it positive of negative.

Moreover, the importance of professional collaboration and knowledge of curriculum standards

is pertinent as multidisciplinary approaches and team teaching is becoming more prevalent, and

the ability to be a team player will only enhance student learning. When it comes to knowledge

of curriculum standards, understanding curriculum standards is important because it will guide

effective teaching practices and allow the teacher to plan accordingly; albeit, in a unique manner

that engages students and gets them motivated to attempt new challenges with an intrinsic desire

to learn and succeed. Lastly, I will demonstrate my feelings towards the importance of being

professional including my teaching approach, dress, and respect for student confidentiality.

Within each of the aforementioned subsections, I believe that reflecting upon overall teaching

experiences each day is important in better understanding how to make necessary changes for the

betterment of the students in your classroom.

 Section Two: Teacher Candidate Background Experiences is designed to highlight my

educational journey and work-related experiences, including my history of working for a school

board for the past 17 years. Within those seventeen years in different capacities such as a school

based educational assistant, an itinerant educational assistant working in the speech, language

and hearing department, and an early childhood educator working in a full day early learning

kindergarten classroom. This section will continue to demonstrate how these positions have

shaped my personal educational philosophy in regard to pedagogical practices indicative of best

practice and the importance of reflection and growth.

Section Three: Teacher Candidate Artifacts will include specific items that I have accrued along

my educational journey that I feel demonstrates my current knowledge in the field of education

indicative of best practice. The artifacts that I will be including will be a sample of an effective

lesson plan that I learned to master here at Medaille College. Thanks to Medaille College, I can

now develop lesson plans knowing the importance in planning, implementing and assessing

student outcomes in order to meet specific New York and Ontario curriculum standards. I will

also be including a premise of my honors thesis that I conducted during my undergraduate

honors degree program. The topic of my thesis was on Early Child Educator’s Perceptions of

Stereotypic Gender Play in the Classroom. Including my honors thesis as part of an artifact in

this portfolio demonstrates my ability to conduct qualitative research pertaining to an issue that

continues to influence how children socially construct their identity beginning in the early years

of life. These social constructs carry through until adulthood affecting children’s later social and

academic lives. In addition, my ability to conduct research can better assist me when conducting

action research within my own classroom as a means of targeting academic challenges that arise

and making suitable changes for the better. I will also include an assignment that I created using
technology to showcase my understanding of how technology can be used to enhance student

learning especially due to the technology era we live in and the prevalence and use of technology

in the everyday lives of most children. I will also be including my Early Childhood Education

(ECE) diploma because I feel that having a diploma in ECE demonstrates my understanding of

child development and the importance of the early years as indicators for later academic

achievement. I will also be including a behavior management tool that I created at Medaille

college and my understanding of the use of such tools in managing classroom behaviors as

guided by behavior specialist Robert Marzano. Lastly, I will include a copy of a certificate that I

received acknowledging that I have successfully fulfilled the Dignity for All Students Act

(DASA) training that has better prepared me for the importance of inclusivity and appropriate

measures to take in the case of unjust behaviors such as bullying that is so prevalent in today’s

schools.

Section Four: Alignment to the Curriculum and Professional Standards allows me to demonstrate

my thorough knowledge and understanding of the expectations set forth in the curriculum

standards both in Ontario and New York State and the use of such standards when planning,

developing, and implementing them in lesson plans.

Section Five: Teacher Candidate Reflection is essential when viewing all aspects of teaching

from the planning, to behavior management etc. In one’s ability to reflect upon each teaching

day, can better inform how to make the necessary changes so crucial for student success. As a

teacher we must not assume that we are right and the student is wrong, instead we need to look at

the entire picture and figure out where the problem lies. Often times the problem lies with the

teacher and so being cognizant of potential triggers or barriers that inhibit positive response from

students through the act of reflecting can better assist teachers in making those necessary
changes for the betterment of all. Even the most skilled and seasoned teacher must be mindful of

reflection as to not assume or associate each student or situation in the same manner.

Section Six: Teacher Candidate Interview Video will allow me the opportunity to partake in a

mock interview whereby I can infer similar questions to that of which I will be asked in a real

job interview setting. At this time, I will be able to showcase all of my knowledge and skill set

that will set me apart from the many other candidates that are interested in a teaching position.

Theories, Theorists and Experts in the Field of Education

My educational journey thus far and the many educational theorist I studied, has

influenced my thinking when it comes to the best ways to teach children and the factors involved

in doing so. I have come to adopt a constructivist view of teaching/learning and align my

thinking about pedagogical practices with that of Piaget. Piaget’s theory of cognitive

development continues to be considered the most influential single theory of cognitive

development (Sternberg & Williams, 2010). Piaget focused on how humans make meaning in

relation to the interaction between their experiences and their ideas. He proposed that learning

takes place in a stage like manner starting in infancy and progressing towards adulthood,

resulting in greater learning capability with each successive stage (Sternberg & Williams, 2010).

Within these stages, children of all ages actively seek to explore the world around them. Upon

children’s explorations, children accommodate or assimilate newly experienced information into

their existing schemas and it is this cognitive dissonance that ultimately changes the cognitive

structures within the brain and whereby new learning happens (Sternberg & Williams, 2010).

Understanding Piaget’s theory can allow teachers to better understand not only what children’s

cognitive capabilities are at a given stage but taking in to account children’s prior knowledge so
that they can appropriately scaffold or build upon children’s existing knowledge because if not,

any new teaching will be ineffective.

Bloom’s Taxonomy, as stated in Sternberg and Williams (2010) posits, that children’s

educational experiences should progress them up the taxonomic ladder from lower order thinking

skills to higher order thinking skills. When children acquire higher order thinking skills, they are

better equipped to become future innovators, or gives them the chance to compete for high status

employment in this ever demanding, and competitive society we live in. Ultimately, providing

children with opportunities that are individualized, meaningful and authentic from the physical,

and affective environment, can help children reap the most from their learning, thus enables them

to possess those valuable higher order thinking skills that cannot be attained from rote and

passive teaching and learning experiences (Lombardi, 2007). Ultimately, when teachers deliver

their programming whereby children are taught within a cultural context, their instruction is

differentiated to their unique learning style, children are provoked to think outside the box with

plenty of opportunity to engage in hands on learning, then teaching is done in what Gollnick and

Chin (2017) regard as culturally responsive teaching (CRT) indicative of best practice.

Classroom management is particularly important in helping to maximize instructional

time. Often, when a teacher has to stop a lesson to address misbehavior, all students suffer the

consequences of losing out on valuable class time. Therefore, setting up classroom rules and

having behavior management systems in place to manage student’s behavior, can effectively

minimize wasted time (Marzano, 2001). There are many ideas that teachers can utilize in their

classroom such as class dojo, or other handmade materials that are inexpensive but effective.

Encouraging children to behave according to classroom expectations and rewarding children for

good behavior coincides with that of Skinner and operant conditioning (Sternberg & Williams,
2010). I think that teachers need to be mindful of using behavior management systems in a

manner that does not negatively impact a child but rather as a way to help children capitalize on

learning experiences. Although we want to motivate children through positive reinforcement via

a reward system, we ultimately want to shape children’s attitude about learning so that we set the

trajectory of a lifelong learning attitude that comes from within the individual child. If we as

educators can impact a child in this very way, then we can be sure that we have exceeded our

role and duty to educate children to a level of not only succeeding but excelling.

Conclusion

Section one of this portfolio demonstrates the premise of such things as my knowledge in

the area of planning, instruction, assessment, technology, learner accommodation, culturally

responsive teaching, classroom management, and professional collaboration, best teaching

practices, curriculum standards, and knowledge of professional standards that will be fully

developed throughout the rest of this portfolio. It is my intention that I have provided the reader

with succinct information that demonstrates my knowledge and skillset in the aforementioned

areas of teaching that clearly sets me apart from other candidates. I am confident that my intent

has been validated and I look forward to showcasing the rest of my knowledge in greater detail

in the forthcoming sections of this elementary portfolio.