Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
has been prepared for readers to learn and understand my journey to becoming an effective
pedagogical understanding of education in a written form. The following sections showcase how
I have developed the required knowledge and skills needed for planning and providing
instruction for units and lessons which are cognizant of the needs of all learners. I have included
artifacts which shows my abilities as a whole rounded educator. The artifacts highlight my
utilizing technology in fun and engaging ways, adapting and accommodating for needs of diverse
Portfolio Development
There are six sections to the MSED Elementary Portfolio Project. The first section,
Section One: Teacher Candidate Introduction to the Elementary Portfolio Project, is written to
introduce and highlight the purpose and importance of the MSED Elementary Portfolio Project
to the reader. The purpose of Section One is to provide an overview of the background of the
project. The candidate’s preparedness and abilities to teach in the field of education are
addressed in this section. Descriptions of each section and subsection of the portfolio are
included along with connections to content which highlight the importance of teacher skills,
pedagogy and best teaching practices. Also, connections to theorists and experts in the field of
education and the importance of their work are introduced and explained to support reasoning
The second section, Section Two: Teacher Candidate Background Experiences, is written
to introduce the candidate and provide information about the candidate’s personal background
which led to this point in the MSED Elementary Education program. The candidate’s
educational and work-related experiences are outlined and described so that the reader
understands the candidate’s motivation for becoming an educator and experiences that have
shaped the candidate’s goals in the field of education. The candidate’s school observations,
including pre-teaching field experience and field experience, are highlighted in this section. The
candidate’s philosophy of education, which is based on personal beliefs and perspective, and
The third section, Section Three: Teacher Candidate Artifacts, includes various artifacts
from accomplishments and experiences during the candidate’s journey to becoming an effective
professional educator. Examples of artifacts included in this section are lesson plans, unit plans,
and associate teacher final assessments. These artifacts are carefully selected and included as
evidence to support the candidate’s capability and preparedness to teach in the elementary
classroom. Descriptions of the artifacts are accompanied with the artifacts so that the reader
understands what the artifact is conveying as well as to support the rationale for importance and
inclusion of each item. Connections between the artifacts to theorists and experts in the field of
Standards, includes identification of various standards that support and guide the artifacts which
are outlined in Section Three: Teacher Candidate Artifacts. This section explains how the
candidate’s artifacts align with New York State Curriculum and Professional Standards. These
curriculum and professional standards include New York State P-12 Common Core, New York
State Learning Standards, New York State Code of Ethics for Educators, DOE Claims and CAEP
Standards, ISTE, ILA, CEC and InTASC Standards, which stands for Interstate New Teacher
Assessment Support Consortium Standards. There are ten standards within the InTASC
Standards, which are learner development, learning differences, learning environments, content
professional learning and ethical practice, and leadership and collaboration. All of these are
aligned specifically with the evidence included in the portfolio in the form of a graphic
organizer.
The fifth section, Section Five: Teacher Candidate Reflection, includes the candidate’s
reflection of experiences during the development of the portfolio. It’s important for educators to
constantly reflect upon their experiences in order to grow and improve in areas where they
struggle and also areas of strength. These experiences include the process, collection of
materials, such as research materials and artifacts, and organization of the content of the
portfolio. The purpose of this section is to demonstrate the candidate’s skills and ability to
reflect upon and critically examine educational experiences, which are essential professional
practices of an effective professional educator. This section displays the candidate’s readiness
to become an educator and identify the candidate’s areas of strength, which include
understanding of planning, classroom management, research abilities, technology integration,
Culturally Responsive Teaching, and knowledge of Dignity for All Students Act.
The sixth section, Section Six: Teacher Candidate Teacher Interview Video, includes a
screencast video of an interview simulation where the candidate answers specific questions that
may potentially be asked during a job interview. This interview simulation is uploaded to a
Weebly website created by the candidate. The Weebly website URL is provided so that the
reader is able to view information such as the full interview simulation and more personal and
background details about the candidate. Creating the screencast video and Weebly website
Before reading the following five sections of the portfolio, it’s important for the reader to
learn about the theorists and experts in the field of education who have helped shape my
pedagogical knowledge in the field of education. Throughout the MSED Elementary Education
Program, we have researched and studied many theorists and experts in the field of education.
There are three theorists that I would like to highlight within this section who are significant in
influencing my best teaching practices and techniques, and throughout artifacts included in
Section Three. The three theorists are John Dewey, Jerome Bruner, and Howard Gardner.
John Dewey was one of the most influential theorists in the history of education. I would
like to highlight his theory that children can learn best when they are able to interact with their
environments and are actively involved in the school curriculum (Wheeler, 2016). This specific
theory has been influential in my own pedagogy. Dewey argues that in order for education to be
most effective, educators should provide students with opportunities which allow them to link
new and present curriculum content with their own previous experiences and knowledge
(Wheeler, 2016). This is important throughout my experiences and artifacts as there is a strong
emphasis on activating prior knowledge. It’s important for educators to know their students well
in order to be successful. I strongly agree with the importance of this theory and that the role of
the educator is to guide learners while giving them opportunities to discover for themselves and
Jerome Bruner is another theorist who has influenced my best teaching practices and
techniques. According to Bruner, it’s important for learners to not only understand concepts,
categories and problem-solving techniques, but to also have the ability to invent this knowledge
for themselves (McLeod, 2008). Bruner’s constructivist theory emphasizes the importance of
scaffolding techniques to store and encode information and knowledge using three modes of
representation. These three modes of representation are enactive, iconic, and symbolic. Enactive
representation occurs when there are actions involved in the learning process. Iconic
representation occurs when there are images such as figures or illustrations which visually
represent the new information. Symbolic representation occurs when there are codes or symbols
such as letters, words or mathematical symbols included in the learning process. When
introduced to new material, educators are effective when following the progression of enactive to
Howard Gardner is the third theorist that I will highlight in my portfolio. Gardner was
Multiple Intelligences, human beings have many different intellectual capabilities rather than
intelligence being its own single entity (Willingham, 2004). There are eight different types of
intelligence that a person can possess and some types may be stronger than others. The eight
setting so that lessons are differentiated to allow different intelligences to demonstrate their
learning is critical. Every student is different and learns differently, so this theory would help
students to drive their education and take on a more active participation role.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are many aspects which have shaped my journey to becoming an
effective and successful professional educator. This portfolio and the following sections are all
included to showcase my accomplishments and experiences that I have accumulated before and
during my time in the MSED Elementary Education program. Throughout the remainder of my
portfolio, I will continue to reference the theorists highlighted in this section and their
connections and importance to the content of my portfolio; John Dewey, Jerome Brunner, and
Howard Gardner. It is my hope that after reviewing my portfolio, you will see my preparedness
and readiness to teach in the field of education as an effective and successful professional
educator.