Section Three: Teacher Candidate Artifacts

Introduction
My Teacher Candidate Artifacts will be comprised of artifacts that will prove my

competence and readiness for teaching in an elementary school classroom. The ten pieces of

evidence I have chosen will represent my various knowledge and skills demonstrating my

strengths in being a caring and effective planner able to take the needs, interests, and diversity

among the students into consideration. I believe my artifacts will prove my ability to create and

provide an environment that will elicit the highest engagement, most positive learning

experience and challenge the students to their individual optimal level for progress and

success. There will be items chosen to bring attention to my keen tech savvy skill set and

passion for using technology to heighten and expand the students’ learning experience. As well,

my Weebly website will demonstrate that technology will play a critical role in the consistent

open communication I believe is essential to maintain between the teacher, students, and their

families. Additional artifacts have been selected to provide evidence of my capabilities of using

curriculum standards and Bloom’s taxonomy objectives as the pillars of my lesson planning and

instruction. The connections between effective classroom theorists and the best teacher practices

that I will demonstrate will contribute to proving my knowledge of theorists and my teaching

talents.
Artifacts & Rationales

Artifact #1: Author Study

Why did you include this artifact?

My first artifact is my Author Study created using SMART Board Notebook. I chose this

artifact because it demonstrates my keen ability to integrate technology into classroom learning

through engaging, interactive and innovative tools and techniques while achieving curriculum

standards. Through three different lesson plans in three different subject areas - English

Language Arts, Drama/ Theater, and Health - my competency in lesson planning and

implementation of effective instructional strategies are showcased. This has been my favorite

project during teacher’s college because of the opportunity to highlight my creativity and desire

to making learning fun.

How does this artifact show evidence that you are prepared for a career in education?

Through three different lesson plans in three different subject areas - English Language

Arts, Drama/ Theater, and Health - my competency in lesson planning and instructional

strategies are effectively shown. In this project I demonstrate my ability to meet New York and

Ontario curriculum standards, as well as integration of literature into other subjects meeting

cross-curriculum goals and objectives. It is important to note my commitment to professional

development and my ongoing pursuit towards finding new ways to teach material. I

demonstrated this through earning my beginner and intermediate training certification SMART

Board Notebook 17 during the development of my Author Study project.

Also, I chose this artifact because the topic of my author study is bullying – which is an

issue in schools across North America that I’m incredibly passionate about making a difference

in. Demonstrating practices and behaviors that are aligned with being a culturally responsive
teacher are core values and beliefs I have professionally as well as personally. Being caring,

empathetic and respectful to each students’ diverse backgrounds, experiences, and all factors that

are involved in making a human being an individual are factors that will always be taken into

thoughtful consideration to create a classroom environment that is safe, welcoming and positive

for each student. My ability to tie in important life lessons and social skills to my lesson

planning will be apparent in my author study.

What curriculum and professional standards were used?

New York Code of Ethics for Educators

Principle 2:

Educators create, support, and maintain challenging learning environments for all. Educators

apply their professional knowledge to promote student learning. They know the curriculum and

utilize a range of strategies and assessments to address differences. Educators develop and

implement programs based upon a strong understanding of human development and learning

theory. They support a challenging learning environment. They advocate for necessary resources

to teach to higher levels of learning. They establish and maintain clear standards of behavior and

civility. Educators are role models, displaying the habits of mind and work necessary to develop

and apply knowledge while simultaneously displaying a curiosity and enthusiasm for learning.

They invite students to become active, inquisitive, and discerning individuals who reflect upon

and monitor their own learning.

Ontario Teacher Ethical Standards

CARE
 INTASC Standards

Standard #1: Learner Development:

The teacher understands how learners grow and develop, recognizing that patterns of

learning and development vary individually within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social,

emotional, and physical areas, and designs and implements developmentally appropriate and

challenging learning experiences.

1(b) The teacher creates developmentally appropriate instruction that takes into account

individual learners’ strengths, interests, and needs and that enables each learner to advance and

accelerate his/her learning.

1(d) The teacher understands how learning occurs-- how learners construct knowledge,

acquire skills, and develop disciplined thinking processes--and knows how to use instructional

strategies that promote student learning.

1(e) The teacher understands that each learner’s cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional,

and physical development influences learning and knows how to make instructional decisions

that build on learners’ strengths and needs.

Standard #2: Learning Differences

2(a) The teacher designs, adapts, and delivers instruction to address each student’s

diverse learning strengths and needs and creates opportunities for students to demonstrate their

learning in different ways.

2(g) The teacher understands and identifies differences in approaches to learning and

performance and knows how to design instruction that uses each learner’s strengths to promote

growth.
 2(h) The teacher understands students with exceptional needs, including those associated

with disabilities and giftedness, and knows how to use strategies and resources to address these

needs.

Standard #3: Learning Environments

3(b) The teacher develops learning experiences that engage learners in collaborative and self-

directed learning and that extend learner interaction with ideas and people locally and globally.

3(f) The teacher communicates verbally and nonverbally in ways that demonstrate respect for

and responsiveness to the cultural backgrounds and differing perspectives learners bring to the

learning environment.

Standard #5: Application of Content

5(a) The teacher develops and implements projects that guide learners in analyzing the

complexities of an issue or question using perspectives from varied disciplines and cross

disciplinary skills.

Standard #7: Planning for Instruction

7(a) The teacher individually and collaboratively selects and creates learning experiences

that are appropriate for curriculum goals and content standards and are relevant to learners.

ILA Standards

Standard 2: Curriculum and Instruction

Standard 4: Diversity

Standard 5: Literate Environment

 ISTE Standards for Teachers and Educators

Standard #5. Designer:

Educators design authentic, learner-driven activities and environments that recognize and

accommodate learner variability. Educators:

5c) Explore and apply instructional design principles to create innovative digital learning

environments that engage and support learning.

Standard #6. Facilitator:

Educators facilitate learning with technology to support student achievement of the ISTE

Standards for Students. Educators:

6a) Foster a culture where students take ownership of their learning goals and outcomes

in both independent and group settings.

Standard #7. Analyst:

Educators understand and use data to drive their instruction and support students in

achieving their learning goals. Educators:

7b) Use technology to design and implement a variety of formative and summative

assessments that accommodate learner needs, provide timely feedback to students and inform

instruction.

ISTE Standards for Students

Standard #1. Empowered Learner:

Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving and

demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences.

1c) Students use technology to seek feedback that informs and improves their practice

and to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.

 Standard #3. Knowledge Constructor:

Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct

knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves

and others.

3c) Students curate information from digital resources using a variety of tools and

methods to create collections of artifacts that demonstrate meaningful connections or

conclusions.

Standard #7. Global Collaborator:

Students use digital tools to broaden their perspectives and enrich their learning by

collaborating with others and working effectively in teams locally and globally.

7b) Students use collaborative technologies to work with others, including peers, experts

or community members, to examine issues and problems from multiple viewpoints.

TEAC/CAEP Claims 1-3

Claim 1: Medaille College graduates know the subject matter in their certification area(s)

Claim 2: Medaille College graduates meet the needs of diverse learners through effective

pedagogy and best teaching practices.

Claim 3: Medaille College graduates are caring educator

Grade 6 English Language Arts Standards:

New York State Common Core Standards:

RI. 1. Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as

inferences drawn from the text.

RI. 2. Determine two or more central ideas in a text and analyze their development over the

course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.

Ontario Curriculum Standards:

1. Reading for Meaning

1.4 demonstrate understanding of increasingly complex texts by summarizing and explaining

important ideas and citing relevant supporting details.

1.5 develop interpretations about texts using stated and implied ideas to support their

interpretations.

Grade 6 Drama/ Theater Curriculum Standards:

New York State Common Core Standards:

TH:Pr6.1.6 a) Devise a theatrical experience and present it informally to an audience.

TH:Cn11.1.6 a) Identify universal themes or common social issues and express them through a

drama or theater work.

Ontario Curriculum Standards:

B1. Creating and Presenting

B1.1 engage actively in drama exploration and role play, with a focus on identifying and

examining a range of issues, themes, and ideas from a variety of fiction and non-fiction sources

and diverse communities, times, and places

Grade 6 Health Curriculum Standards:

New York State Common Core Standards:

STANDARD 2- A safe and healthy environment, intermediate

1) Students will demonstrate personally and socially responsible behaviors. They will care for

and respect themselves and others.

- demonstrate conflict management and negotiation skill

- analyze the possible causes of conflict among youth in schools and communities

- identify strategies to avoid or reduce threatening peer situations

- demonstrate ways to care for and show respect for self and others

Ontario Curriculum Standards:

C2.6 make informed decisions that demonstrate respect for themselves and others and help to

build healthier relationships, using a variety of living skills.