Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Introduction
“It’s not about what it is, it’s about what it can become.” (Healy & others, 2012,
The Lorax). I think this quote perfectly reflects the mindset of a great educator. In my
opinion, the best educators are the ones who can see the potential in every student and are
able to find ways to reach these students, to engage them and make them want to become
involved during each lessons. They are able to create a classroom environment where the
students feel safe and unjudged. These educators know when to include technology to
better their lessons and how to provide the appropriate accommodations for their students
with learning difficulties. They are the teachers that make you reflect and even make you
teachers, but only one truly fits in the image of what I expect a great educator to be. He
was probably the scariest teacher I ever had, because I never wanted to disappoint him.
He saw what we were capable of and he always insisted for our very best. He was barely
5 foot tall, but he could command a room like no other. His knowledge was infinite and
he made us love his lessons because he loved his subject matter. His passion was
preparedness as a teacher. It contains my body of work that was created while conducting
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my Masters degree at Medaille College. The artifacts included in the portfolio showcase
make students excited about learning. Since teaching is a career change for me and that I
have little work experience in the field of education; this portfolio will also be a useful
Portfolio Development
This Portfolio is divided into six sections, each section will help the reader know
me better as an educator. Indeed, Section one is the Teacher Candidate Introduction to the
reflecting on my opinion of what represents a great educator and which teacher impacted
highlighting some of the theorists that have inspired my way of thinking. Finally, I will
address my preparedness to the position of educator and what future employers can
expect of me.
will discuss some of my educational experiences. I will identify my work experiences and
philosophy of education and will include a copy of my curriculum vitae. This section can
help future employers understand my skillsets and see how some of my abilities can be
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Section three is the Teacher Candidate Artifacts. In this section, I will showcase
eight to ten artifacts that represent my teaching abilities and values. A written rationale
for each artifact will be included in this section in order to describe and provide evidence
of how the artifact relates and adheres to the appropriate detailed curriculum and
through connections to educational theories, best teaching practices and experts in the
subject matters and confirms my ability to translate this knowledge to the students in
this section, I will address the importance of the curriculum and the professional
I will identify the expectations for each standard, the purpose they serve and how they
relate to my project. I will connect my professional development plan with the claims of
the Department of Education (DOE) and the Council for the Accreditation of Educator
Preparation (CAEP). Finally, I will include a chart that identifies the relationship between
the artifacts and their standards. This section is imperative since it demonstrates my
ability to understand the educational requirements for each grade level and how I was
Section five is the Teacher Candidate Reflection. In this section, I will reflect on
teacher and will make connection with teacher competencies. This section will help a
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future employer see my skills and abilities as an educator as well as the experiences I
Finally, Section six is the Teacher Candidate Teacher Interview Video. In this
section, I will present a five to ten minute professional video in which I will answer
interview questions. In this video, I will also make connections between the Portfolio
artifacts, the curriculum and professional standards, the teacher skills demonstrated, the
teaching strategies used and my professional dispositions. Finally, this section enables me
to use my Weebly Website as a tool to enable future employers to get a better sense of
who I am as a teacher candidate. This will offer them the opportunity to navigate through
my Portfolio artifacts.
Through my journey into becoming an educator, I have discovered the works and
values of important figures that shaped the way we see education today. Indeed, theorists
like Lev Vygotsky, Benjamin Bloom, Neil D. Flemming and Geneva Gay have slowly
changed the way I see our learners. With their theories, they have helped me develop a
better sense of my teaching philosophy. They also have inspired me to try different
This will be demonstrated in the artifacts that will be included in Section three of this
Portfolio Project.
I think the biggest challenge teachers face today is the fact that we have so many
different types of learners. Indeed, Howard Gardner introduced the idea that students
have multiple intelligences, which indicates a variety of learning styles and that every
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person has their own. Garner’s theory suggested that there were seven types of learning.
Later, Flemming’s VARK theory, offered a simplified approach by introducing only five
empowers me to be an educator that creates lessons that will engage all five types of
learners. Indeed, it can be challenging at first to create lessons that will be compelling to
which is the most multicultural city in all of Canada. Due to this fact, it is inevitable for
me, in my career as a teacher, to encounter students who may not have English as their
first language. I will also most likely encounter students that have an Individual
Educational Plan (IEP) who will also require some accommodations or modifications to
my original instructions. This is where the idea of Universal Design comes in. If I, as a
teacher create a lesson that compelled to all of Flemming’s various types of learners, I
without having to separate them from the group and without having to provide
differentiated instructions. Obviously this is not applicable in all scenarios, but it would
be beneficial in many cases. I believe that this will engage the students more and
I also believe that when a teacher is able to have motivated and engaged students
by offering them differential learning strategies, it is easier for them to push their students
learning approach that appeals to kinesthetic learners as well as visual, auditory and
outcomes. These types of lessons will encourage students to analyze, to synthesize and to
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evaluate the information that they have found. I also believe that providing lessons based
on Vygotsky’s theory of scaffolding will slowly enable the students to achieve their
learning goals on their own. Using a variety of teaching techniques and by building
strong educational foundations, students will become more confident in their abilities and
will be able to execute the tasks on their own. Another interesting way to achieve this
students to have access to a More Knowledgeable other (MKO) on whom they may be
able to rely on instead of always relying on the teacher. It is also a great way to
encourage the students MKO to reach higher order thinking levels in Bloom’s taxonomy.
Finally another aspect that is important to include in our classroom, that seems to
have been lacking in the past, is having culturally responsive teaching. Again, living in a
very multicultural city requires the teacher, in my opinion, to be even more culturally
responsive since it is very likely that they will be faced with a very diversified classroom.
experiences, and perspectives of ethnically diverse students as conduits for teaching them
more effectively” (Gay, 2002, 106). What I believe is imperative for teachers to go
beyond the curriculum in order to offer students cultural diversity in every subject that we
teach them. I strongly believe in the power of conversation and discussions and I believe
that every voice should be heard and that every opinion matters and should e respected.
In this sense, I believe that educators should not shy away from difficult or controversial
subjects in their classrooms. However, it must be handled properly. Gay suggests that the
best approach is by “contextualizing the issues with race, class, ethnicity, and gender, and
including multiple kinds of knowledge and perspectives” (Gay, 202, 108). In order to be
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successful in this endeavor, the educator ‘must know how to implement cultural
scaffolding, which is the use of students’ own cultures and experiences to expand their
Conclusion
In order to become a great educator, one must first understand that students come
in all shapes and sizes and that they will require different teaching techniques in order to
build relationships with all their students in order to know them. The more an educator
knows their students, the better they will be able to customize their approach. This will
create a strong classroom community where students will feel safe to communicate their
opinions. I also believe that a teacher’s responsibility is to find ways to share their own
passion about the subject they are teaching to their students. Offering lessons that appeal
to all types of learners in a culturally diverse setting is the best approach a teacher can
have. I believe that once a student teacher possesses those abilities, he/she is truly
prepared to take on the position of educator. I consider that I have reached this level and I
future employers.
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