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Section Five: Teacher Candidate Reflection Guidelines

Introduction

Throughout this portfolio, I have often referred my path towards a career in teaching as a

journey, and it truly has been an enriching one. It all begin the moment I realized I wanted to

pursue a career in education, it continued throughout my classroom observations and Medaille

College experiences, and it has brought me to this point where I am preparing myself for my

student teaching placements. It has been a unique and rewarding journey, full of new experiences

and profound learning. As I prepare myself to enter the classroom in a more formal teaching role,

it is incredibly important to reflect on the various experiences I have had and the lessons that I

have taken away from those experiences. This is not only important for my personal growth as

both a teacher and overall person, but it is an essential exercise that all prospective educators

should practice. Regular self-reflection allows me to objectively identify my current

shortcomings and limitations as well as areas of opportunity that if addressed, can make me a

stronger and more effective teacher. By fostering this self-awareness, and building the habit of

regular self-reflection, I am able to work towards growth and self-improvements, and with

teaching the mindset of continuous improvement is crucial to becoming an effective educator. In

this section of my portfolio I will be reflecting on the journey I have embarked on, the

competencies I have developed, the lessons I have learned and most importantly the future skills

I hope to develop that will bring me closer to becoming a caring and effective teacher. More

specifically, I will make connections between the competencies that Medaille College has helped

me develop and the Department of Education (DOE) and Council of Accreditation for Educator

Preparation (CAEP) claims. The section will also include a reflection on how the skills and
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competencies I have acquired during my studies and experiences at Medaille College have

prepared me to become a teacher. The section will end with a brief conclusion which summarizes

the lessons I have taken away as a result of my journey towards becoming a professional

educator.

Portfolio Project/Teacher Education Learning Experiences

I began my journey towards a career in education with little to no knowledge regarding

the act of teaching. Any experience was limited to 1 on 1 mentorship with my peers and overall

professional development. While the act of mentoring another individual is an extremely

important asset to bring to the classroom, teaching a class full of young children, each with their

own unique needs and strengths brings about a set of challenges that is difficult to prepare for in

a non-school setting. It is for this reason that I consider myself extremely lucky to have had a

chance to complete this program. The course work offered a wide variety of lessons that each

touched on important topics as they relate to elementary education. These classes were

complemented by the observations we were able to conduct in the Buffalo Prep school program.

In addition to the variety of classes, I also had the privilege of working with, and learning from a

diverse array of Professors, each of which brought their own unique style of teaching and real-

life classroom experience to the lesson. This was especially valuable to me as I feel that, when

teaching, it is extremely important to be yourself. An excellent and effective teacher understands

how to use their strengths and weaknesses to their advantage and they are also bring their own

unique style into the classroom. Teaching is not something that can be faked, and it is imperative

that educators and their passion for teaching is made evident to their student. By modeling a love

teaching and learning for your students, you are able to encourage them to also love the act of

learning. Hearing the unique experiences of my various Professors provided me with that insight
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and gave me an opportunity to reflect on how I can bring my own personality into the classroom

in a way that benefits my students.

As I mentioned previously, I was fortunate enough to participate in a wide variety of

courses during my tenure at Medaille College. These courses ranged from, methods of teaching

classes to how to integrate technology and curriculum in your classroom. Each of these brought

with them their own set of unique learnings that will be beneficial to me in the classroom which I

will reflect on further in the following paragraphs.

Firstly, considering the extremely limited classroom and teaching experience that I

possessed the various Methods of Teaching courses that I completed have been extremely

beneficial. While teaching is so much more than the ability to deliver content knowledge via

instruction, learning the fundamental skills required to effectively execute a lesson was a

fantastic learning experience. This included lessons on key skills such as: the ability to

effectively develop a lesson plan based on a Central Focus as well as how to account for the

various learners in the classroom including simple differences in personality up to and including

students with IEPs (DOE Claim 2: Claim 2: Medaille College graduates meet the needs of

diverse learners through effective pedagogy and best teaching practices). I also learned how to

draft learning objectives for my students that could be assessed and scaffolded if needed. This at

first was an extremely daunting task but through practice and the guidance of my Professors, I

have slowly become more comfortable with the idea of drafting lesson and unit plans that set up

my students for success. These Methods of Teaching courses also enabled me to practice my

instruction skills. This was done a variety of ways, whether it was teaching an entire lesson on

my own or co-teaching with some of my peers, these courses provided me with the opportunity

to action the plans I have developed in an effort to hone my instructional skills. I also had the
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benefit of participating in the lessons delivered by my peers which was a unique learning

experience in itself. A particular exercise that was part of many of these courses was video

tapping a lesson that I delivered, observing the video and then reflecting on my observations.

This provided me with an excellent opportunity to easily identify where I performed well and

what my key areas for improvement were. While initially a rather uncomfortable experience, it

was rather beneficial in that it offered an additional resource that helped me to further reflect on

my instructional practice and it is something that I hope to do more in the future as a strive to

develop myself further as a teacher. Following the practice of instruction, the Methods courses

also helped us better understand how to effectively assess our students. Whether through

formative or summative assessments, the courses taught us how to effectively use a variety of

assessment tools to not only determine if our students have achieved mastery of a specific

content but also as a means to supplement and improve our own instruction to ensure a student’s

success (DOE Claim 1: Medaille College graduates know the subject matter in their certification

area(s)/ CAEP Standard 1: Content and Pedagogical Knowledge). The class that stands out to me

the most during my time at Medaille College was my Methods for Instruction in Science and

Mathematics. This course provided me with an excellent opportunity to develop and improve my

planning, instruction and assessment skills in multiple subject matters. Furthermore, the course

did an excellent job of enforcing the importance of pedagogy and the fundamental theories and

theorist involved with developing the practice of education. Finally one of the most important

things I learned in this class is how to create a fun and engaging lesson plan that utilizes both

best practices and unique strategies to create a safe environment for learning that foster growth

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

pedagogy and best teaching practices.) Another very important lessons that I took away from my
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methods for instruction in science and mathematics course was the key concept of effective

classroom management. This extremely important lesson was delivered in a number of ways

throughout the semester. One such method was how our Professor modeled the concepts of

classroom management in every classroom. This included very clears expectations with regards

to rules, proper communication of those expectations and active efforts that were made to ensure

that those expectations were well understood by the students. More importantly, our Professor

modeled the importance of treating your students with respect, dignity and compassion in all

interactions. While the classroom setting was quite different (young children vs adults) the lesson

nevertheless applies in that by being a caring and respectful educator, one can form the

relationships necessary to effectively manage a classroom (DOE Claim 3: Medaille College

graduates are caring educators).

While the methods courses were a great way to develop the fundamental skills required to

be an effective teacher, I also had the privilege of participating in classes that taught us the skills

required to supplement those fundamentals in a way that would enable us to be stronger

educators in the classroom. One such class was the Technology for the Elementary classroom.

This class in particular was extremely valuable as it not only taught us about new and unique

technology resources that could be leveraged in the classroom, but it also provided us with the

necessary skill set to use those tools as a means to transform our lesson as opposed to simply

using those tools to substitute existing resources. In a society with a growing dependence on

technology, the ability to seek out and leverage these tools to improve instruction is essential,

and this class has given us the knowledge necessary to incorporate technology into our lessons.

The final class that left a lasting impression on me was our Research in Education class

which introduced me to the concept of Action Research. Action research can be seen as a
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simplified version of formal research that can be executed on a smaller skill and in an

environment with resource constraints. This course not only taught me how to conduct Action

Research but also provided insight into how it could be used to improve my practice. This is an

especially valuable skill set as the concept of continuous improvement is crucial in education.

Without regular self-reflection, and active efforts to improve your practice, it is easy to lose your

effectiveness as an educator which ultimately results in negative impact on your students.

Readiness to Become a Teacher

As I reflect on the many experiences I have had both throughout my life and with

Medaille College, I am faced with the question “Am I ready to become a teacher?” and I rarely

answer that question with a resounding and confident yes. This however does not reflect on my

ability to grow into an effective educator, but instead demonstrates my absolute respect for the

profession and the responsibilities it holds. The act of teaching is a sacred responsibility, not to

be taken lightly by inexperienced new grads or veteran teachers. We owe it to our students and to

ourselves to never stop challenging ourselves and to always strive for excellence. So when faced

with the question, am I ready to become a teacher, I can say that I am certainly ready to step into

the classroom with the intention of working hard towards becoming the best teacher that I can

be. I teach with not only the lessons and skills that I have developed during my time at Medaille

College, but also with the passion and respect for the profession that started me off on this

journey. I do not believe that we are ever truly ready to become a teacher, but we can be ready to

start the journey towards becoming a caring, compassionate and effective classroom educator.

While I bring with me the passion and love for education that is needed to be a strong

teacher I also bring with me my experiences from my classroom observations and my studies at

Medaille College.
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My classroom observations which were a part of my studies at Medaille allowed me to

not only observe the classroom and a variety of teachers, but also enabled me to participate in the

lesson and engage with students directly. I was able to work with a variety of different students,

from the very gifted students at Buffalo Prep to students requiring additional assistance at the

Buffalo Science Museum School. These classroom experiences have not only enabled me to feel

comfortable in the classroom as a teacher but has also given me the confidence necessary to

engage students in a genuine and caring way. By working directly with students while they were

enjoying an engaging activity or completing a difficult or frustrating task, I was able to develop a

basic understanding of how I could engage and approach them to not only help them be

successful academically but to also make them feel safe and comfortable while working with me.

While this experience only provides me with a basic understanding of the dynamics of a

classroom, it certainly has helped me not only feel more comfortable working with students but

has also reinforced the importance of fostering a positive relationship with all of your students

and this is something I will certainly strive for in all my classrooms and with each and every one

of my students.

In addition to my classroom observations, I have also completed the academic training

necessary to be an effective teachers. My studies at Medaille College have provided with a

wealth of knowledge that I bring with me to the classroom every day. From the fundamentals of

planning a lesson, delivering that lesson effectively and assessing and re-teaching my students all

the way to the effective use of technology in the classroom, I have had the opportunity to

develop a number of competencies that will make me an asset in the classroom. These lessons

and competencies are further supplemented by the great Professors I have worked with, who are

themselves Elementary School Teachers. They have supplemented each of their lessons with
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proven and practical applications and the wisdom that comes with years of experience. I have

taken from each of them a multitude of important lessons that I hope to incorporate into my

teaching practice. Most importantly my time at Medaille College has taught me to love the

process of learning, and bringing that passion into the classroom will help with encouraging my

students to become lifelong learners.

Conclusion

As I reflect on my various experiences throughout my teaching journey I am left with a

profound sense of satisfaction. I began this journey with little to no experience and even less

subject matter expertise. However, as I prepare to enter the classroom in a more formal teaching

capacity, I do so with the wealth of knowledge and experience that my studies at Medaille have

provided me with, and I feel much better equipped to be an effective educator. From the

fundamental skills of planning, instruction and assessment to the effective use of technology and

action research to improve my practice, I have truly grown from an individual with a passion for

teaching and mentoring to a prospective teacher with the skills and knowledge needed to change

the lives of my students. While it is still difficult to say that I am in fact ready to become a

teacher, I can say with confidence that I am certainly ready to take on the challenge and dedicate

my whole life to this profession.