Section One: Teacher Candidate Introduction to the Elementary Portfolio Project

Introduction, Overview, and Rationale

Over the course of my time in the MSED graduate program at Medaille College, I believe

I have developed a strong understanding of what it takes to be an effective, well-rounded

contributor to the field of education. The purpose of this portfolio is to display just that. This

portfolio is significant to my future as an educator as it acts as a glimpse into who I am as a

person and as a future educator. I hope to effectively present my learning and readiness to take

on the role of a professional that is crucial to the development of elementary-aged children, while

also displaying my openness to gathering more knowledge and understanding of what is needed

to be the best educator I can be. I believe that an individual never stops learning how to better

themselves as a teacher – or as a person in general – as long as they are open to different points

of view, theories, and constructive criticism of their performance(s), and I look to practice what I

preach in that sense. Recalling memories of my personal elementary school education highlights

the impact different styles of teaching had on my future, and more specifically teaching

techniques I would like to both emulate as a future educator, and others that I wish to avoid.

I recall that the teachers that positively impacted me the most, were the teachers that

found balance between maintaining a positive classroom environment and discipline. These

teachers allowed students’ agency to be involved in developing classroom rules to give them a

sense of ownership, which I believe to be incredibly important. Additionally, I remember the

teacher that looked beyond my doodling as simply doodling, and inspired me to develop it into a

passion for art. In contrast, I remember the few teachers that believed authoritarian rule by

screaming at students to be effective and passing off minor grievances to the principal’s office as

a favored choice of maintaining classroom behavior. These memories have given me the drive to
make a positive impact on the lives of all students; students that are “by-the-book,” and the

students that doodle on worksheets like I did, who simply need a spark of inspiration to turn what

some may seen as disobedience into passionate productivity.

Portfolio Development

This portfolio is comprised of six sections, all important and useful in demonstrating my

abilities and understanding of the field of elementary education and how I will be able to

contribute to it.

The first section - Teacher Candidate Introduction to the Elementary Portfolio Project –

will introduce readers to my portfolio, an introduction consisting of my desire to benefit the field

of elementary education, and theories, theorists, and experts in the field of education that I

believe have played significant roles in bettering the education of students in the elementary

setting.

The second section, Teacher Candidate Background Experiences, will display my past

educational background as well as work experiences. Additionally, it will outline my observation

of schools/classrooms. The second section plays an important role in this portfolio, as it ends on

my Philosophy of Education and resume, which will give the reader(s) an insightful view of who

I am as a person and what I can bring to elementary education.

The third section, Teacher Candidate Artifacts, is significantly important to the MSED

Elementary Portfolio. This section is comprised of artifacts; experiences and evidence of my

preparation and competency involving elementary education. These include evidence of subject

matter knowledge, pedagogical awareness, skills, dispositions, and the ability to successfully
plan, instruct, and assess in a classroom setting. Each artifact must include INTASC Standards,

TEAC/CAEP Claims, NYS and Ontario Ethics, and all applicable standard sets that apply to the

specific artifact. In conclusion, this section is crucial in providing evidence of my competency

and proficiency as an educator.

Section four, Alignment to Curriculum and Professional Standards, demonstrates my

ability to connect the artifacts listed in section three to professional and curriculum standards of

both Ontario and New York State. These standards include INTASTC Standards, NYS Code of

Ethics for Educators, Ontario Teacher Ethical Standards, P-12 NYS Common Core Learning

Standards (ELA, Math, and Social Studies), NYS Learning Standards, Ontario Ministry of

Education Curriculum Expectation, DOE Claims and CAEP Standards, International Society for

Technology Education for Teachers and Students (ISTE), International Literacy Association

(ILA) Professional Standards, and Council for Exceptional Children (ECE). ‘

Section five, Teacher Candidate Reflection gives me an opportunity to observe and

critique my abilities through connecting to the TEAC/CAEP Claims. In objectively observing

my practices, I am displaying my openness and readiness to learn and improve on what I am

doing as an educator. With topics being involved such as Best Teaching Practices for Diverse

Learners, being able to observe and improve on my teaching practises is crucial in ensuring a

healthy, safe, prosperous learning environment for all students that come to my classroom.

Section Six, Teacher Candidate Teacher Interview Video, will consist of myself

answering interview questions posed, through connections made to my portfolio artifacts,

standards, teacher skills, strategies, and professional dispositions made.

Theories, Theorists, and Experts in the Field of Education

 With the field of education being so broad, it is not a surprise that there are many

theorists that cover a spectrum of ideas to benefit education and all participants in education.

There are three theorists that have significantly stood out to me through research and in-class

lecture, that I believe have made a strong impact on the field of education, and my view of

teaching as well. These three theorists are Erik Erikson, Albert Bandura, and Lev Vygotsky.

Erik Erikson fell into the area of behaviorism, studying the concept of psychosocial

development. Psychosocial development considers that there are multiple variables impacting

personality development in children all the way to adulthood, across multiple stages (Radman,

2019). Erikson found that during infancy, the impact of a parent’s parenting abilities is crucial,

especially involving physical and visual contact with the infant, as optimism, confidence, and

security are built in this phase (David, 2014). During early childhood, Erikson found that self-

esteem and a sense of autonomy are developed, as well as differentiation between right and

wrong (David, 2014). During preschool (“preschooler” phase), Erikson found that repetition of

adult behavior becomes a priority, with imitation being prominent in play (house, phones, dolls,

car), and relationship with immediate family is crucial in this stage of development (David,

2014). During the school age child phase, Erikson states that children learn countless new skills,

and feelings of inadequacy can occur depending on important relationships with schoolmates and

neighborhood friends (David, 2014) During the adolescent phase, development was found to be

highly dependent on experiences the individual has directly experienced, and “fitting in” plays a

role as finding one’s identity impacts involvement (David, 2014). During the young adult phase

– the final phase in a school-aged individual’s development – the desire for companionship

becomes present (David, 2014). I believe Erikson’s theory is significant in the role of education,

because it can lead to informed instruction by educators of children at different stages in their
lives. By not utilizing “cookie-cutter” approaches to a child’s education across their time at

school, and instead basing instruction and relationship building based off knowledge of the phase

of the student’s life, their school experience can significantly improve and lead to stronger

general development.

Albert Bandura was also a member of the behaviorism approach, as well as social

learning. Bandura’s main concept of study was his Social Learning Theory. Bandura stated that

under observational learning, children are surrounded by influential models through social

interaction and general observation (Bandura, 1977). He found that these models impact a child’s

behavior, and children are more likely to imitate actions perceived as similar to themselves,

making societal gender roles quite impactful (Bandura, 1977). Reinforcement, be it positive or

negative, will impact the child’s behaviour. Bandura also spoke of mediational processes; that

action based on observation was not immediate, rather it followed a model of input, then a

mediational event, and a final output of behavior (Radman, 2019). This consisted of 3 steps

(Radman, 2019):

- Attention: When a child observes behavior. The “input.”

- Retention: Remembering the behavior observed. A memory is formed, allowing the

action to be performed in the future.

- Reproduction: Once retained, a child will perform the behavior they have observed.

Limitations are presented, usually physical, that stop people from acting certain ways.

- Motivation: This is the drive to act out the behavior after perceiving whether or not it is

worth the results once acted upon.

I believe Bandura’s theory is important for a classroom setting. In a classroom full of

“models,” students can act based on consequences they see from other’s actions (vicarious

reinforcement), and if there is a positive outcome to a certain form of behavior, there should

be a repetition of a retained positive behavior in the students (Radman, 2019). This applies in

an opposite fashion for negative behavior.

Lastly, Lev Vygotsky followed a constructivist approach to education. Focusing on

learning through critical thinking and problem solving, constructivist learning utilizes prior

knowledge by connecting it to current/new content to understand novel material. I believe

that Vygotsky’s work plays a significant role in the classroom, as he describes the process of

learning through a range known as the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) (McLeod,

2019). This identifies a student’s initial ability, and the range it will take the student to

achieve independence from guidance from the teacher, “the distance between the actual

developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential

development as determined through problem-solving under adult guidance, or in

collaboration with more capable peers (McLeod, 2019).” Branching from Vygotsky’s work

with the ZPD comes the concept of scaffolding from Wood, Bruner, and Ross (McLeod,

2019). Scaffolding consists of the activities provided by the educator, who is “controlling

those elements of the task that are initially beyond the learner’s capability, thus permitting

them to concentrate upon and complete only those elements that are within his range of

competence (McLeod, 2019).” Therefore, I believe Vygotsky’s theory to be crucial in the

field of education, as it identifies that constructivist learning occurs through zones to

independence, and his work had inspired the work of additional theorists to create the

concept of scaffolding, which is used successfully to this day.

Conclusion

In order to be successful as an educator, I believe one must be adequately prepared, with

optimal knowledge and understanding of the field of education. However, more is needed in

my opinion. An educator should be passionate about their world, and have the drive to get

into the field and better the lives of their students in the years to come. The first section of

this portfolio was meant to prepare readers with initial evidence that I am adequately

prepared and ready to take on the field, as well as enter education as an advocate for students

while maintaining professionalism and openness to continue learning and improving my

abilities. I aim to challenge my future students to be the best version of themselves, and in

order to do so, I need to be the best version of the teacher that they deserve. I wish to spark

inspiration and ideas through my understanding that all students learn differently and require

a teacher that can explain curriculum and more to them in ways that they can understand. I

strongly believe that I will be an educator that can do just that.