SECTION ONE

Teacher Candidate Introduction to the Elementary Portfolio Project

Introduction to the Portfolio Project
Every story has a beginning, and mine started as a ten year old tutoring an eight year old
in a Mathematics strand, passing on the effective and unfailing strategies I had been taught when
learning the same concept. Since then, without even knowing it, I had been honing my craft and
progressing as an educator, which was always the path that I wanted to pursue. Working with
children to help them work towards successful futures is part of my goal in life, and my intention
is to do the best that I can to be an effective educator for every student who enters my classroom.
This involves being willing to learn constantly, collaborating with peers and constructing plans
for improvement, adopting new teaching methods and accommodating strategies that are
effective for the varied students in the classroom, and so on. This portfolio will present the
factors that have contributed to my aspiration of being a teacher, delving into numerous
educational skills including student engagement, assessment, developing interactive lesson plans,
creating accommodations and differentiated learning strategies in the classroom, and nurturing a
stimulated and inclusive classroom.
Portfolio Overview and Rationale
There comes a time in every persons academic career where they need to consider why
they have chosen to pursue the professional route they have undertaken. For every teacher
candidate, this portfolio becomes their testimony as to why they decided to become educators.
The portfolio project draws out an individuals philosophies and pedagogies that they adhere to
or intend to follow. More than that, it provides the candidates a medium to share the roots of their
passion. What factors contribute to their desire to teach? What beliefs and standards inform their

teaching? What aims and goals do they plan to achieve in their role as an educator? These are all
questions that are considered in compiling this portfolio.
This portfolio will become our staple tool to use as a reference. As individuals try and
examine their own development, they will be able to look over the portfolio they have created to
reaffirm what they are doing, providing cause and purpose to their teaching career. It also
provides the philosophical foundations that the teacher candidate starts off their professional
career. Upon delving into the career, the educator can then reflect on what philosophies and
theories they continue to stand by, which have been tested and tried, and which they have
resolved to disagree with.
The teacher candidate will be able to draw upon experiences and display artifacts that
have been pivotal in their educational career. In doing so, the educator will be elaborating on the
makings of them as a teacher. The teacher candidates portfolio will be enriching, extensive, and
well developed in order to gain a better understanding of the educator he or she aims to be.
Portfolio Development
This portfolio is developed in stages. Different sections are attributed to various aspects
of the teacher candidates academic career. Throughout the entire process, the teacher candidate
will be collecting information and artifacts that are representative of the nature of their journey
as an educator thus far, and ultimately this will produce a more complete picture of the individual
and what led them to where they are today.
In Section One of the portfolio, the candidate is introducing their Elementary portfolio
project. Upon providing an overview and rationale of why they are creating this portfolio, the
reader will gain a better understanding of the thought process throughout the entire portfolio.
They will also preface with the theories and ideologies that they follow based on theorists and

experts in the field of education. This reveals what kind of an educator they are aiming to be, and
what works support the teacher candidates methods and styles of teaching.
Following that, Section Two will provide supporting documentation to what was
discussed in Section One. The teacher candidate will broadly discuss their background
experiences in the field of education, and integrate lessons that they were able to take away from
the time spent in settings relevant to education (classroom, tutoring, etc.). Upon reflecting on
what they have seen being done, and what they learned from their experiences, the teacher
candidate will relay their own philosophy of education, which encompasses perspectives on the
school curriculum, learning, the learner, assessment, classroom management and the teacher. In
this section, the teacher candidate will also include their current professional resume.
The next Section deserves a great deal of thought and creativity as the teacher candidate
shares 8 10 artifacts that are indicative of their journey as an educator thus far. The candidate
will review each artifact as they write appropriate rationales signifying why each artifact has
been included in this portfolio. Section Three provides the most significance to this portfolio
project as it demonstrates the teacher candidates progress, passion and purpose in the field of
teaching.
Section Four aligns with the curriculum and professional standards to address the
importance and goals of teaching. The more elaborate part of this section is the curriculum and
professional standards chart, which involves dissecting each of the artifacts that were presented
in Section Three and establishing the standards that correspond to each one. This is intended to
show the teacher candidates knowledge and application of the curriculum and professional
standards in relation to each of their artifacts.
In every portfolio, there needs to be room for reflection, and that is the purpose of Section

Five. The sections prior to this one allowed the teacher candidate to display their knowledge and
share their experiences in their academic career and in the field of teaching. Upon sharing the
journey that brought them this far, they will have the opportunity to reflect on everything and
reiterate what they discovered from their practices to relate it to the field of teaching. Realizing
that becoming a teacher is not an easy undertaking, the teacher candidate will share the truths,
skills and practices that have supported their reediness to become a teacher.
In the final section of this portfolio project, the teacher candidate will provide an
interview video to show preparedness for a potential interview. The video will be supported by
interview questions that the teacher candidate will provide responses to. In all the previous
sections, the teacher candidate is only able to convey themselves through writing and sharing
their experiences. This section presents the teacher candidate through a different medium, where
you will be able to visibly see the way the individual carries himself or herself and ultimately get
a better understanding of what the teacher candidate has to offer.
Theorists and Experts in the Field of Education
There have been a number of theorists and experts in the field of education whose
thought processes and ideas have contributed to the way our education system functions today.
We have learned about various individuals, such as John Locke, who proposed that the mind is a
blank slate (tabula rasa), or Plato who said that every individual is born with skills appropriate
to different castes or functions of society, while John Dewey claimed that one cannot learn
without motivation. Many of these theorists have influenced our methods of teaching in our
classrooms today, and as educators we often align ourselves with one or multiple schools of
thought in order to inform our own teaching. I have always discovered profound truths from one
particular theorist, who still continues to impact our educational system today. John Dewey was

an American psychologist, philosopher, educator, social critic and political activist (John Dewey,
2015). He is the leading proponent of the concept that we now know as pragmatism. His central
focus was studying the theory of knowledge, also known as epistemology. In his study of
epistemology, he ends up resorting to change to the term, and preferred from then on to refer to it
as the theory of inquiry or experimental logic, which was more representative of his own
approach and what he believed (Field, n.d.). Here is where I really begin to fall in line with
Deweys way of thinking. He suggests that an educator must take into account the unique
differences between each student regardless of the standard curricula that we are given to follow.
Using different pedagogical methods, the educator will be able to cater to the childs learning
abilities and capabilities. As educators, we need to move beyond teaching methods that presume
children are merely empty vessels waiting to be filled with knowledge. Rather, we can create a
much greater discussion and flow of ideas by allowing the students to take an active part in their
own learning. This is also something that Dewey also emphasized as he discussed that education
ought to be designed on the basis of a theory of experience (Neill, 2005).
Although I do not agree with him on all fronts, there are a few profound truths that Plato
established, which qualifies him now as one of the most influential figures in Western
philosophy, thought, and civilization. The main concept that I am able to draw from Platos
teachings is the notion of being a life-long learner (Smith, 2013). This is definitely something
that I constantly remind myself, because even as an educator, I intend to regard myself as a
learner as well. I will be learning from my colleagues, administrative staff, parents, and
especially, my students.
Another term was coined in the 1970s and 1980s, which gave rise to the idea that learners
are not passive recipients of information; rather they are capable of forming their knowledge

while interacting with the environment and they learn to interpret and develop the knowledge
they acquire. This term is known as Constructivism (Unesco, n.d.). The concept of and evidence
supporting constructivism was in line with the earlier work of influential theorists such as Jean
Piaget and Jerome Bruner. This leads me to the next set of ideas that I support as an educator,
which is the concept of multiple intelligences. Howard Gardner developed this theory by
challenging the understanding of intelligence as a single mindset (Unesco, n.d.). There are
multiple intelligences that Gardner introduces us to, including logical-mathematical, linguistic,
spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal (Unesco, n.d.). As
educators, we will have to recognize the different intelligences that our students have and adapt
our methods of teaching in accordance with how they learn. Gardners theories have come into
fruition in many classrooms today and I would definitely try and embed them into my classroom
because I believe that they will accommodate for more students, rather than specifically focusing
on a select few.
Conclusion
In most important life decisions, individuals have to go through the process of
determining whether the endeavor is worth taking. As a potential educator, this portfolio project
lays out the substance behind my desire to be a teacher. It takes you through the passion that I
have for making an impact on childrens lives and helping them reach their full potentials, to the
desire I have to better myself and continually be in the process of learning. I have been inspired
by great minds in the educational field of study whose ideologies, theories and practices are still
evident in schools today. That being said, experience continues to build passion, so I am
thoroughly looking forward to having the opportunity to work with Principals, colleagues,
parents and my future students to practice being an effective educator.