Section One: Teacher Candidate Introduction to the Elementary Portfolio Project

Introduction

Welcome to my Elementary Project Portfolio. This portfolio will be used as a great tool

to highlight the works that I have completed throughout this journey of becoming a teacher.

Teaching is something that I have always thought I would be able to do, especially because of

the background that I have in working with children and youth. As a young teen I would

volunteer in my cultural community center and teach young kids how to play Uruguayan drums.

I also taught swimming for 10 years to various populations ranging from babies to adults, with a

variety of abilities. At a young age I began to understand the idea of applying progressions when

teaching.

As a high school graduate, I decided to pursue a career as a Child and Youth Worker and

accept a soccer scholarship opportunity at Humber College located in Etobicoke, Ontario. My

goal at the time was to complete my schooling in order to work for a school board supporting

children and youth. Five very successful years of being a student athlete helped me to balance

work, school, sports and my personal life, along with finding my way in the field that I wanted to

work in. I completed 4 internships, including elementary schools, youth custody facilities, group

homes and recreation centers. These experiences helped pave the way for me and build my

character.

Shortly after graduating, I worked for 8 months at a youth custody facility. These were

some of the best experiences I have had in my career. I learned to get to know youth for who

they are and not be influenced by the stigma that has been put on them because they were in

custody. It helped me to understand intersectionality and encouraged me to reflect on what I can

do to make a difference in a young person’s life. Even the smallest of things can have a great
impact. As time went by, an opportunity to work for the Toronto District School Board was

presented to me and I decided to take another step in my career. This was the opportunity I was

working towards since I decided to get into this field and it finally was at my grasp.

I am currently still working as a CYW in the TDSB and have worked in several

classroom settings, each with their unique dynamics and one of a kind students. I began to do

work around schools, bouncing around from classroom to classroom and getting to know all the

students. This helped me find my niche within the school environment and be a role model for all

students, not just those who were in the programs I worked in directly. I coached extracurricular

teams and assisted in school initiatives and trips. I noticed I was able to build and maintain great

relationships with students, and I found myself not only supporting them in social skills and

behavior, but in their academics as well.

Along with building great relationships with individuals around the schools, I began to

grow a passion and love for teaching all students. I felt as if I would be more useful in a school

setting as a teacher where I could be a positive role model and teach to more students, rather than

just being limited to a classroom in an intensive support program. My goal is to integrate those

students in the intensive support programs daily in my classroom. I began to research schools to

complete my teacher’s college and a colleague of mine suggested Medaille because his wife had

attended years ago. After doing my research on Medaille College and learning about all the great

supports they have in place, along with the great schedule that fit with my current lifestyle, I

decided to attend Medaille College and begin this journey in becoming an elementary school

teacher.
Overview and Rationale

Throughout the Elementary Project Portfolio, I will be present numerous works which

best relate to the Cycle of Teaching. The cycle of teaching consists of planning, teaching and

assessing (Weston, 2012). When planning for my students I often think of what the learning

outcome is for the students (what do I want the students to learn from this). From my experience

in the classroom I feel like the planning stage could sometimes be the most challenging because

their needs to be a high level of thought put into the lessons and activities. I believe that getting

to know your students and finding a common interest is important to be successful, because if

you plan the activities with something the students can relate and identify with, they are more

eager to engage in the material and learn about it. Modifications and accommodations all must be

accounted to in the lesson that we provide our students. In my experience I think of what the

student needs to be successful. It can be something as simple as sitting in a certain spot in the

class or being paired up with a partner. I also consider what could trigger my students to be

disengaged from the lesson. The classroom environment and how I want the class setup for a

lesson can influence the outcome of the lesson itself. This is all part of the planning process.

Teaching the lessons can be a success or failure. Something I focus on when teaching is

how to get the best result in social behavior from my students in order to keep the classroom

management positive and productive. All students have needs, therefore I try to give everyone

the attention that they deserve. Depending on the school environment that you are in, technology

can be highly accessible or vary scarce. In my community, technology is available to all students,

many of which have their own personal devices. I feel that with technology everything has

become much easier for students to access, and many students thrive using technology, therefore
I try to incorporate it as much as I can in the lesson. This does not mean each student has a

device in front of them at all times; however, it could mean I use soft music in the background

while the students write a reflection piece, or I use a video to highlight primary resources when

teaching social studies.

Technology and focusing on students’ strengths has been a big part of my experience in

working with children who need increased supports put in place. Therefore, I try to use the same

strategies with students who maybe have not been given that opportunity, because they have

fallen through the cracks. I differentiate the instruction for the students as much as I can by

tailoring the assignments to the needs of each student individually, for example, ESL students

can have access to speech-to-text on their devices, and students who are nonverbal can express

themselves and communicate easily using technology as well. I believe in relating the lesson to

something the student likes for example, sports, a cartoon or something that is popular in the

media. The learning outcome is the same, however the path to that learning outcome can be

different for each student.

All three parts to the cycle of teaching are important, however I think that assessment is

the one that resonates with teachers the most. The way in which we assess students can vary

from one student to another. It can be a ticket out the door, or a quiz or a kahoot using their

devices. It can also be as simple as a thumbs up or a thumbs down in order to make it quick and

informal. Assessment gives me the opportunity to identify if the students are on the right track in

the learning process. I believe it is crucial to assess myself as well. Assessment of myself

includes reflecting on the lesson, what went well, and what I need to improve for next time. I can

assess whether the lesson has to be thought again or if we can move on. I can assess if certain
students need to work separately or if a certain piece of technology will better suit the needs of a

certain student for this lesson. Assessment is ongoing for me, as I am always thinking of ways to

further support my students for them to have fun and learn at the same time.

Portfolio Development

This teacher candidate introduction is one of six sections that will be highlighted in this

elementary project portfolio. Section two consists of teacher candidate background experiences.

This is where I will provide a resume and in-depth analysis of the experiences which relate to my

career as an educator.

Section three will consist of Artifacts. This is a pedagogical evidence section where I

highlight the works I have done in the past and support it with claims based on the knowledge of

skills that I have acquired throughout my time in the field, and at Medaille College. This section

will showcase materialistic evidence of my strengths and skills that I can bring forward as a

teacher candidate.

Section four of the portfolio, is where I connect the curriculum and professional standards

to the daily work that I will be doing in a classroom. In addition, this section highlights best

practices and gives me an opportunity to showcase my knowledge of how to be a caring,

supportive and effective teacher.

Section five will be the final written piece to the portfolio. In this section I will

demonstrate my ability to reflect on my skills and abilities, as well as the journey that I have

embarked since I began in September 2019 at Medaille College. I will be able to put growth
mindfulness in the forefront and to think positive about the learning process that I have been a

part of.

Lastly, section six will be a teacher candidate interview video which will last 10-15

minutes. This video will give me the opportunity to demonstrate my ability to sit in a

professional interview, similar the ones I will be experiencing in the future. I will be showcasing

my works throughout the interview and making connections using a website I have created,

along with other materials in the portfolio.

Theories, Theorists and Experts in the Field of Education

Along with my passion for teaching comes a love for supporting children and youth. My

experience as a Child and Youth Worker has influenced the way in which I teach, and in which I

manage my classroom. I believe that students should be given opportunities to do things on their

own; or “learn hands on” as some would say. When working with children with higher needs, I

learned to let the children explore on their own and guide them when necessary for the students

to make decisions on their own. I find this to be important because once the students leave our

care in the schools, they will be making decisions on their own more frequently. I am a true

advocate for the development of social skills and life skills. I love to see children succeed at

everyday things such as speaking to someone on the phone, doing laundry, paying a bill or

cooking a meal. I feel that my views and approach navigate towards a combination of Realism,

Pragmatism and Progressivism.

Realism (Aristotle) is the idea of facing facts and what is concrete rather than putting an

emphasis on imagination and “what could be”. I feel that children need to learn what is right

from wrong, and teachers need to follow through. What I mean by follow through, is that
teachers need to let students sink a little bit for them to learn and grow. I have to take something

that the student could feel is a negative moment and turn it into a teachable moment. For

example, if a child makes a mistake, as an educator I believe in addressing the mistake and

following through with whatever is appropriate in the situation. At times it might not be what the

child wants, however in the long run I believe the students will appreciate that the teacher cares

and is educating them with something that could help them in the future.

I believe that my views are in line with John Dewey’s (1859-1952) theories of

Pragmatism and Progressivism. Pragmatism is an educational philosophy which focuses on

education as life and growth (Hildebrand, 2018). As teachers I feel we should be teaching life

skills on an ongoing basis, therefore we are giving the students opportunities to learn things that

are practical for life and encourage them to grow into better human beings. This helps to build

relationship and deeper connections with students. Leonara (1999) states Progressivism is a

movement which suggests that students learn from their own experiences. This refers to the

hands-on experience and the learning from doing. With this theory children learn to become

good learners and good citizens, therefore giving them educational experiences that they can

apply in the real world.

John Dewey drew his conclusions from the work of Friedrich Froebel (1746-1827)

Pedagogics of the Kindergarten. (1899).  and Johann Pestalozzi (1746–1827). How Gertrud

teaches her children (Vol. 3) (1877). Gavin Loss and P. Loss (2020) state “Froebel and

Pestalozzi were among the first to articulate the process of educating the "whole child," wherein

learning moved beyond the subject matter and ultimately rested upon the needs and interests of

the child”. I agree with this view because I try my best to connect the material, I teach to what
the students are interested in. I give the student options on what way they want to learn, therefore

giving them the opportunity to feel empowered and make choices. As stated before, the learning

path could be different for each student, however the learning outcome should be the same. With

this child centered approach, the student is at the forefront and not the teacher.

Conclusion

This Elementary Project Portfolio gives me the opportunity to showcase my skills and

knowledge in several ways. It provides me to address my rational for pursing such an intrinsic

rewarding career like teaching. The portfolio highlights several Artifacts which will

demonstrates skills and knowledge gathered throughout years of experience and my time in the

Master of Education program at Medaille College. It enables me to make connections between

curriculum and standards and how I will apply them in the classroom. The portfolio also has a

creative piece to it, where I can create my own website and showcase myself on an online

platform. In a world that is so heavily based on online platforms and communication, I feel that

this would be a great way to showcase my innovative skills and strengths with technology.

Lastly, I will incorporate an interview video where I will be able to answer questions like

what I would expiring in a job interview in the future. In conclusion, Medaille College has been

providing me with the foundation and resources to be a successful teacher and this portfolio is a

culmination of the experience and knowledge that I have gathered throughout my time in the

Masters of Elementary Education Program.