MSED Elementary Portfolio Project

Darren Sanchez Ivey

June 14, 2020

An Elementary Portfolio Project submitted to the

Faculty of the Graduate School of Education of

Medaille College

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Science in Education

____________________________
Darren Ivey
Medaille College Graduate Student

______________________________
Dr.Belete Mebratu
Project Director

Introduction
 The following portfolio reflects the works and achievements of my venture into the world

of education. This composition of my achievements is a way in which I can address my own

methodologies and beliefs while showcasing the advancement of my skills. This portfolio will be

used to generate a reference piece that reflects all that my educational experience as a student at

Medaille College entailed. With that being the goal of the portfolio, I hope that my venture

through personal experiences and beliefs can also attest to my passion and love for this career. It

was not one that I originally saw myself ever doing but was more so a path that found me.

Through my works of achievement, I will be reflective in the avenues to which I was able to

attain them.

I am a strong believer in the power of knowledge, as it is the key to all; an adventure that

we should never stop going on. The seeking of knowledge and understanding, and the ability to

assist generations of youth on that journey, is one I consider to be the most important role

someone can take. The seriousness and vitality of this journey is why I feel that professional

development is necessary to prepare you to take these steps with your students. During my time

at Medaille College I have grown as an individual as I was challenged to form my own

methodologies of teaching and learn through professional collaboration and self-reflection. This

portfolio will outline the journey that I have taken these past years that displays my readiness for

this career as I continue to grow as an educator and individual. It has been my goal to generate an

environment that propels students to succeed, be independent, feel accepted and gain skills for

not only better work ethic, but skills that will assist them in their life endeavor’s. If there is

anything, I have taken from my years of studying education, it is the true importance of our role

as educators and how far that role can be taken. My passion for inclusivity and the ability for all

children to learn through the exploration of various techniques will be shown throughout the
portfolio with the use of artifacts, various personal experiences, and my own strategies. I have

made it my mission to understand the differences between students and have formed strong

beliefs in the implementation of my skills to generate the best learning experience for all by

working to become the teacher that I needed when I was a child. This might be a statement that is

overused however it speaks true to me. A teacher is only as best as his experiences, the things

that made them who they are. From my experience it was the joy that was left out of teaching

that I yearned for the most and understood as I came of age. The perception of learning must

change to allow for students to grow. I hope that the transparency of my passion will shine

through as you read about the various topics that lead me to pursue a career as an elementary

school teacher.

“Teaching should be such that what is offered is perceived as a valuable gift and not as a hard

duty.”

― Albert Einstein

Portfolio Overview and Rationale

The following portfolio will consist of six stages to break down the wholeness of my

journey in education. We will go through; the introduction, Background experiences, Artifacts,

Curriculum and Professional Standards, Reflection, and the Interview Video.

These sections will showcase the various stages of my educational and personal

experiences as well as the skills and methodologies that I have learned and implemented into my

teaching style. I will begin with an overview of my background experiences that led me pursuing
a masters of education at Medaille College, as well as my professional experience when working

in the community through volunteer experience, and the vital classroom interactions I had

throughout the school program. I will be highlighting how my journey through sports led me into

this career and how those sports influences have grounded my method for teaching. I believe that

my experiences will give a further insight into my character leading to my educational views and

practices. A teacher must be able to not only plan, but assess, reflect, and engage in the act of

education. I will be exploring these stages in addition to my personalized representation of these

techniques in the formation of learning styles for the arts, sciences, literacy, math, and

technology in a series of artifacts. These artifacts will act as a tangible representation and

reference for my pedagogical skills section of this portfolio. In addition, I will explore the

methodologies of my teaching that will be rooted in the concept of inclusivity through cultural

diversity, and the importance of professional collaboration and development.

I have a true passion for generating an environment that not only is geared to the success

of the majority but the success of all students. Leveling the curve of student success and finding

ways to implement unique strategies known as differentiated instructions, that will engage all

learners of different advancement levels, has been my goal since my initiation to this journey.

Professional standards and curriculum standards will be addressed to bring attention to the ways

in which I have developed my own teaching methodologies in order to deliver the curriculum

standards successfully. It is essential that we as educators develop professionally through

interaction and shared methodology to create the best standard of teaching. I will show how my

standards are driven in the goal for a curriculum that is based in development of knowledge on a

conceptual and theoretical basis while also having an element of fun! Next, I will reflect on the
experiences and artifacts collected in the portfolio in order to generate a more thorough

understanding of the progression of my pedagogical views and strategies.

If there is anything, I have taken from my experience in this program it has been the

power of reflection, for mistakes can be used as learning tools if only we do not continue to

make the same ones. Lastly, I will include my professional interview which will assist in

bringing together my experiences and skills for the goal of obtaining a position as an educator. It

is my hope that this cultivation of experiences and knowledge can be viewed as a symbol for not

only preparedness but simply for love of teaching.

Portfolio Development

There are six sections included into the MSED portfolio project and are broken down as

the following: Teacher Candidate introduction (Section 1), Teacher Candidate Background

experiences (Section 2), Teacher Candidate Artifacts (Section 3), Alignment to Curriculum and

Professional Standards (Section 4), Teacher Candidate Reflection (Section 5), and the Teacher

Candidate Interview Video (Section 6).

Section one is a full introduction in developing a greater understanding to its readers of

the portfolio project. As you read, it will include and break down subsections to the introduction

including: Portfolio Overview and Rationale, Theories and/or theorists in the field of education,

and a conclusion. Section two will highlight my previous experiences in the field of education as

well as my related work experience, resume, and philosophies within the classroom. Section

three will be the largest section within the MSED portfolio project. It will highlight artifacts

related to my experience as an educator. There will be eight artifacts in total and each will be

given a fully detailed description underlining its relevance as to why I am a qualified teaching
candidate. Once again, section four will focus on professional standards and alignment to

curriculum. New York State Common Core Standards and Ontario Curriculum standards will be

focused on in relation to the artifacts discussed in section three. These standards will be applied

to present my ability to demonstrate my understanding, preparation, and execution in alignment

with standards. Additionally, section five will focus on a teaching candidate reflection developed

to showcase my abilities, willingness, and overall experiences at Medaille College. It will

include items such as assignments, lesson plans, and technological understandings. Lastly,

section six will be an overview of my teacher candidate interview video. This video will

highlight some of my strengths and weaknesses as an opportunity to learn more about why I am

qualified as a teaching candidate.

Theories and Experts in the Field of Education

Theorists or experts whose work has made an immediate contribution to my own

philosophical understanding of the classroom include Paulo Friere, John Dewey, and Talcott

Parsons. Each theorist developed an understanding of the world of education that has contributed

to the views I have within a classroom and in education. I look forward to working with my

students in our future classroom through the lens of such great theorists.

Paulo Freire, a native to Brazil, was a 20th century philosopher who flipped pedagogy

upside down. When being introduced to Paulo at McMaster University, I immediately connected

with his work. One of his more outstanding and acclaimed philosophical ideals is the idea of

“banking concept of education”. In short, Friere explains that students and teachers have a so-

called ‘banking relationship’. Where the narrative of the classroom is limited to the teacher

depositing information for the student to become containers of information. Gibbons (2019)
mentions, Friere understood education with an oppressive lens and did not believe that students

could engage with education through this system. Students are oppressed through the lens of the

teacher and will be summoned into society not knowing their overwhelming potentials. In

relation to Paulo's work, I begin to revisit memories of this relationship I experienced in the

classroom as well. Only up until university and at Medaille College, did I begin to feel

vanquished from the system of memorization. Learning has become more practical, hands on and

collaborative. Like several of the artifacts included in this project, a student should be given the

freedom to be creative, be willing to experience research and come to their own conclusions.

It would be wrong to not mention John Dewey as one of the theorists who contribute to

my understanding and philosophy of education. Dewey’s ‘Progressive education’ revolutionized

the modern-day classroom. Janse (2019) mentioned that ‘progressive education’ enhanced

education to a necessity of learning by doing. Dewey’s work will be present in one of my artifact

lesson plans. Students need a more hands-on and kinesthetic type of learning within the

classroom. The standard memorization that Friere argued is beginning to be present within the

modern education system.

Additionally, Talcott Parsons, a sociologist by nature argued that schools play a vital role

in the development of students' social skills. School gets students’ ready for wider society

judgement, whereas when they are at home, they have their own parental rules that are unique to

that particular child (Thompson, 2017). This pressure to uphold standards within society is a

teachers’ vital role to assist the children in this transition. They need to understand the

universalistic standards and achieve status in the adult society.

Conclusion
 The vitality of the portfolio is due to its projection of readiness for me as a student who

will soon transition into the role of teacher. It works to highlight the stages of development that

lead to my advancement of knowledge in competencies that include professional development,

professional collaboration, cultural diversity, technological advancement, assessment, planning,

and utilization of strategies such as differentiated instruction. By utilizing this portfolio, I hope to

explore the multifaceted ways in which my path leads me to the pursuit of this career and display

my ability to utilize my background and experience to generate a diverse method of learning that

yields the engagement of my learners. I will breakdown these experiences and development by

ascension through firstly my background experiences, secondly my curriculum and professional

standards, thirdly my reflective thoughts, and lastly the interview video. Each section will

generate a narrative that is preeminent in projecting my readiness and commitment to continued

education as a teacher candidate. The various theorists touched on within the introductory section

of this report focus on the several of the ideologies I consider important for the future. The

secondary section that we will lead to next regarding my background experience will consist as

mentioned of my guidance through the world of sport in addition to my educational experience,

volunteer coaching, work experiences, placement and other school related experience, and how

each of these idiosyncratic encounters lead to by methodologies as an anticipated educator. This

section can be summarized more simply as the roots of the tree that is my journey. This portfolio

will have an outpouring of passion and competency as I outline all the sections discussed.