Section One:

Teacher Candidate Introduction to the Elementary Portfolio Project

Introduction to the Portfolio Project

The capstone portfolio project is the culminating project for the MSED Childhood
program at Medaille College. I have worked diligently to arrive at this point. The portfolio
project gives me a chance to showcase what I have learned during my teachers college
experience.
I am required to give evidence that supports my claim to becoming a professional
educator. This is a challenge that I look forward to.
After completing the student teaching portion of the MSED program, I believe that I have
created and accumulated enough evidence to prove that I have the ability to be a professional
educator. I have had many opportunities for planning, instruction, and assessment within the
elementary school classroom. My student teaching placements allowed me to dive into the
world of teaching head first, and learn a great deal about the world of education.
The portfolio project will allow me to show the world who Mr. Matthews is, an energetic,
resourceful, logical, and caring educator. The portfolio project will give me the opportunity to
showcase my lesson planning skills.
The Medaille College format lesson plan has been at the forefront of my lessons since I
began my student teaching. I planned lessons that are creative, meet curriculum standards, and
are easy to read. The students I worked with never had any difficulty understanding anything I
attempted to teach them. I think the portfolio project will enable me to continue that trend.

The portfolio project will address all of the key components of becoming an outstanding
and qualified educator. At the forefront of these components are planning, instruction,
assessment, engagement, culturally responsive teaching, literacy, math, professional
development, technology, and professional dispositions.
As I continue with this exhibit of my teaching abilities, each of the areas mentioned
above will be addressed. This is the exact purpose of the portfolio project, and I look forward to
showing you the best of my abilities as a professional educator.
As a teacher candidate at Medaille College, I have had every opportunity to meet and
exceed the requirements of becoming a professional educator.
I have had the opportunity to be placed as a student teacher in both the primary and junior
grade level designations. I was placed in Grade 3 and Grade 4 classrooms respectively.
During my experience at Georges Vanier Catholic Elementary School, a suburban school,
I worked with a Grade 3 class. I was given the opportunity to plan, instruct, and assess 25
students. 5 of the students were designated with IEPs. This variety of students and learning
abilities was a great challenge, particularly when it came to planning. I was challenged with
creating lessons that met all of the needs of the students and accommodated the students that
needed extra assistance.
During my placement at St. Bonaventure Catholic Elementary School, a suburban school,
I had the opportunity to work in a Grade 4 classroom. There were 20 students in that class, 1 of
which was autistic. The student with autism proved to be a challenge. His integration into the
classroom created problems for some of the students. It was my responsibility to ensure that the
students were not distracted from their studies when loud outbursts came from the student with

Autism. It was also my responsibility to ensure that the student with autism was accommodated
accordingly.
These experiences provided me with a first hand, in depth view into the world of
elementary education. I became an integral part of students daily lives and activities. I feel that
there was a mutual benefit between the students, the associate teachers, and myself during these
placements. I received the experience I needed, and the students and associate teachers received
a chance to learn from me.
Prior to my student placement teaching experiences, I worked as an English instructor in
South Korea for seven years. This work experience laid the foundation for who I am as an
educator today.
Without formal training, I planned, instructed, assessed, and managed classrooms on a
daily basis. I worked with every grade level of ESL student. From kindergarten to company
level executives, this experience was by far the best way to gain in class foundations.
My time in South Korea led me to where I am now at Medaille College. I benefitted
greatly from developing my own classroom management, planning, instructing, and assessment
skills. I am now able to combine what I developed with what I have learned at Medaille College.
I feel that I am ready to be a professional educator and help as many students as I can.

Portfolio Development
The Medaille College MSED elementary portfolio project has several components that

will aid in proving my capabilities as a teacher. Planning, Instruction, assessment, engagement,

ELL, SWD, SES, Ethnicity, religion, sexuality, literacy, math, professional development,
technology, and dispositions will be the focus for the portfolio project.
In all of the classes I participated in prior to my student teaching experiences I was
instructed on how to fully develop a lesson plan. The process began with deciphering what stand
of curriculum was going to be developed. Finding provincial and state standards was a necessity.
Aligning the instruction aspect of the lesson plan with the curriculum standards allowed me to
meet and exceed expectations. I would then develop an anticipatory set, main body/procedure,
and a conclusion. All of the components were driven by the inclusion of culturally responsive
teaching and accommodations for the classroom as a whole and students with different needs.
I had the opportunity to develop lessons for all major subject areas. Math, language,
science, social studies, religion, and art were all a part of my daily planning activities. I utilized
a wide variety of resources to develop my lesson plans. During the student teaching experience I
had access to all of the resources that my associate teachers made available. The experience of
researching and developing grade appropriate lesson materials has fully prepared me for the
career path that lies ahead of me. I will be completely ready to develop professionally
throughout my career.

Theorists and Experts in the Field of Education

During the development of my teaching abilities I have learned about multiple theories
and philosophies of education.

Three theorists and educators that have helped my development immensely have been
Howard Gardner, Benjamin Bloom, and Robert Marzano respectively.
As I develop my lesson plans, I became aware that all students have different ways of
learning. Howard Gardners multiple intelligences theory helped me to identify and understand
different types of learners and how to cater to their needs.
Howard Gardners multiple intelligences theory identifies eight different student learning
abilities. They are musical-rhythmic, visual-spatial, verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical,
bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic.
After learning of this theory I attempted to create lessons that met all the diverse needs of
students. When I developed a math lesson for example, I would ensure that musical-rhythmic
students were given the same opportunity to succeed as logical-mathematic students. This could
be accomplished by including a song that students could sing to remember a multiplication
strategy. Different activities would be incorporated to meet all of the needs of students. Mr.
Gardners theory is now the cornerstone of my lesson preparation and I believe the multiple
intelligences theory will benefit all students.
Benjamin Bloom has positively affected my lesson planning practice. Blooms taxonomy
has improved the assessment portion of my lesson plans. When developing a rubric for student
assessment, I turn to Blooms taxonomy for guidance. The leveled verbs allow me to pinpoint
exactly what I want the students to achieve when they are being assessed for any given subject.
The diverse nature of Blooms taxonomy allows me to use specific and appropriate language to
ensure that students have the opportunity to display their best efforts when being assessed.
Much like Gardners theory of multiple intelligence, Mr. Blooms taxonomy is ingrained
into my lessons at every opportunity.

Finally, Robert Marzano and his development of school improvement reforms have
played a large role in developing my lesson plans.
Marzano has identified three areas central to school improvement reforms. Fostering and
sustaining system wide teaching strategies, providing effective feedback for students, and
building a strong student academic vocabulary, are central to his research.
Mr. Marzano preaches consistency throughout the system. I believe this is a reliable way
to ensure all students have the same opportunity to succeed. Communication between teachers,
students, and parents will aid in the positive development of the student. Having every member
of the students life aware of responsibilities and challenges will only benefit the student.
Alongside Blooms taxonomy of verbs is Marzanos push for higher student vocabulary
expectations. Language is the back-bone of education, and Marzano wants to hold students
accountable for reaching new academic vocabulary heights.
Coupled with Gardners theory of multiple intelligence and Blooms taxonomy of verbs,
Robert Marzanos academic reform allows me to fully develop lessons that meet and exceed
diverse student needs.
Within my classroom I will attempt to use all 3 of these theorists and educators to assist
my instruction and improve student capabilities.

Conclusion
The MSED portfolio project culminates my formal teacher education training. I will be
able to display artifacts that serve as great examples of my abilities. I will be able to display my
ability to plan, instruct, and assess elementary school students. I look forward to linking my

development with theorists and educators such as Howard Gardner, Benjamin Bloom, and
Robert Marzano.
Medaille College has allowed me to fully develop myself as a fair, logical, and caring
educator. I will do my best to ensure that every student I encounter has the opportunity to be as
successful as they can be. Medaille College has provided me with the stepping stone that I need
to be the best educator I can be.