Section 5:

Teacher Candidate Reflection Guidelines

during my time in the Master of Science in Education: Elementary Program at Medaille College.

I will draw upon experiences in the classroom

Portfolio Project/Teacher Education Learner Experiences.

completed and what it is we have been through in a short one-year time period. I have certainly

learned a lot in many forms; in our classroom, from my colleagues, in my early field experience

classrooms and of course from the students. The design of this program is to allow the students

to be at the school on weekends while being able to continue a job and balance the other

components of everyone’s lives while competing this Master’s program. The program develops

and instils many skills but first and foremost is time management. This is something that I have

had to adjust to the most from the start of the program until now. Having the time to commit to

this program was something that I struggled with from the start, but I think having the instructors

that we had that were brilliant in content and knowledge as well as their availability and without

hesitation, all of them were available to help me with anything I needed (Claim 3: Caring

Educators). There instructors did a great job of engaging us and promoting critical thinking

throughout lessons, the type of critical thinking and culturally relative teaching that I have not

been used to for many years being out of the classroom. The good and the bad assessment and

feedback to each of us were important to help me give me confidence in myself and to give me

places that I need to continue to work on. The following are a few of the things that I have

learned throughout my time at Medaille.

and stressed that planning acts as the safety net in any teacher new or old. A new young teacher

with in-depth and careful planning can become very effective educators. We have learned that

planning requires a wide range of topics and idea coming together to be able to reach the

students and parents on all different levels. I think that before you get into lesson planning and

instruction you have to be cognizant of the students in your classroom (Claim 3: Caring

Educators). Being able to be in touch with the student’s levels of knowledge, reading and writing

skills along with what interest them the most is imperative to the way that planning can be

carried out. I have learned that very effective teachers show versatility and the ability to adapt to

any situation that may arise in the classroom, as well as the ability to get to the students in

different ways, not only before the lesson but during the lesson as well. I would incorporate the

use of our lesson plan writing and learning segment practice to not only be able to write a lesson

plan and gather materials, plans and ideas but also be able to organize them in a fashion that will

create the learning segment that you want to create. I think that Marzano’s strategy setting out

goal, providing feedback and helping the students improve on things they struggled with,

weather it is thorough his nine instructional strategies or the use of including stimulation and or

games within the lessons to evoke classroom activity and to spark interest within the students.

We have learned that assessment is one of the most valuable assets we have as a teachers.

I have learned that assessment can be viewed different in a classroom and it should be done both

on a collective scale as well as an individual scale. There are many different ways students learn

and it would be a disservice to them to grade then in one way. While learning the best ways that

a student in the classroom grasps ideas and the most effective way they learn this will also help

you gain insight into how to assess them and the best way to assess them( Claim 2: Best practice
& Claim 3: Caring Educator) After planning and instruction, assessment is one of the most

important way to cultivate learning. I have learned that you can be great at teaching the content

and leading instruction but if you don’t check in with students using assessment during the

lesson and the final assessment results are not what you envisioned than there is something

critically missing in the first two sections of the students learning. Doug Fisher, Nancy Frey and

John Hattie have a phrase “Every student deserves a great teacher, not by chance, but by design”

(Fisher,Frey&Hattie, 2016). I think this statement in their work really speaks on many different

levels, but as you think about this in terms of assessment, I take it as being prepared and being

able to adapt and work on different levels of learning, instruction and assessment to get the most

of each student in your room. Fisher talks about meaningful assessment which he notes many

students may be able to grasp topics such as literacy on the first tier of surface learning, but it

might not register in deeper tiers of learning which you would be able to find out with

differentiated assessment.

I believe that effective instruction in the classroom feeds directly off the pre-planning

stages and coms on the heels of getting to know the students. There will be a period at the start of

the year where as an educator I would be very intently assessing the students and trying to figure

out which style of learning and instruction they react best to. Being able to do this from the

beginning is important to getting the students comfortable within the new classroom. Harry

Wong talks about setting up a classroom to maximize your room for success and minimize the

room for misbehaving with a group of new students. It is imperative to be consistent and begin

the day and the instruction with simple aims and a simple procedure of explain what you want,

rehearsing what you want and reinforcing what you want. You can do this with classroom rules,

with lessons and classroom procedure to name a few. I would use a few of the classroom fun box
items that we worked on and share with our colleagues in the first semester to aid with getting to

know students and initiate classroom interaction such as several ice breaker activities, ideas on

collaboration of classroom rules which is very good for giving children a chance for their voices

to be hears as well as giving them a sense of responsibility and accountability to follow rules that

they have had a hand in making. Differentiated instruction is important to do in my opinion

because some students are good at listening to instruction and are able to start on work, and for

these students that is great. I would then check for understanding and follow up with students

who many not get it or have questions. I could provide visual examples of what it is I want them

to accomplish and if that doesn’t work, I could have some technology available that might be

able to further clarify explanation for them. I think that it is good for all students that instruction

is changed up on a regular basis to expose them to different options because later on in future

years of school or the work world they may be able to choose which they work best with and at

that point they are able to do self-assessment and determine which will work best for them and

apply it.

We spent a lot of time during the school year working with technology. Much of this

technology I have not used in a classroom as I have not been in one the previous nine years

leading up to the start of this program. It was difficult at first for me to pick up all the tricks but

there were many of colleagues that also did not have the experience that I did. After an

absolutely amazing technology class in second semester I have a great respect for the use of it in

the classroom. Like I have said in previous sections we live in a digital age and many of the

students in the room are gifted in their use of technology away from the school, thus technology

is more important to educators now than it ever has been in education. It surrounds the students

in everyday life and for the most part students cannot live without it. The application of
technology in the classroom is important to the success of the students for many different

reasons. It begins with the ability to communicate via technology, students can use technology as

a communication tool not only in the form of instruction from the teacher to the student but in

the form of completing work that will be from the student to the teacher. I will use the

technology skills that I have gained throughout this year to create SMARTboard lessons that can

be added to my Weebly teacher website for parents, guardians and administration to see(Claim 1:

Subject Matter). The use of technology will greatly impact many students that are ELA or any

other students with an IEP or 504 plan that require a student to have assistive devices.

Knowledge of the devices and the best ways to use these to maximize the success and minimize

the misbehavior. (Claim 2: Best practice & Claim 3: Caring Educators)

Another important part of our lesson planning was to make sure we focused on having

the correct learner accommodations. I think that this part is closest to what I know about my very

short time in the classroom. As mentioned above many times the class I was in had specific

instruction for every student. I think the most important thing about accommodation is being

patient with the students that could be ELL, special needs, gifted etc and be able to have a few

resources or strategies that you can use with them while your instruction to the rest of the class is

complete and check in with them if they were able to grasp it and if not use and or have the

knowledge to sue the devices or strategies required to make sure they continue on similar

timelines as their peers. Through the Classroom Fun Box activity as well as many other

colleagues fun box ideas and tricks, classroom setting can be an important factor in this, maybe

the student needs a quiet area or some headphones, so being able to make those things known to

the student and they are aware that at times they feel they need them they can use them without

question. Establishing classroom management from the beginning of the year is important to set
the standards high and let the students know the clear rules, procedures, routines and behaviours

necessary for everyday activities in the classroom, within the school and outside on the

playground. It is important to collaborate with the students to make them accountable for their

actions and make them feel like they have a voice within their classroom. It is a good idea to go

over what would e necessary and fair punishment for breaking of the rules and what the students

should expect if they do. I liked Doug Lemov’s idea of letting the students know how learning is

going to take place in the classroom. I think this helps the students, so they know what is coming

and no one is surprised on how things are going in the classroom. He stresses the importance that

the student know that it is okay learn at different speeds and in different ways than their peers

and that the teacher has to be willing to let that take place in the room to make them feel

comfortable to learn the way they do best. This form of CRT can be a fantastic way for all the

students to get to not only get to know other students in the class, but they can learn about places

or traditions they may have not known about or known much about, they can ask questions, their

interests can be peaked, and they can start to learn on their own from the questions they have and

the conversations that they can initiate.

Overall I think a lot of what we have learned throughout this year can relate back to

Claim 3: Being a Caring Educator and with that being culturally responsible. Culturally

responsive teaching/diversity is our reasonability as educators, it is to pick up as many little

things from the students as possible when we are first introduced in the classroom. Being

culturally responsive can also be encouraging students to be empowered within the classroom

and give them the opportunity to share with you and their peers things about them, where they

are from, what they are interested in and what cultures and norms they practice. These are many
things that I have leaned and many things that have opened my eyes to focus on and add into my

skillset to become a better, inclusive and relative educator.

Readiness to become a teacher

I feel that through the rigor of this program I am ready to get out and student teach and use

the many skills that I have been introduced to in this past year. The opportunity to collaborate

with professional educators is exciting and will grant me to chance to reinforce the foundation of

knowledge I have built here and continue to scaffold and absorb information about how things

are run, how school boards view certain things, expectations, standards that we are to meet,

relationships with other staff, principals, the board and admin staff and much more.

Through our work this far this semester I feel confident that I can create and instruct a lesson to

the students and use that first lesson to build my confidence up, reflect and self-assess and begin

to work toward presenting the best lessons that I can for the students. I think that with my Early

Field experience and guidance from that teacher as well as instructors, fellow colleagues and the

many standards we reviews in this portfolio I will consciously be able to include and make

connections between the work and the students’ needs and wants as well as how they align with

curriculum.

I think my readiness to become a teacher can be attributed to it is my ability to stick to

something. I have not always been the best student, the most talented athlete, the top of my class

or the top of my team, but one thing that I have been able to do is to stick with something until I

get to where I want to be. My Jr. lacrosse career was a struggle and took me 4 years to get a

starting spot. My time at university was rocky and it took me longer than it should have but I

competed that. It was there I made it to the goal of mine to be accepted into teacher’s college and
it was two years after University that that happened. When my Jr. lacrosse career was over I

thought that was it for sports and I have been working a tireless six years to make and play for a

professional team a reality and have been but 3 times by professional teams but this year I still

am trying and have a good feeling about it. I have worked through the training of becoming a

volunteer fire fighter during this time as well. I think that when given the opportunity to become

a professional classroom teacher I will work daily just as hard to maximize the potential of not

only the students in the class by myself as well.

Lastly, one really exciting thing that I think about when you talk about being a teacher and

future learning is the challenge. The challenge comes every day, it comes every subject, every

recess, every lesson and every hour. There are multiple chances throughout the day for myself as

a teacher to create positive moments for students. The challenge comes in the form of using that

time that you have with the students and maximizing it. Maximizing the opportunity for learning,

maximize the opportunity to get the students to see and reach their full potential and I think this

comes from the right attitude. Attitude is a decision that we make each and every day, how do I

want this to go, with a good attitude you will see the best in a situation, a problem an event, with

a poor attitude you will see the negative in those cases and this has nothing to do with what level

of school we are at. The attitude is easily transferable, and it can stem from how I model my

attitude as a teacher. Creating a positive place and the right climate for success in conjunction

with the right attitude from the beginning will give my student the opportunity to maximize their

potential. I think that I can creating a culture within the classroom that not only makes everyone

comfortable but also pushes them to challenge what they know and be successful ad every child

deserves that right. The future of students teaching will open me up to seeing these things and
making it become a routine, I will try and absorb everything and weave it together to create

something that can fill the needs of any student in the classroom.

4. Conclusion
My path to Medaille hasn’t been the most direct but I am happy I have made it here and I

have enjoyed my time at Medaille and it has certainly been a lot of work that is reflected here in

this portfolio and it has also taught me a lot and equipped me with many tools that I can use

when I am student teaching and further on in my teaching career. It has taught me that I have

strengths to continue to work with as well as weakness that I will need to work even harder to

overcome and turn into positive steps moving forward. I think the culmination of this portfolio

shows evidence that I can meet standards, create a culturally relative environment, grasp content

and knowledge, can give instruction and help students apply what they know to the world around

them.