Section 5: Teacher Candidate Reflection

Introduction

The knowledge I have learned here in the teacher education program at Medaille

College is something that I will be able to take with me into my future career, and will

make me a prepared, confident educator. Medaille has provided me with the skills and

knowledge needed to be successful in my own future classroom. Professors at Medaille

have taught me various crucial educational skills such as planning, assessing, class

instruction, classroom management, and the importance of classroom technology. This

section will include a reflection on my experiences creating this project, and what I feel

that I have learned throughout my experiences with the Education program here at

Medaille. I will also be including a section on why I feel that Medaille has prepared me

to become an educator, and what qualities I possess. Along with this, I will also be

detailing some of my own experiences in the teacher program here at Medaille, and

what I feel that I have learned the most that will help me as a future teacher.

Portfolio Project/Teacher Education Learning Experiences

Creating this portfolio has given me the opportunity to look back and reflect on

my experiences throughout this teaching program, and the knowledge that I have

gained. The growth that I have gained since my first day in this program has prepared

me for the ups and downs of teaching, and has given me what I need to be confident in

entering this profession. My instructors have helped me to become a caring educator

(DOE Claim 3: Medaille Graduates are Caring Educators), and have taught me the

importance of how to effectively teach students through best practices (DOE Claim 2:
Pedagogy and Best Teaching Practices). I have also learned the importance of knowing

the subject content in order to effectively teach it. (DOE Claim 1: Subject Knowledge).

Throughout this section of the portfolio project I will be relating connections to and

referencing the professional standards of the Department of Education and Council for

Accreditation for Educator Preparation (DOE/CAEP) claims. These claims will support my

abilities to successfully plan and instruct a lesson, to be a caring educator, and that I am

knowledgeable in what I will be teaching. This Portfolio Project has been a great learning

experience for me as a future educator. Although challenging, I feel that it helped me

discover viewpoints and other ideas about Education that I normally do not think about

daily. I have been able to reflect on my background experiences within Education,

create and detail my Philosophy of Education, and connect the 8 artifacts I identified in

section three to various professional educational standards, which I outlined in section

four.

Throughout my teacher learning program experience here at Medaille, I have

had the chance to take very informative classes, along with have the chance to meet

very knowledgeable professors who many of are teachers themselves. One specific class

that sticks out to me my first semester was EDU 504, Early Field Experience. Throughout

this course, I learned how to implement various classroom management techniques into

a classroom that are fair to all students. I also learned how to create a classroom

environment that is exciting and engaging for students through being a caring and

thoughtful educator. One assignment I remember completing in this class was my

teacher letter, which included a small blurb about me along with a positive note to
students. (DOE Claim 3, Medaille Graduates are caring educators.) A caring educator

goes out of their way to make students feel appreciated, whether with a small note or a

helping hand in class. Doing so can contribute to a positive learning environment as

students will feel safe and trusting of the teacher in the classroom. I also learned from

this course the importance of knowing how to adapt and change in the classroom when

lesson plans don’t happen as expected. As an educator, everyday is different and change

is constant.

Another wonderful learning experience I have had during my time at Medaille

was when I took EDU 500, The Core of Education. This course introduced me to the

basics of learning how to create an effective and engaging lesson plan for instruction. I

was required to create a 3-day connected learning segment in this course that included

varied assessments, a motivating anticipatory set, and various accommodations for ESL

and IEP/504 students. I learned from doing this learning segment the importance of

proper instructional planning, having set instructional procedures in place to avoid

classroom chaos/confusion, and also the need as an educator to vary assessments based

on the learning styles of individual students. All three of these factors go into creating

an effective engaging lesson plan. (DOE Claim 2: Medaille College graduates meet the

needs of diverse learners through effective pedagogy and best teaching practices.) This

course was very helpful to me because it introduced me to the importance of

implementing activities/instructional procedures that support all students.

One specific applicable experience I have had in this program were my fieldwork

classes, EDU 511 and 512. Both classes helped me take my learning inside the classroom
and apply it out in the community, in the form of attending Buffalo School Saturday

Academies. Within these field experiences, I learned the importance of engaging

students with creative learning experiences. Specific examples of lessons I planned for

students were a Martin Luther King reading and puzzle game, and a Dr. Seuss science

activity. These field experiences were interactive, and allowed my cohort to plan

specific activities tailored towards the theme of the day. It was very helpful gaining this

field experiences, as I was able to help students who may not have able to experience

these learning experiences otherwise. Helping students out in the community that may

not have as many educational advantages was very inspiring to me, and is one reason

why I want to become an educator. Many of these students were also diverse, and came

from many different countries. It was great to get to experience helping these students

as it will be a necessity in my own classroom. (DOE Claim 3, Medaille Graduates are

Caring Educators).

Another course I took in my first semester that helped me gain needed

educational skills Research in Education. This class was very helpful in terms of learning

how to properly implement research methods in teaching, which is very important to

compiling data. Knowing how to do research on students can help educators

understand their students learning curves easier. Reflecting on learning outcomes can

help improve instruction as well. In this class, I was also required to create a survey that

I used to get other teacher’s opinions on classroom technology. This was artifact

number 5 in my portfolio. Surveys are very important as they can help gain other valid

opinions/feelings about anything learning or classroom related. Surveys are also very
useful to have parents take as well. (DOE Claim 2: Pedagogy and Best Teaching

Practices)

Throughout creating this portfolio, I have reflected on my strengths and

weaknesses as a future educator. Creating my philosophy of education helped me think

about what I really want as a teacher, and how my values/beliefs will impact my

students. I feel that the biggest thing that I have learned is the importance of having

compassion for students, and understanding how to balance creating a properly

structured classroom with showing proper respect and understanding for young eager

lives.

Readiness to Become a Teacher

I feel that my experiences at Medaille, and my work/childhood experiences have

helped prepare me to be an effective Elementary educator in several ways. My artifacts

I presented in section three of this portfolio reflect my ability to understand the content

that I am teaching, provide engaging lessons that support diversity in the classroom,

and that I am a caring educator for my students. I feel that I am confident enough to

walk into a classroom and teach a room full of eager eyes with new knowledge and

strategies Medaille has taught me.

One of my biggest values as a teacher will definitely be the power and

importance of classroom management, and having set classroom routines/structure.

Many students thrive on routine, and rely on timely transitions to get through the day.

Without a proper learning environment, students cannot focus and therefore will not

take in information as well as they would in a non-distracting classroom. This must be

management plan that was number 3 of my chosen artifacts. My classroom

management plan reflects my ability to have a well-managed learning environment that

is enjoyable and student centered, but also a place of very few distractions that includes

both positive and negative reinforcements. I feel that I understand the importance of

implementing a classroom seating chart that supports proper learning, as well as

knowing how to get my students back on track if they lose their focus during a lesson.

Break breaks such as getting up out of their seat for one minute is a great strategy.

I feel that one quality I possess that proves me to be an effective educator is my

ability to lesson plan, and to differentiate my lessons to serve each student in my

classroom. The lesson plans I have created show my planning, instruction, and assessing

abilities in the classroom. I was also able to tailor my lessons to serve various learning

styles in my classroom. Today, inclusive classrooms are a normal ideal and there will be

ESL students, IEP/504 students, and students with ASD/other learning setbacks in a

normal learning environment. Culturally diverse classrooms are also becoming a very

common classroom occurrence. Giving these students accommodations during

classroom activities/instruction will ensure a more positive classroom experience for

them and will also increase their self-esteem/social skills. I feel that another strength I

will have as a future teacher will be knowing the importance of planning beforehand.

Planning lessons, and consistently learning new ways to implement them can help make

an educator seem more confident and professional in their field. I feel that I showed my

planning abilities in this portfolio through both my learning segment and my cross-
curricular lesson plan. I carefully selected which activities I was going to have my

students do, stated my objectives, and formulated formative/summative assessments to

ensure students are learning properly.

One quality I feel I possess that will make an effective educator will be my ability

to motivate and excite my students within their learning. I am very excited to engage my

students with anticipatory sets to get them motivated, and into their learning before the

actual lesson begins. Planned lessons should always come with a “hook” beforehand to

get students excited and interested in the topic itself. Motivated students mean a more

positive and fun learning environment. My lesson plans will be met with formal and

informal assessments to check the knowledge and learning of my students. It is very

important that these assessments are tailored towards individual students, as no child

takes in information the same. The varying needs of my learners will be at utmost

importance in my classroom. Assessments are needed to help guide instruction, and to

improve teaching by adjusting if needed to create more effective learning experiences

for students. Assessments also help compile data on the trends of student learning,

which can be used in IEP or 504 recommendations.

Another quality I feel that shows I am ready to be a teacher in my knowledge of

classroom technology. Technology in today’s modern classroom has become almost

essential to student learning. Students growing up in today’s society have grown

accustomed to technology, and a majority of them were born with basic technology

skills. Classroom technology can be used to help motivate and engage students in their

learning, with using a smartboard or letting students use iPads for a lesson. Technology
may also be great for group projects and having students collaborate together on

assignments. I have learned throughout my teaching program here at Medaille the

different types of classroom technology that exist on the internet, and I plan on

implementing some of them into my own classroom. This semester, I was able to create

my own Weebly Website and my very own Google Classroom through taking EDU 571.

Both assignments have introduced me to creative ways within technology to keep my

students/parents updated with class news, and also to engage/motivate my students

with technology.

Conclusion

Throughout this section, I have reflected on just some of my teacher education

program experiences that have helped me gain needed and added knowledge in the

education field. I feel that all the characteristics that I have mentioned in this section

qualify me as prepared to become an effective and engaging classroom teacher. I am

knowledgeable in creating lesson plans, and understand the importance of assessment,

and know how important classroom management is to a well-balanced learning

environment. I I hope that the artifacts I presented in section three have highlighted

various strengths that I will have as an educator, and I also hope that this reflection

shows how much I have been able to look at my strengths as a classroom teacher. In the

next and final section, I will be including a video that will go over 5 teacher interview

questions that may be asked in a general teacher interview. These questions will
demonstrate some of my best teaching practices, and why I feel that I am qualified to be

hired as an elementary teacher. I will also be addressing some of my background

experiences that have led me to this field. (DOE Claim 1: Subject Matter; Claim 2:

Pedagogy, Best Teaching Practices for Diverse Learners; DOE Claim 3: Caring

Educator).