Edu 693 - Portfolio - V

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MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 1

MSED Elementary Portfolio Project

Victoria Ann Brancalion

August 15, 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

Victoria Ann Brancalion


Victoria Ann Brancalion
Medaille College Graduate Student

______________________________
Dr. Susan Dunkle
Project Director
MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 2

Table of Contents

Section One: Teacher Candidate Introduction to the Elementary Portfolio Project……..…

Section Two: Teacher Candidate Background Experiences………………………………

Section Three: Teacher Candidate Artifacts………………………………………………

Artifact #1: ELA Learning Segment……………………………………………….

Artifact #2: Math Lesson Plan….……………………………………………………

Artifact #3: Pecha Kucha Presentation……….………………………………………

Artifact #4: IEP Analysis…………………………………………………………….

Artifact #5: Child Abuse/ SAVE Seminar…………………………………………

Artifact #6: Cyber Safety Presentation…………….…………………………………

Artifact #7: Weebly Website …………………………………………………………

Artifact #8: Google Classroom Assignment………………..……………………………

Section Four: Alignment to Curriculum & Professional Standards ………………………

Section Five: Teacher Candidate Reflection …………………………………………..….

Section Six: Teacher Candidate Interview Video ………………………………………..

References ……………………………………………………………………………….
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Section One: Teacher Candidate Introduction to the Elementary Portfolio Project

Introduction

Often times educators are known to help our future leaders succeed and hopefully do so

by maintaining a positive attitude to positively impact their students. When you think about

teachers, we often wonder what encompasses a skilled, capable and knowledgeable educator?

For me, I believe in order to make someone a great educator we need to be able to connect with

our students and be able to adapt to any changes that occur. Throughout our journey at Medaille

we have been told by many of our professors that you must be able to adapt to any changes that

happen, this is either how your class responds to a lesson or activity, or your ability to work with

whatever materials you have available.

This portfolio was created to encompass all of my work that I have accomplished as an

educator. Through this portfolio I hope to showcase my organization, passion, and dedication to

become the best educator I could possibly be for my students. I also hope this portfolio provides

insight into where I can grow, and the accomplishes I have made so far. Throughout this

portfolio you will see many examples of how I would thrive as an educator through lessons,

different activities and assessments that I look to conduct in order to ensure that my students are

able to meet curriculum standards.

You will also see how I am able to use different mediums of teaching as well as using my

strengths in technology to adapt with our ever-changing learning and teaching environments. I

think it’s important to remember a quote that I have come across and that we as educators should

keep this in mind. “What we learn becomes part of who we are.” – Kathy R Jeffords, I think this

is important not only to keep in mind that we are examples for our students, but we also have a

great responsibility in how we impact each of their lives. Another thing I encourage us all to
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remember that we will not be able to reach all of our students but if we are able to help one than

we have done a good job, you can see this through “The Star Thrower” by Loren Eiseley.

Portfolio Overview and Rationale

Often times you wonder why portfolios are created, and this is to showcase what you

have accomplished and provides an indication of your own skills and ability to succeed in your

future. I also think that a portfolio is a great reflection piece for you to reference in your future to

see where to improve or how far you have come. For me since I do not have a lot of experience

in the classroom putting this portfolio together to showcase what I have accomplished at

Medaille and through hours of volunteer is a great reminder that I have chosen the right

profession. I can achieve my life long goal of becoming an educator and helping the students in

our lives with a meaningful impact, how some of my teachers have shaped mine. In addition to

the skills that I have acquired and developed I hope that this portfolio will highlight the

differences that I have in my teaching styles and will allow me to expand and improve in the

future.

Portfolio Development

This portfolio is comprised of six sections that will be able to give you as the reader a

better understanding of the teacher that I am right now and what I hope to be in the future.

Section one is what we are going through right now which includes a brief introduction of who I

am, my beliefs, philosophies and theorists that I hope to incorporate in my teaching styles. In

addition to these key components I also hope to draw connections to how I see myself using

these theorists and display the hard work, dedication and organization that I will be showing in

the future.
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Section two refers to my background experience as a teaching candidate. Throughout this

section you will be able to see how I have used the skills in working from a management position

at a financial company, to the experience I have from volunteering with children, observing and

working in a classroom and through my experience with the Saturday academy in Buffalo. All of

these skills will be used to make me a better teacher in the future and will help me prepare to the

best of my ability. I will be presenting artifacts that include my resume, the educational

experience I have cultivated with examples of teachers, both good and bad that have pushed me

to be an educator. In addition to this, I will further develop my Philosophy of Education and

relate this to my personal education and student teaching experience.

Section three will take an in depth look into all of my work and accomplishments that I

have done thus far and will further highlight my capabilities as a teacher. I hope that through

these artifacts you will see my ability to plan, instruct, model and asses my students with great

engagement. In addition I would like to continually work on my professional development, this

will be achieved through examples of my technology course and setting up a website which will

be showcased later. Each of the artifacts that I present will work along side theorists and

professional standards set out by New York State as well as the Ontario College of Teachers. I

hope that these artifacts will be able to show you the dedication, confidence and organization that

I possess to help each of my students in their learning.

Section four examines my work and the ability for me to Align this with the Curriculum

and Professional standard whether through New York State or the Ontario College of Teachers.

Throughout my artifacts I will ensure to include Ontario Ethical Teach Standard, New York

State Common Core Learning Standard, and Ontario Ministry of Education Expectations. In

demonstrating the use of these standards you will see my ability to make proper connections to
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what I would like to teach. I hope to consider all of the students that I work with and display this

all with compassion and understanding for each of my students.

Section five includes a more extensive reflection of this experience in portfolio writing

and compiling all of my strengths. This portfolio and other capabilities through this program, are

all important in developing a better understanding of how each of these experiences has shaped

me. I will be able to highlight the connections I have made in the financial world, and skills I

have acquired there to my work with students in the future. With my sociology and political

science background I find that the work I completed then and the theories we looked at in

sociology have prepared me for the work at Medaille.

Section six being the final part of my portfolio provides a Teacher Interview where I am

able to showcase my ability to make connections, and to showcase how I would be an effective

teacher. I will showcase this through the video attached along with the summary I have provided

for this interview. This interview will not only prepare me for a real life scenario but also

provide reflection on where I can improve in a real life and where I can ask my mentors or peers

for constructive feedback. Throughout this entire portfolio I feel that this will be the most

beneficial in seeing how to prepare for a future position as a teacher.

Theories, Theorists and Experts in the Field of Education

During my time here at Medaille I have been very thankful to be exposed to many

theorists that I was not aware how deeply they effect how we teach and assess. Throughout my

education I assumed that a lot of how we are taught was dependent on theory, I was just unsure

what theory affected us. For me, the most influential theorists that I have worked with and

shaped my lessons and teaching style would be the following, Vygotsk’s Zone of Proximal

Development and Scaffolding, Piaget’s Constructivism, and Bloom’s Taxonomy.


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With Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal development (Vygotsky, 1978) and the rendering of

skills that increase in difficulty I try to incorporate an increase in difficult through each lesson.

Having the range of skills increase through the lessons or learning segments provides a challenge

for your students and will help you inform your lesson on whether all students understood or not.

There is a connection between how we lead our instruction and how we challenge our students,

“The teacher targets those functions that are ready to develop within the learner (or the less

capable person) with the appropriate support and guidance” (Eun, 2019, p.23). Throughout each

of my lesson I provide support to my students whether they are ELL students, students with an

IEP or those who may find the work either challenging or easy to work with. Having Vygotsky’s

Zone of Proximal development, (Vygotsky, 1978) is a reminder that we need to challenge our

students but also ensure that they are developing through levels appropriately without being left

behind. As educators we must avoid instruction that does not benefit our students,

“developmentally inappropriate instruction (i.e. instruction that lags behind the potential of the

learner) may lead to regression (Lloyd & Fernyhough, 1999), rather than, progression in the

individual’s developmental path” (Eun, 2019, p.23).

Another theorist that has had a positive impact on my instruction and planning would be

Piaget with his constructivism theory. When I look to incorporate Piaget’s Constructivism

Theory (Piaget, 1954) through my lessons I am often looking at the different learning styles, and

how each of my students will have different means of learning and doing their activities.

“Learning is a process that involves active construction and not passive


acquisition (Duffy and Cunningham 1996), … knowledge under constructivism is
not seen as a commodity to be transferred from expert to learner, but rather as a
construct to be pieced together through an active process of involvement and
interaction with the environment ” (Schcolnik, Kol, & Abarbanel, 2016, p. 12).
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I ensure that my students are able to piece together the lessons we are working on by

reviewing each previous lesson, our key skills that we learned this to be able to tie it back to the

main strategy that we are working on. Piaget put the onus on our students and that for the

majority they will learn by doing and not by being told what to do. This can also be tied to group

work, and individual assessments, as the students work together they are practicing their skills

for each strategy.

Lastly, one of the most used theorists that we refer back to especially when looking at

how we are going to set up our objective’s would be Bloom’s Taxonomy (Bloom, 1956). Bloom

was probably one of the first theorists that I remember working with at Medaille in our first term.

From that point we were prepared to set up our objectives by using the verbs that are tied to the

complexity of learning, and evaluation that we have our students complete.

“Bloom’s Taxonomy (Bloom et al., 1956) is a framework that can be used to


determine levels of thinking. Bloom’s taxonomy has been used extensively in
educational research (De Wever, Zhu, and Creed, 2009), and has more recently
been used as a framework in which to investigate the learning processes involved
in the use of technology” (Crompton, Burke, & Lin, 2019, p.686).

Not only am I trying to have my students progress through the different levels of thinking and to

promote a growth mindset I am also trying to include technology where possible. I believe

Bloom’s hierarchy of learning is a great indication of how your students’ progress, where they

need help, and how you can challenge them.

Conclusion

Hopefully through my portfolio you will be able to see that I am going to make a very

well-balanced educator who is there to support her students, provide a safe and comfortable

learning environment, and only wants the best for them. I have been very fortunate to work in the

financial world for over nine years and am very happy to be returning to my true passion, which
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is to be working with children. Through my many years in different levels of education I have

been fortunate to have worked with amazing teachers, some of which have been hugely

impactful at Medaille.

Unfortunately, with the good teachers, I have also had my fair share of bad teacher

experiences, I found with these teachers they often lacked passion, the ability to connect with

their students and had preconceived notions of their students. It is my goal to be an aware

educator, who always strives for her best and is not afraid to ask for support from my peers and

mentors. Through this portfolio I hope you are able to see my passion through my artifacts, my

ability to incorporate technology, and making accommodations and supporting my students

where possible. Ultimately, I think this portfolio will be an amazingly reflective piece of work

that will only make us all come out as stronger teachers.

[Back to Table of Contents]


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Section Two: Teacher Candidate Background Experiences

Introduction

My genuine love and passion for children and any nurturing that I exhibit from what I

was told started at a very young age. My parents were always told from my teachers that when I

was in kindergarten, I made sure that all of my other classmates were comfortable and sleeping

before nap time. This further translates to being a highly aware empath that has transformed into

my ability to truly interact and be aware of peoples’ emotions. Of my many tools that I have

acquired over my years I find that my ability to make connections with people will be the most

beneficial to my educational career. It is funny enough that I did not start my path as an educator,

while it was always in the back of my mind, I have had many educational and career struggles to

get to where I am today.

Through the first section of my portfolio I was able to introduce you to some theorists

that I identified with and could see myself using in my classroom. I also highlighted how I

wanted to shape the lives of my students. While I realize I may not be able to reach every single

student, I am hoping that the impact some of my prior educators have had on me will be passed

on to them. In section two of my portfolio, we will be exploring my educational background

which has had great impact on me today and is why I want to be an educator, my work

experience, my experiences in a classroom and school observations thus far.

I will also be exploring the philosophy I have developed on education and my resume to

hopefully provide you with a high-level summary of my accomplishments. I want to note that

although my current job is not directly related to teaching or students I have amassed a lot of

great skills that I hope to apply to my classroom, working with my peers, other faculty members

and administration.
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Teacher Candidate Educational Background

For this portion of section two I would like to highlight many key teachers that had a

deep impact on me, I will be covering both the good and bad through my educational career. I

feel that not only by covering the good and bad I will be reflective on how I would like to teach

and my impact and awareness on the lives of my students. While these experiences may not have

been pleasant at the time, they change how we look at things. As Julius Caesar said, “Experience

is the teacher of all things,” which I believe we can all apply as we grow and learn through

different experiences. Each paragraph below will look at my experiences from elementary, high

school, undergrad and even some of my graduate experience.

Primary Education Experiences

Throughout my elementary years in school I actually was so deeply impacted by how

caring and thoughtful my first grade teacher was, to the point that she pushed me to want to be a

teacher. I referred to her as my shining light, with her caring, generous, and charismatic heart,

she shaped me to be a caring individual as well. To say that she has left a great impact on me

would be an understatement, she was able to diffuse any situation that would arise in class, able

to offer support and a caring hug when we needed it and was always fair to us if there were ever

any arguments. Although I was very young in the first grade she made sure to always keep tabs

on her students and check in on us as we progressed through school, she was even at our

graduation in grade eight for support. Remembering distinctly how proud she was of each of us

and was there to embrace us is a day I will likely not forget.

Sadly, like how amazing this experience was, there are often times negative ones that also

stick out. For me this instance did not impact me directly, but instead impacted my sister when

my parents went to her fourth grade teacher conference and her teacher at the time, Mrs. S told
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them that my sister would always remain a C level student. While she was not there at the time,

they came home to tell me and she later found out from my parents and her teacher the following

day. Not only do I find that saying this to be very discouraging and can destroy a student’s

confidence but it has also shown me that I am to be very mindful of what I say and how I say it.

Instead of saying that she would always remain a C student she should have asked if there were

struggles she was facing, if there was any extra support she could provide or to help my parents

in anyway. Instead we did our own research, got her into tutoring and I can proudly say that she

is no longer a C student. She has graduated with Honors in high school, has finished a diploma

with Honors and a Bachelor as well in Honors. To say that I am proud that she did not listen to

what her grade four teacher said to her is an understatement. I remember the outrage that I felt

when this happened and at the time I was thinking of being a teacher and how I would vow never

to make anyone feel like this regardless of what they are going through.

A quote that I found helped me to keep this perspective was, “Because my teacher

believed in me, I never gave up. Now I am flying towards my dreams” by Heidi McDonald, no

matter what we face, we can overcome and achieve greatness.

Secondary Education Experiences

For my secondary education experiences I have had generally more positive experiences,

I had Mr. S through grade nine and grade ten math that ensured that each of his students

understood difficult concepts. He was able to work with our different learning styles, explain it

to each of us in order for us to make connections and is the reason I genuinely love and have fun

with math. The passion he shared for math and his charismatic personality are all things I hope to

encompass and pass on to my students. The things that I learnt in his class are still what I use
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today either with math or changing my approach on learning and teaching. He always taught us

to have passion in what we do and to try our best.

Another positive example of a teacher I hope to eventually embody some characteristics

would be my tough love, brutally honest, most authentic English teacher Mr. H. Mr. H was the

most genuine (THANK YOU FOR THIS CORRECTION, often times my brain gets stuck aha J)

teacher that a student could have in high school, treating you with mutual respect and as an adult

when you are in high school was such a blessing. With the respect he showed us we showed him

back tenfold, especially when we are at a point in our lives where we are being treated as an

adult and child at the same time it was a refreshing experience. Mr. H’s honest behaviour in how

he treated our work and our ability to participate in class motivated us to show up, take him

seriously, and be better people. Not only were we better students because of him, we also

became better people.

Post-Secondary Education Experiences

Throughout my undergraduate degree I was able to connect with one teacher who was

able to show us that we all aren’t just a number and one that held her biases on for an entire

semester and was unhelpful to our education. Mr. B from my first year political science class

came to our class of over a thousand students and tried to make a point to get to know us through

his office hours. He was able to schedule one on one introduction hours with us so we could get

to know him and he us. This dedication and passion to try and connect with students that have

just left a smaller community of education was such a great experience. He was the most

charismatic, thorough and thoughtful teacher I remember through our undergrad. I was very

thankful to have Mr. B again towards the end of my undergraduate degree and was able to work

with him in a smaller class setting where he continued to bring that passion to all of us.
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Unfortunately, in my third year at McMaster University I worked with a professor who

kept to her biases and preferential treatment to the opposite gender. We were also told to adapt to

her writing style and could not stick to our own. I found this to be an interesting approach to

teaching but also just assumed that she was a tough professor and we had to cater to her

approach. I learned more so that it is possible for us to hold our biases unknowingly. While I do

not fault my professor for this it does remind me that we are human, and hold biases that may

impact how we teach and interact with people.

Post-Graduate Education Experiences

Of all my education experiences this is to be the most recent and most impactful thus far,

not only are we learning from educators how to be educators but we are seeing the different

styles and approaches at a more mature level. As I have had various life experiences happen in

the past five years of not being in school, you often fall back into the swing of things almost as if

you are riding a bike. Here at Medaille, I have had great experience and not so great experiences

unfortunately. From the beginning of our classes at Medaille many have teachers have told us

that often what you plan for will change, and to prepare for everything to be thrown out the

window. That is so true the more I get the opportunity to speak to educators and even finding out

that what works one year is not likely to work the following.

Of our experiences at Medaille I believe our cohort has faced some challenges, but as a

group we will come out more resilient and with different perspectives on how we want to teach.

Ms. X in our first term was a caring, thoughtful teacher that stressed that we do not need to

reinvent the wheel. She also told us that some days you will not know what is wrong with your

students, or sometimes you will have a bad day but to remember that you are with your students

for eight hours a day and often their only support system. Throughout our first term our cohort
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experienced amazing teaching and also teaching that did not feel up to par. Our second professor

that we had for term one was unable to connect with the younger portion of our group, expressed

biases and different attitudes to those who she connected with which was felt by all. Through her

attempt to scaffold our learning in activities as suggest by Vygotsky we really could not do much

with this instruction. Our professor’s disorganization and leaving us to teach each other lessons,

how to write our lesson plans with minimal guidance and to work through some of my peers own

work experiences saved me in getting an understanding of what a classroom is like. It was

unfortunate that by the end of term we seemed to be able to make connections. Ultimately our

first term was a great learning experience and taught us a lot about teaching, whether how to

teach, the varied approaches and how to try to make connections where possible.

Teacher Candidate Work Experiences

While my work experience has no connection to students or younger children I feel that

by working in the financial industry with a multitude of personalities, and learning types has

prepared me to be an educator. Along my way I have been fortunate to work in other areas where

I have been able to acquire many transferable skills that I am hoping to be able to use in my

pursuit of becoming a teacher.

In high school, I was able to visit and work in low-income areas and provide support and

comfort to those seeking free medical advice, and services provided through the community.

While I was in university I was exposed to not only the teaching styles of my professors and was

taught how to engage people but I was also shown how I can interact with students on different

levels, either engaging them in groups or one on one. Since I have left university I have been

working at a rating agency. I started off as a Junior Operations Associate and within three years I

became the Office Manager. With this job I have faced many challenges, such as being judged
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and not taken seriously as a young adult in a managerial position especially within the corporate

world. My general working experience has been a positive one in that I have had to deal with

many different people of all different walks of life; I have also been brought into different

environments traveling for work and being exposed to the different personalities and attitudes

people may have. This is similar to the various personalities and attitudes that students come to

school with every day.

One of the many important skills that I have developed over the years, while working

within the corporate world, have been to always know your audience and who you are working

with. With knowing your audience, you are able to communicate to those who need to

understand you properly and are able to convey the right message. This self-awareness and

understanding is helpful when taking into consideration your audience in a classroom. These

days, every classroom is made up of many children who are of varied needs. Some may have

learning disabilities, some may have physical disabilities, but your job as the teacher is to always

try and create an inclusive learning environment where all children are able to learn… they may

just need to learn in another way.

Conflict resolution and problem solving are other skills that have played a key role in my

office managerial tasks and would be an important skill to transfer into my teaching. There will

be many days where students will have conflicts inside or outside of the classroom and as the

teacher, one will need to be able to listen, help and understand their problems. Similar to dealing

with conflicts at work I will be able to mediate the discussion of what happened and make sure

that all stories are heard. I also want to make note that by having a positive response to many

conflicts and working through issues I was unknowingly working with B. F. Skinner’s

behaviourism theory. The patience that I have developed not only from volunteering but from
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working with people in high stress jobs will help me to manage my responses to conflicts that

may arise.

School Observations and Classroom Application

While I do not have a lot of experience being in a classroom I have enjoyed the past

couple years volunteering at an elementary school. I was able to assess situations calmly and

logically in order to execute strategies that worked for both the whole group and then executed

other strategies that helped to differentiate the same lesson for other individual students. One

thing that I have recognized is that not all students learn in the same way and that what may

work for one student does not necessarily work for another. There is no one “cookie cutter”

approach to teaching. I have learned it is a complex process and note that some students learn by

doing as Piaget’s theory of constructivism stated. This was very evident when I was I was given

the opportunity to work with some students’ with various special needs (students with ADHD,

mental health, learning disabilities etc.). Teaching is not just about the academics but it is also

about imparting essential life skills such as how to effectively relate and work with other people

from different cultures and backgrounds.

I hope to continue to be mindful of each and everyone’s learning needs and know that

having an open and honest dialogue with each student will help. I have been able to develop

more experiences through the fieldwork program at Medaille and have had such eye opening

experiences working with families in need and of different socioeconomic backgrounds with

children who still have a passion for learning. Seeing their experiences reaffirms my passion and

drive to be the best teacher.

Philosophy of Education
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Below I will be able to provide you with some insight on my ever changing philosophy of

Education, the reason it is ever changing is due to my ability to learn something new every day.

The School

It is my belief that the mission of a school should encompass a school’s values, this

includes the values of their teachers, administration staff and how they can apply this to

educating students. When looking at a school’s mission statement there should be a clear picture

to anyone who reads it of what that school is currently and what they hope to achieve. This

mission should also be fluid and ever changing in nature, we must be able to evolve with

whatever happens around us. We must all work together to achieve greatness.

Schools affect our societies by providing education to all that need it no matter the age,

culture, race, socioeconomic status, gender or religion. Not only does school provide a social

aspect to our students, it provides power to our students to be able to put themselves in a position

to make a change in their world for the better.

The Curriculum

I think through school our students should be able to engage in analytical skills that teach

them to question their surroundings and to challenge a growth mindset. To the best of our

abilities our curriculum should encourage mindfulness, the ability to develop social skills to the

best of our ability and to develop skills that we will use in our life later on.

I believe there are many things of the hidden curriculum that could be included such as

our body language and how we treat our administration, this is observed by our students. There

are also organizational aspects in the playground that students may gravitate to different groups,

or groups that they relate to. I think as educators we should remain mindful and to maintain a

safe and inclusive environment to avoid any negatives that could arise form a hidden curriculum.
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Learning

Albeit I have not been exposed to every educational theorist that is out there my two

favourite theorists in addition to Bloom, Vygotsky, and Piaget would be Bruner and B.F.

Skinner. I think that Bruner’s view on each students ability to tackle challenges in age

appropriate ways is great to keep in mind to make not of where our students are and to also be

able to push our students as needed. For B. F. Skinner’s behaviorism theory highlighting positive

and negative reinforcement is crucial for how we interact with our students and how we also

provide feedback to them. I think often times although our students are hung up on the grades

that they are getting I am not sure if the responses certain teachers have to students is

appropriate.

I am thankful that we have evolved our learning styles from the yelling and punishment

for not wanting to speak up in class, a more nurturing and understanding response with positive

feedback would be extremely beneficial for all. I believe that when we instruct some educators

either do not take the appropriate amount of time or provide multiple ways of instruction to meet

each learner’s learning style. Technology in the classroom has evolved so quickly within the last

ten years that our students now grow up with a Chromebook more so than a pencil and paper.

Ultimately this is an amazing advancement but I believe we should still be reminded of how far

we have come, and stick to some traditions of reading a hard copy of a book. I think with

technology we are able to be assistive and provide many opportunities to all of our students.

The Learner

I would like to work with the grade 3 age range, approximately 8-9 years of age as they

express a sense of independence and are able to distinguish between right and wrong. I would

also like to foster their independence and provide a bit more independent work with group work
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to provide collaboration. The responsibility of students increases through each year, and I find

that there is a strong sense of responsibility in grade 3 providing more independence.

Developmentally our students are also learning how better to express themselves and their

emotions and what they truly are interested or what they need. They are becoming more

articulate at this stage of development.

Assessment

I think students should be assessed both formally and informally. I believe a lot more

students are developing test anxiety and to be mindful of such we can remove that stress by

providing different assessment tools. Formal or informal assessments can include but are not

limited to: quizzes, assignments, unit tests, or an exit ticket, thumbs up or down, Kahoot, and

graphic organizers. Our assessments are not only to see where are students are but also how we

may need to change and adapt to how we are teaching. Our assessments should reflect our lesson

and what our students are getting out of them.

Classroom Management

Classroom management is a crucial component to teaching because it allows you to

establish respect and order in your classroom to provide a safe environment to teach. Not only

will you be able to effectively teach you will also have a great working environment for all your

students through a calm, well managed environment. I think the most effective technique for

classroom management begins with mutual respect between a teach and their students. Other key

components include organization, clear communication with your students, positive motivation

to have your students engaged and to adapt if these do not work.

The Teacher
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In order for us to have effective teachers I believe the necessary education that is needed

to be effective would be a hands on approach that incorporates theory and anecdotal evidence.

We have learned a lot from other experiences and have been fortunate to reference in real time.

After taking a personality test and identifying as the colour blue I feel there are a lot of character

traits that good teachers should embody. These character traits include a nature that is calm,

tranquil, peaceful, confident, intelligent, trustworthy, authentic, driven, reliable and respectful.

All of these character traits are great things that I can identify in a lot of my previous educators

and are traits that I see in myself.

Resume

Below is the most update version of my current resume, this depicts my current and

previous professional experiences as well as my educational experience. All of these components

are small pieces that have lead me to where I am today and have also impacted me to move

towards a career in education.

Victoria Brancalion
2332 Overfield Road
Oakville ON L6M 3V3

Residence: 905.469.1198 Cell: 416.884.4462 Email:victoria@brancalion.com

EMPLOYMENT OR WORK EXPERIENCE

DBRS Limited, Toronto (Full Time Employment) March 2015 – Present


Senior Operations Associate/ Office Manager Canada (Jan 2017 – Present)
 Manage a three floor facility with over 225 employees
 Applied expertise to existing facilities/procurement practices and identified areas of
improvement and cost savings.
 Trained and mentored new facilities staff members and provided back up reception and
administrative support.
 Completed the Health & Safety Education Program, where I obtained certification and
participated in and chaired duties on the Health and Safety Committee.
 Completed the Office Ergonomics certification program through Human Scale.
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 Assisted with the office build out projects and renovations. Worked closely with the
trades as well as our general contractor to make sure all project related items were on
track.
 Aided in forecasting the budget for a build out of a space in our New York Office.
 Coordinated with senior management to prepare employees for a movement.
 Liaised with landlords and local authorities for matters that came up around the office
during the moves.
 Managed different team members globally while being remote and provided back up
support for the team.

Operations Associate (March 2015 – December 2016)


 Assisted with office management, reception administration, hospitality/pantry services,
meeting coordination, facilities administration.
 Was the front line “face” of DBRS with clients, vendors, landlord, support services,
guests and staff.
 Assisted with in-house client and employee events, including Board of Director
Meetings, Summer and Holiday Party events.
 Responsible for the ordering and maintenance of inventory for all kitchens and office
supplies
 Provided support to the AVP and VP of Global RE and Facilities on various special
projects.
Clerical
DRBR Limited, Toronto (Summer Employment) 2011-2014

Accounts Payable
 Updated Vendor accounts on General Ledger System, liaised with vendors in both
Canada and United States to obtain information to comply with tax regulations.
 Conversion of vendor payments from a manual cheque process to electronic payments
which required liaison with vendors in both Canada and USA to obtain banking
information and maintained and tracked responses.
 Off-site storage – organized and logged all storage boxes to be sent off-site for Accounts
Payable.
Accounts Receivable
 Contacted clients to convert from cheque banking profiles to electronic payment to
streamline collection process.
 Corresponded with clients on collection of aged Accounts Receivables that were past
due.
 Filing of Client Invoices in designated Accounts Receivable files.
 Reception coverage duties as assigned.
Reception
 Reception Coverage for Summer Vacations in the department.
 Assisted with set up of special meetings in board rooms and training rooms as assigned.
 Organized and assisted with the maintenance off-site storage for Finance.
Clerical
Glen Oaks Memorial Gardens, Oakville 2006-2011 (Occasional, as required)
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 Basic filing, mailers and data entry.


Babysitting, Oakville June 2006 to 2009
 After school babysitting which included pick up from school bus and in home supervision for
two minor children.
 In babysitting my roles and responsibilities were taking care of the children, supervising their
play times, preparing meals, getting them ready for bed and interacting with the children.

EDUCATION
Sheridan College, Oakville, Jan 2018 to Present
 French Conversational Proficiency – learning French fundamentals and reinforcing
comprehension through oral and written exercises.
Certificate in Conversational French – Completed by August 2020
McMaster University, Hamilton, 2011 to 2015
 Bachelor of Arts – Political Science
King’s Christian Collegiate, Oakville, 2009 to 2011
 Successful completion of OSSD.

French Immersion Program, Oakville 2003-2007


 Successfully completed the French Immersion Program from grade 5 to 10.

SKILLS
 Knowledge of and practical skills in using Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
 Knowledge of VLOOKUPs and Pivot Tables.
 A self-starter, self-motivated and a quick learner
 Strong organization skills
 Excellent verbal communication and business writing skills
 A customer service mindset with strong interpersonal skills and able to build
relationships.
 Ability to demonstrate critical thinking, judgment, decision making, and problem solving.
 Ability to work both independently and in a team environment
 Ability to multi-task while managing competing priorities.  Effective time management
skills. 
 Ability and adaptability to work with a multi-discipline workload in a constantly
changing environment.
 Hands on, approachable individual with a professional manner able to communicate at all
levels of management and oversee core operations for the smooth running of the day to
day business critical services.

SELECTED ACHIEVEMENTS

Health Mission Outreach, Various GTA 2009-Present


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 Participated in Health Mission Outreach (HMO) dental clinics in the GTA.


 Responsible for orienteering patients, and gathering patient information and inputting the
data into a computer software program.
 Communicating with people in the community, providing some translation assistance as
needed.
 Assisted the hygienist with sterilization procedures.

Canadian Cancer Society, Oakville 2008-2016


 Volunteer in the distribution of daffodils for the Canadian Cancer Society for both spring
and fall campaigns.
***Accumulated over 300 hours of volunteer service to date ***
CERTIFICATIONS
CPR & First Aid, Toronto April 2017
 Learned the responsibilities of a First Aid provider and the skills to provide assistance in
the event of a cardiac emergency, choking or stroke for adults.
 Expires April 2019

Mental Health First Aid, Toronto October 2018


 Certified in Mental Health First Aid through the Mental Health Commission of Canada,
to help provide persons dealing with a mental health problem or experiencing a mental
health crisis with support.
 Expires October 2020

Joint Health and Safety Committee, Toronto February 2016


 Certified as a worker representative for the Joint Health and Safety Committee of an
office by the Ontario Ministry of Labour. Entails identifying any workplace health and
safety problems and bringing them to the attention of the employer.

INTERESTS
 Swimming, Reading, Music

LANGUAGES

 English, Italian, Conversational French, Conversational Portuguese

REFERENCES

Available upon request.


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Conclusion

As I have completed section two of my portfolio I have already learned so much and was

able to be reflective in my previous experience as a student. I am hoping that these experiences

will provide you with a little bit of background information on why I would like to be an

educator and how my previous experiences have shaped me as a person. By further looking at

my philosophy of education, which I am sure will change I hope to always remain reflective,

honest, caring and passionate. Since we have had a look at my work experience through my

anecdotal stories and my resume I hope to showcase the work that I have put forth here at

Medaille in Section three. Through Section three of the portfolio you will have an opportunity to

see the artifacts that I have curated and various ways I hope to excel as an educator.
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[Back to Table of Contents]


Section Three: Teacher Candidate Artifacts
Introduction

During section three of this portfolio we will be exploring the artifacts that I have created

and curated during my time here at Medaille. These artifacts will showcase the skills and

knowledge that I have developed and continue to work on in order to be an effective, engaging

and thoughtful teacher.

This section makes reference to both the New York State and Ontario Ministry of

Education curriculum standards for both ELA and Math/Science and how they relate to the

upcoming artifacts. In addition I will also be applying the Interstate New Teacher Assessment

Support Consortium Standards (ISTASC), NYS Code of Ethics for Educators, Teacher

Education Accreditation Council/ Council for Accreditation for Educator Preparation

(TEAC/CAEP). In addition these standards will also apply, International Society for Technology

Education for Teachers and Students (ISTE), the Council for Exceptional Children (ECE), and

lastly the International Literacy Association (ILA). Throughout our teaching it is important that

we recognize and apply these standards throughout our career. As teachers we are held to these

standards through our teaching and must adhere in order to maintain consistency, and to ensure

we are teaching what needs to be taught.

Through the artifacts below I hope to show you my ability to plan, instruct and assess.

These will be evident through my learning segment I have written to teach story structure in a

Grade 3 class. This learning segment also has connections to learner accommodations for my

students with Level 4 language needs and a student with visual impairment. I have also included
MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 27

a math lesson plan that will showcase my ability to teach the appropriate math concept and

subject matter to engage my students. I have also included my Pecha Kucha presentation that

was prepared to gain a better understanding of students who have an intellectual disability. In

addition to this presentation I have also included an IEP analysis. This IEP Analysis is crucial for

teachers to be able to understand any accommodations that are made for their respective students

who are in need of support. I have also included my Child Abuse / SAVE certification as this is

an important part of our ability to help our students and report where we need to.

Further to our study of other educational systems and developing on our philosophy, I

have also included a Case Study of the educations system that was completed for Singapore.

Here we were able to look at how the education system is organized, their curriculum, how they

instruct and any changes that came about. To tie into this artifact I have also included my

philosophy of education and get a better understanding of how I see school, the curriculum,

learning, learner, assessment, classroom management, and lastly the teacher. I am hoping this

will provide insight to how I hope to educate as a teacher.

Lastly given the environment that we are currently in during our time with COVID-19, I

have added a few of my technological artifacts that will showcase my passion for incorporating

technology in the classroom and my ability to adapt. Of these artifacts I have included my

cybersafety presentation which is important to educate our students on. I have also included my

Weebly website which was created for a Grade 3 classroom that showcases many resources and

some of my classroom management items. Lastly I have my Google Classroom assignment

which was quite interesting to complete through being in an online learning environment myself.

This classroom will showcase my ability to use everything that I have learned through my

technology course and apply this to the classroom.


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Artifacts & Rationales

Below you will find copies of my artifacts which were completed by me and will

showcase a variety of skills that I have acquired. These artifacts are a variety of my work, from

lesson plans, to an IEP analysis, and a close look at cybersafety and the advances we have made

in the technology work for education. I hope that this variety will give you an idea on my ability

to become the teacher I wish to become.


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Artifact #1: ELA learning segment.

Below you will find a learning segment that contains three English lessons centered

around teaching story structure, with a focus on the elements that make up a story. This artifact is

to showcase my ability of planning, incorporating lessons that gradually build upon the content

as well as increases in difficulty and independence put on the children.

INTASC Standards

Standard #4: Content Knowledge

Standard #6: Assessment

Standard #7: Planning for Instruction

Standard #8: Instructional Strategies

DOE Claims

Claim 1: Subject Matter, Claim 2: Pedagogy, Claim 3: Caring Educators

CAEP Standards

Standard 1: Content and Pedagogical Knowledge

NYS Code of Ethics Standards for Educators


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Principle 1: Nurture the intellectual, Principle 2: Create and Support, Principle 3: Commit to

their own learning

Ontario Teacher Ethical Standards

Care and Integrity

NYS P-12 Common Core Learning Standards

New York State Standards: NY 3R7: Explain how specific illustrations or text features

contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a text.

Ontario Curriculum Standards

Ontario Grade 3 Standards: 1.4 Demonstrate understanding of a variety of texts by identifying

important idea s and some supporting details.

1.7 – Identify specific elements of texts and explain how they contribute to the meaning of the

texts

ISTE Standards for Teachers and/or Students

For Teacher: Collaborator, Designer and Analyst

For Student: Empowered Learner

ILA International Literacy Association Professional Standards

Standard #1: Foundational Knowledge, Standard #2: Curriculum Instruction, Standard #3:

Assessment and Evaluation

CEC Standards
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Standard #1: Challenging exceptions, Standard #2: High level of Professional competence,

Standard #3: Meaningful and Inclusion


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Medaille College Department of Education

Lesson Plan 1 of 3

Teacher Candidate’s Name: Victoria Brancalion Date:


February 19th, 2020

Context for Learning (edTPA)

Where is the school where you are teaching located? City: _______ Suburb: _______ Town:_______ Rural: ______

Grade level: ________ Number of students in the class: ___20_____

Students with IEPs/504 Plans


Complete the charts below to summarize required or needed supports, accommodations, or modifications for your students that will affect your
instruction in this learning segment.
IEPs/504 Plans: Number of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications, Pertinent
Classifications/Needs Students IEP Goals
Visual Impairment 1 Accommodations include handouts created with Tahoma
Bold font size 18, extended time on in class testing and
exams, directions read and clarified

Students with Specific Language Needs


Language Needs Number of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications
Students
Level 4 1 Accommodations include visuals with text, translator
dictionary, provide concept maps when appropriate, clarify
vocabulary and language concepts in first language when
possible.
Students with Other Learning Needs
Other Learning Needs Numbers of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications
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Students

Lesson __1___ of a __3___ Day Learning Segment

Subject and Lesson Topic: ELA – Literacy – Story Structure

Grade Level: 3rd Grade Lesson Duration: 30-40 mins

Central Focus of the Learning Segment


The central focus is an understanding that you want your students to develop. It is a description of the important identifiable theme, essential
question, or topic within the curriculum that is the purpose of the instruction of the learning segment (Making Good Choices, 2016).

The central focus of this learning segment is to identify story structures using story elements and key details.

Knowing Your Learners


Using Prior Knowledge
What do you know about your students’ prior academic learning as it relates to the central focus? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 2a)
- I know that last year in Grade 2, my students covered the following standards - NY2R7: Demonstrate understanding of story elements
and or topics by applying information gained from illustrations or text features and Ontario Grade 2 Standard 1.4 – Demonstrating
Understanding – of a text by retelling the story or restating information from the text, with the inclusion of a few interesting details and
1.7 – identify the main idea and some additional elements of texts.
How will you use this knowledge to inform your instruction? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 3a)
- I will use what they know and have learned in Grade 2 to lead the instruction of teaching them to identify story elements with key details
that include setting, theme, characters, and any problems or solutions that arise. In Grade 2, my students should have developed an
understanding of how to demonstrate story elements and to use any evidence they have gathered through the story. Since they have this
ability to identify story elements they should be able to highlight story structure with support provided. This can be related to when they
were in Grade 2 and had to highlight the beginning, middle and end.

Using Student Assets


MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 34

What do you know about your students’ personal, cultural, and/or community assets as they relate to the central focus? (edTPA Handbook,
Task 1, Prompt 2b)
 I know that the school area that I work in has students from families who are in a higher socioeconomic standing. I also know a lot of
my students have pets and sibling.
 Since I know a few of my students have siblings, and I do as well. I will share a story of a time where my sister and I fought over playing
a video game together. I will highlight that to help us resolve our problems we decided to share and take turns. I will show this in a story
map.
How will you use this knowledge to inform your instruction? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 3a)
 Since I know some of my students have siblings. I can use this information to compare any conflicts that arise to their life with small
fights or arguments they get into with their siblings. This can also be tied to any of their favourite movies or TV shows.
 I will use this to inform my instruction by always being mindful of what is going on in their lives. I will also make sure to connect what
we are learning to their interests to keep them engaged in class. Students will likely run into problems at school and identifying them is a
good place to start. Highlighting a solution that they may have some up with on their own will help them to make these connections. An
example I can use for them would be the Disney movie Mulan (or any other Disney movie) I will highlight the conflict that appeared
within their family when Mulan wanted to serve in the military. Solution being she did what she wanted and in the end made her family
proud.
 I will also know that a part of the final assessment for this learning segment will be to create their own stories, I know they will have to
understand all the key terms so I will get them to define and use a graphic organizer for their reference.

Curriculum Standards
New York State Standards: NY 3R7: Explain how specific illustrations or text features contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a text.
Ontario Grade 3 Standards: 1.4 Demonstrate understanding of a variety of texts by identifying important idea s and some supporting details.
1.7 – Identify specific elements of texts and explain how they contribute to the meaning of the texts

Objectives Assessment Modifications to Assessments


Using Bloom’s Taxonomy, include statements Using formal and/or informal assessment If applicable, explain how you will adapt
that identify what students will be able to do by tools, how will you evaluate and document assessments to allow students with specific
the end of the lesson and are aligned to the your students’ progress on each of the needs to demonstrate their learning.
standards identified above. objectives? (edTPA Task 1, Prompt 5b)
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to For the first part of this lesson I will complete For my Visually Impaired student and ELL
compile the characters, setting, problem and an informal assessment by asking the students Level 4 student the following
solution into a graphic organizer. to fill out the graphic organizer provided. With accommodations will be made throughout
this I am looking to see whether they are able the lesson.
MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 35

to identify the character, setting, problem and VI - Accommodations include handouts


solution within the story. I will also see if they created with Tahoma Bold font size 18,
are pulling evidence correctly. I am also extended time on in class testing and exams,
hoping this organizer will help them to directions read and clarified
organize their thoughts. Level 4 - Accommodations include visuals
At the end of the lesson we will go over our with text, translator dictionary, provide
key terms to ensure that they understand each concept maps when appropriate, clarify
item. “Can you list the main characters of the vocabulary and language concepts in first
story? What is the setting of the story? What language when possible.
are the problems? How were the problems
solved?” This will be used as an informal
assessment and I will ask the class to answer
and provide evidence to support them. For
those who do not understand I will follow up
with them to clarify on anything they may be
confused on.

Academic Language Demands Instructional Supports


(edTPA Task 1, Prompt 4c) Strategies teachers provide to help learners understand, use, and
practice the concepts (edTPA Task 1, Prompt 4d)
Function
Looking at your standards and The language function the - I will support my students to use the language function by
objectives, choose the one Bloom’s students will use is to distinguish highlighting what it is to distinguish, or identify the key
word that best describes the active elements within a story. words and elements of a story.
learning essential for students to - I will also support my students by completing a graphic
develop understanding of concepts organizer as a class after we read the story A Bad Case of
within your lesson. Stripes by David Shannon. I will explain the definitions and
ask them to explain their thinking and provide support as to
why they think they are right. In addition I will make sure I
clearly explain examples of each story element and using a
thumb up or down to test if they understand.
Vocabulary The vocabulary words that my - I will support my students to understand and use the
MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 36

Key words and phrases students need students will need to understand vocabulary by filling our an anchor chart with the
to be able to understand and use to use are, characters, setting, definitions of a story’s elements, and include examples for
problem, and solution. them to reference.
Syntax - I will provide my students with the Rollercoaster Graphic
Describe ways in which students will My students will use syntax by Organizer which will help them to visualize the ups and
organize language (symbols, words, structuring their responses in a downs of the story. This structure provided will help them
phrases) to convey meaning. group while supporting their outline what has happened in a story and highlight key
findings with evidence from the components.
story.

Discourse Throughout the lesson my - I will support my students to use discourse by modeling
How members of a discipline talk, students will be able to identify examples of how I identify the story’s characters, setting,
write, and participate in knowledge story elements by saying the and encourage my students to think of the problem and
construction and communicate their names of characters with solution in small groups.
understanding of the concepts support, and highlighting
problems and solutions in the
story with support as well. They
can communicate their
understanding by using Think-
Pair-Share with their peers. (in
groups, students will be able to
discuss what is going on in the
story.)
Instructional Process Accommodations and/or Modifications
and/or Supports
Anticipatory Set/Motivator For my Visually Impaired student and ELL
- I will start our lesson by going over what we have covered through stories, that there is a Level 4 student the following
beginning, middle, and end. For today’s lesson we will be focusing on what makes a story accommodations will be made throughout
a story, the elements of this story include characters, a setting, problem and solution. the lesson.
- Since I know a few of my students have siblings, and I do as well. I will share a story of a VI - Accommodations include handouts
time where my sister and I fought over playing a video game together in our basement. I created with Tahoma Bold font size 18,
will highlight that to help us resolve our problems we decided to share and take turns. I extended time on in class testing and
will show this in a story map. I will fill out the story map with my students? exams, directions read and clarified
MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 37

- I will ask them the following: Level 4 - Accommodations include


- “Who are the characters of the story, or is there just one? How do you know?” visuals with text, translator dictionary,
- “What was the problem? How do you know this?” provide concept maps when appropriate,
- “What was the solution of the problem? Explain?” clarify vocabulary and language concepts
- Lastly, “Where did this story take place, what was the setting?” in first language when possible.
- I will also ask, “Does anyone else have a similar story to share with the class? How about Whole Class Support – I will check in on
you do me a favour and think for a minute? How would you put your own story into a understanding of the content and to ensure
story map?” We can take up a few examples as a class. that the students are following a long with
the story. I will also look for facial
Instructional Procedures expressions of confusion (if present) to see
- I will go over the definitions of a character, setting, problem, and solution. This will be in if I need to explain anything as I am asking
questions.
the form of an anchor chart (Attached below).
- Since all of the pieces fit together I am going to highlight that a story has a lot of things
VI – All handouts will be in the above
that need to be there in order for us to have a story
specified font, and support will be
- I will go over the definitions of each puzzle piece:
provided, it is also recommended that the
- First we have Characters, they are the people or animals who are important in the story. I student remain in their seat at the front of
will ask them, “Do you remember the characters from my story?” the class
- Next we will review the Setting, this is the time and location where a story takes place. I
will ask them if they know the setting of my story. “Where and when did my story take Level 4 – Visuals with text will be
place?” provided and a translation of the story
- Then we have the problem that the characters have come across? “What were the problems element words will also be provided along
that my sister and I ran into?” Finally we have the solution, which happens when we have with visuals that match with the story.
solved the problem.”How did we solve the problem of playing video games?”
- Space
- Today we are going to focus on filling out our Story Rollercoaster worksheet, together as a
class we will be reading A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon.
- I will model how to fill out the rollercoaster sheet with the information the class provided
me with my story. I will ask the above questions again and we will fill out the sheet
together.
- Say this to students, “The reason we are going to fill out our rollercoaster sheet is because
reading a book is kinda like a roller coaster, right? When you are on a rollercoaster you
start at the bottom, and that is how our story starts we start at the beginning and build up
MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 38

the information, and get to know the characters. Once we get to the top we are at the
exciting part or maybe the problem it’s interesting. When you are coming down the
rollercoaster it is almost like the solution to the problem you just had before and that is
when the story slows down.
- As you can see on our worksheet there is a beginning, middle and end, the story elements
can show up at different times.
- Now as a class we will go through and read A Bad Case of Stripes.
- Say this to the students “The graphic organizer that you will fill out give you all the
important information from the story, known as the story elements.” You can also model
for them in your graphic organizer through the document scanner.
- Stop at Page 4 and Model, “Who would be the main Character of this story?”
- Stop at Page 5 and Model, “What do you think she is feeling? Are we supposed to laugh at
our friends?”
- Stop at Page 7 and Model, “What do you think is happening, what could the problem be?
Who likes Lima beans? I love Lima beans!”
- Stop at Page 10 and Model, “What happens to Camilla after the doctors came? Did the
pills work?”
- Stop at Page 12 with reporters and Model, “How do you think Camilla is feeling now?”
- Stop at Page 13 with the environmental therapist and Model, “Oh my goodness, what
happened now?”
- Stop at Page 15 with the kind old women, “What did she give to Camilla?, Yes they are
regular Lima beans, Weren’t those Camilla’s favourite? Why was she afraid to admit it?
Has this happened to anyone? Was she being laughed at for eating the Lima beans?”
- Stop at Page 17 and Model, “So what happened with Camilla? Yes she ate the beans, and
did that solve her problem of the bad case of stripes? IT did right! What else happened?
Yes she stopped caring and ate her favourite beans!”
- Camilla learned that being different and liking Lima beans is okay because that’s what
makes us who we are.

Assessments: Informal Assessment Check in with my students who are


- We will as a class go through the Rollercoaster worksheet and take up the key story on an IEP and have Language
elements. Fill out story map similar to the one attached. needs, ensure they understood the
story and elements. Provide their
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- Character: Camilla own copy and translations where


- Setting: Her house and school possible. Check in while we are
- Problem: She had stripes everywhere and changed into shapes and even her room! reading the story to the class.
- Solution: She ate the Lima beans and stopped caring about what others thought of her
- Make sure to ask students to support why they believe that the problem is the problem and
why the other solutions didn’t work for Camilla

Closure

Bring students back together at the end by re-capping what their learning was from today on
making story elements, tying in the importance of character, setting, problems and solutions..

Say this to the students and review with them:


Let’s see what we looked at today while we were learning about story elements.
1. We went over Ms. B’s story with her sister and were able to fill out a story map where we
picked out the character, setting, problem and solution.
2. We also went over our anchor chart and could see how we pick out the characters, setting,
problems, and solutions of the story.
3. We filled out the story map as a class and roller coaster worksheet with all the information
that was found in our book A Bad Case of Stripe.
4. Lastly, I would like to ask the class to give me an example of a story with all these
elements in them and you can fill this out on a piece of paper for me. Please write your
name at the top so I know who completed their work.

Tomorrow we will be breaking off into small groups and you will be reading a few of the stories
from our class library and filling out your own roller coaster worksheet.
List all materials and/or technology tools required for the lesson.
Key instructional materials must be attached. These materials might include such items as class handouts, assignments, slides, and interactive
white-board images.
- Anchor Chart with Key Words for Story Elements (link and photo below)
- Roller Coaster Graphic Organizer (Photo and link attached)
- Book: A Bad Case of Stripe by David Shannon (Library)
MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 40

- Story Map to fill in with class while they complete their graphic organizer (photo and link below)

ANCHOR CHART
https://pin.it/eNLFiEd

STORY MAP TO FILL OUT WITH CLASS


MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 41

https://pin.it/3cXeSMw

ROLLERCOASTER WORKSHEET
MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 42

https://www.education.com/lesson-plan/story-structure-rollercoaster/
MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 43

  Medaille College Department of Education

Lesson Plan 2 of 3

Teacher Candidate’s Name: Victoria Brancalion


Date: March 27, 2020

Context for Learning (edTPA)

Where is the school where you are teaching located? City: _______ Suburb: ___x____ Town:_______ Rural: ______

Grade level: ___3rd_____ Number of students in the class: ___20_____

Students with IEPs/504 Plans


Complete the charts below to summarize required or needed supports, accommodations, or modifications for your students that will affect
your instruction in this learning segment.
IEPs/504 Plans: Number of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications, Pertinent
Classifications/Needs Students IEP Goals
Visual Impairment 1 Accommodations include handouts created with Tahoma
Bold font size 18, extended time on in class testing and
exams, directions read and clarified

Students with Specific Language Needs


Language Needs Number of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications
Students
Level 4 1 Accommodations include visuals with text, translator
dictionary, provide concept maps when appropriate, clarify
vocabulary and language concepts in first language when
possible.
MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 44

Students with Other Learning Needs


Other Learning Needs Numbers of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications
Students

Lesson ___2___ of a ___3___ Day Learning Segment

Subject and Lesson Topic: ELA – Literacy – Story Structure

Grade Level: 3rd Grade Lesson Duration: 30-40 mins.

Central Focus of the Learning Segment


The central focus is an understanding that you want your students to develop. It is a description of the important identifiable theme, essential
question, or topic within the curriculum that is the purpose of the instruction of the learning segment (Making Good Choices, 2016).

The central focus of this learning segment is to identify story structures using story elements and key details.

Knowing Your Learners


Using Prior Knowledge
What do you know about your students’ prior academic learning as it relates to the central focus? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 2a)
- I know that last year in Grade 2, my students covered the following standards - NY2R7: Demonstrate understanding of story elements
and or topics by applying information gained from illustrations or text features and Ontario Grade 2 Standard 1.4 – Demonstrating
Understanding – of a text by retelling the story or restating information from the text, with the inclusion of a few interesting details and
1.7 – identify the main idea and some additional elements of texts.
- In our previous lesson we highlighted Story Structure and went through the structure of the story A Bad Case of Stripe, here we looked
at the character, setting, problem and solution as a class.
How will you use this knowledge to inform your instruction? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 3a)
MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 45

- In addition to what they have learned in Grade 2, we have also worked through identifying story structure in our previous lesson. Since
we worked through story structure as a class, the Students were provided with the Roller Coaster Graphic Organizer that they can use
as a reference. Students will also have access to the Anchor Chart that is posted in the classroom that defines: setting, characters,
problems, and solutions. All of these resources should be used by my students to help them with their upcoming group work for this
lesson.
- This will help my instruction because I will be able to see if my students understood the activity of outlining the story structure in our
previous lesson. I will look for them to fill out the roller coaster worksheet with their respective books information.

Using Student Assets


What do you know about your students’ personal, cultural, and/or community assets as they relate to the central focus? (edTPA Handbook,
Task 1, Prompt 2b)

 I know that the school area that I work in has students from families who are in a higher socioeconomic standing. I also know a lot of
my students have pets and sibling.
 Since I know a few of my students have siblings, and I do as well. I wil remind them of the story that I shared in our previous lesson
about the time where my sister and I fought over playing a video game together. I will highlight to them again that to help us resolve our
problems we decided to share and take turns. I will show this in the story map I created previously.

How will you use this knowledge to inform your instruction? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 3a)
 Since I know some of my students have siblings. I can use this information to compare any conflicts that arise to their life with small
fights or arguments they get into with their siblings. This can also be tied to any of their favourite movies or TV shows.
 I will use this to inform my instruction by always being mindful of what is going on in their lives. I will also make sure to connect what
we are learning to their interests to keep them engaged in class. Students will likely run into problems at school and identifying them is a
good place to start. Highlighting a solution that they may have come up with on their own will help them to make these connections.
 An example I can highlight again for them would be the Disney movie Mulan (or any other Disney movie) I will highlight the conflict
that appeared within their family when Mulan wanted to serve in the military. Solution being she did what she wanted and in the end
made her family proud.
 I will also know that a part of the final assessment for this learning segment (our next lesson) will be to create their own stories, I know
they will have to understand all the key terms so I will get them to define and use a graphic organizer for their reference.

Curriculum Standards
New York State Standards: NY 3R7: Explain how specific illustrations or text features contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a text.
MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 46

Ontario Grade 3 Standards: 1.4 Demonstrate understanding of a variety of texts by identifying important ideas and some supporting details.
1.7 – Identify specific elements of texts and explain how they contribute to the meaning of the texts

Objectives Assessment Modifications to Assessments


Using Bloom’s Taxonomy, include statements Using formal and/or informal assessment If applicable, explain how you will adapt
that identify what students will be able to do by tools, how will you evaluate and document assessments to allow students with specific
the end of the lesson and are aligned to the your students’ progress on each of the needs to demonstrate their learning.
standards identified above. objectives? (edTPA Task 1, Prompt 5b)
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to For the first part of this lesson I will get my For my Visually Impaired student and ELL
compile the characters, setting, problem and students to complete an informal assessment Level 4 student the following
solution into a graphic organizer with their by asking them to fill out the graphic accommodations will be made throughout
group members. organizer provided with a story we have the lesson.
previously read in class. Book: Thank You, VI - Accommodations include handouts
Mr. Falker. With this I am looking to see created with Tahoma Bold font size 18,
whether they are able to identify the character, extended time on in class testing and exams,
setting, problem and solution within the story. directions read and clarified
I will also see if they are pulling evidence Level 4 - Accommodations include visuals
correctly. I am also hoping this organizer will with text, translator dictionary, provide
help them to organize their thoughts. concept maps when appropriate, clarify
vocabulary and language concepts in first
At the end of the lesson we will go over our language when possible.
key terms to ensure that they understand each
item. “Can you list the main characters of the
story? What is the setting of the story? What
are the problems? How were the problems
solved?” This will be used as an informal
assessment and I will ask the class to answer
and provide evidence to support them. For
those who do not understand I will follow up
with them to clarify on anything they may be
confused on.
MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 47

Academic Language Demands Instructional Supports


(edTPA Task 1, Prompt 4c) Strategies teachers provide to help learners understand, use, and
practice the concepts (edTPA Task 1, Prompt 4d)
Function The language function the - I will support my students to use the language function by
Looking at your standards and students will use is to distinguish highlighting what it is to distinguish, or identify the key
objectives, choose the one Bloom’s elements within a story. words and elements of a story.
word that best describes the active - I will also support my students by completing the graphic
learning essential for students to organizer in the beginning of class with the book that we
develop understanding of concepts have previously read – Thank you, Mr. Falker by Patricia
within your lesson. Polacco
- I will explain the definitions and ask them to explain their
thinking and provide support as to why they think they are
right.
- In addition, I will make sure I clearly explain examples of
each story element and using a thumb up or down to test if
they understand.
Vocabulary The vocabulary words that my - I will support my students to understand and use the
Key words and phrases students need students will need to understand vocabulary by keeping the completed anchor chart up int
to be able to understand and use to use are, characters, setting, the class with the definitions of a story’s elements, and
problem, and solution. include examples for them to reference.
- These examples that will be displayed are from the story we
did in our previous lesson A Bad Case of Stripe by David
Shannon.
Syntax My students will use syntax by - I will provide my students with the Rollercoaster Graphic
Describe ways in which students will structuring their responses in a Organizer for their group work, which will help them to
organize language (symbols, words, group while supporting their visualize the ups and downs of the story.
phrases) to convey meaning. findings with evidence from the - This structure provided will help them outline what has
story. happened in a story and highlight key components.
Discourse Throughout the lesson my - I will support my students to use discourse by modeling
How members of a discipline talk, students will be able to identify examples of how I identify the story’s characters, setting,
write, and participate in knowledge story elements by saying the and encourage my students to think of the problem and
construction and communicate their names of characters with solution in small groups.
understanding of the concepts support, and highlighting - I will show this in the beginning of the lesson when we
MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 48

problems and solutions in the review what we have previously done and in addition to
story with support as well. filling out the rollercoaster worksheet with the story for
They can communicate their Thank you, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco.
understanding by using Think-
Pair-Share with their group
members. (in groups, students
will be able to discuss what is
going on in the story.)

Instructional Process Accommodations and/or Modifications


and/or Supports
Anticipatory Set/Motivator For my Visually Impaired student and ELL
- I will start our lesson by going over what we covered in our previous lesson, this includes Level 4 student the following
the graphic organizer that we completed for A Bad Case of Stripe by David Shannon. accommodations will be made throughout
- For today’s lesson we will be using what we learned in our previous lesson about what the lesson.
makes a story a story, the elements of this story include characters, a setting, problem and VI - Accommodations include handouts
solution. created with Tahoma Bold font size 18,
- I will remind my students of the story I shared in our previous lesson about my sister and extended time on in class testing and
the time we fought over playing a video game together in our basement. exams, directions read and clarified
- I will then go over the story Thank You, Mr. Falker, since we have read this story as a Level 4 - Accommodations include
class visuals with text, translator dictionary,
- Here we will fill out a story map together to prepare them for their activity and group provide concept maps when appropriate,
work. I will fill out the roller coaster worksheet with my students? clarify vocabulary and language concepts
- I will ask them the following: in first language when possible.
- Firstly, do we remember the story of Thank You, Mr. Falker?
Whole Class Support – I will check in on
- I anticipate that my students will give me a high level summary of everything that
understanding of the content and to ensure
happened.
that the students are following a long with
- “Who are the characters of the story, or is there just one? How do you know?”
the story. I will also look for facial
- Yup that is right we have, Trisha, Mr. Falker and Eric. expressions of confusion (if present) to see
- “What was the problem? How do you know this?” if I need to explain anything as I am asking
- Eric makes fun of Trisha, yup that is right, you know it’s a problem because she is upset questions.
and thinks she’s dumb. What do we know about this, is this a good thing to do to your
friends? No that’s right we aren’t supposed to be mean to our friends, we are supposed to
MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 49

help and be kind to everyone.


- “What was the solution of the problem? Explain?”
- That is great, yes Mr. Falker noticed that Trisha was having a hard time in class and he
tried to help her. Yes he stayed with her to help her learn how to read.
- Lastly, “Where did this story take place, what was the setting?”
- Yup Michigan and schools in Michigan. Where did Trisha go after? – Yup California that
is right, and she moved there with her family.
Instructional Procedures VI – All handouts will be in the above
- To prepare everyone for our group work we will go over the elements of a story structure specified font, and support will be
all together and fill out a sheet to ensure that everyone understands what we are doing. provided, it is also recommended that the
- I will ask the class to define the following and will be looking for them to help me define. student remain in their seat at the front of
- “Okay so we will be using our class library and thinking of books that we have previously the class
read as a class. We are going to fill out the roller coaster sheet on the document scanner.”
- “What is a Character from a book we have read? Can you give me an example? Why are Level 4 – Visuals with text will be
they the character?” provided and a translation of the story
- “What is a problem? Can you think of a problem in a story you have read?” element words will also be provided along
- “What was the solution that they came up with in that story?” with visuals that match with the story.
- “Lastly, where did this story take place, what is the setting?”
- “This is great everyone! Thank you for helping Ms. B fill out her roller coaster. Now for
today you will be breaking off into the groups
- Since we have filled out the story map as a class I will explain the following:
- We will be breaking up into 4 Groups of 5. I will be drawing from my Cup of Partners
(Numbered Cup that each student is assigned a number) Here you and your friends will
each be in charge of going through your own stories and filling out the roller coaster. Ms. - In order to support my visual
B will be collecting this to make sure that all of our friends are able to tell me the really
learners I wanted to incorporate a
important parts of the story and what makes up the story through the story structure.
drawing aspect for those that
- Remember some of our friends may want to draw so please remember to include your wanted to.
drawings in addition to anything your team members are writing.
- List of 4 Stories from the class library
- At this point in time all the students will break up into groups. You will have each group
go through their stories, you can even incorporate the roles we have outlined in our class
for group reading. (Chart provided below)
MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 50

- I will be walking around the room to ensure that my students are on the right track.
- I will also ask them for examples and support of why they pick things
- I will check in on my students with visual impairments in the class to ensure they are able
to read everything and can participate
- I will check for comprehension with my ELL learner by ensuring they understand the
story, depending on the story they pick I can have visual aids for them as well as, provide
any translation as needed. We can also look into including a dictionary for them to
translate words.

Questions I will ask my students:


- Why do you think that is the character?
- How do you know that is the problem?
- Could there be more than one problem?
- What are some solutions?
- Has anything like this happened to you before?
- Do you know of any examples of problems in the world that we could make connections
to?
- Where does this take place? What is the setting?
- Are there multiple locations for this setting?

Assessments: Informal Assessment Check in with my students who are


- For the assessment portion of this piece of work each group of students received a roller on an IEP and have Language
coaster worksheet that was to be completed. This will be collected for an informal needs, ensure they understood the
assessment in preparation for their final formal assessment. story and elements. Provide their
- Alright everyone, since I have walked around and checked in with each group I will give own copy and translations where
you a few more minutes to wrap up. possible. Check in while we are
- Does anyone have any questions? reading the story to the class.
- I will collect the group work and assess to see whether or not each group was able to
identify the story structures from the books they read.

Closure
MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 51

- Bringing back the students by saying, “Alright everyone we are going to get back together
as a class, please return to your seats.”
- So everyone lets go over what we covered today – Can anyone tell me what the main story
structure is made up of?
- Yes that is great, Characters. Next?
- Yup – Settings, and what is a setting?
- Next, We have?
- Problems, that is correct. And with problems what else do we have?
- Solutions, that is correct ! Well done everyone.

- How were we able to find these things? What did we need?


- Yes we needed proof or examples that is great. Can someone give me an example that we
looked at earlier. Or what I may have told you – I am anticipating answers about my story,
Mulan or Thank you, Mr. Falker.
- Now does anyone have any questions about what we did today in your groups?
- Do we think that the next time we meet for English you will be comfortable to work on
your own. I think you guys will do great.
- The next time we are in class I will get you to work individually on your own story
structure worksheet, for your own stories that you will be writing by yourselves.

List all materials and/or technology tools required for the lesson.
Key instructional materials must be attached. These materials might include such items as class handouts, assignments, slides, and interactive
white-board images.
- Anchor Chart with Key Words for Story Elements (Link and photo below)
- Roller Coaster Graphic Organizer (Photo and link attached)
- Book: A Bad Case of Stripe by David Shannon (Library)
- Book: Thank you, Mr. Falker (Library)
- Roller Coaster Graphic Filled Out for Thank you, Mr. Falker (Photo below)
- Roles for Group Reading – Attached Below – these are posted in the class & my students are familiar with their roles
- Story Map: A Bad Case of Stripes (Visual Aid in the Class)
MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 52

ANCHOR CHART
https://pin.it/eNLFiEd
MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 53

STORY MAP TO FILL OUT WITH CLASS


MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 54

https://pin.it/3cXeSMw
MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 55

ROLLERCOASTER WORKSHEETROLLERCOASTER WORKSHEET


MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 56

Medaille College Department of Education

Lesson Plan 3 of 3

Teacher Candidate’s Name: Victoria Brancalion

Date: April 1st , 2020

Context for Learning (edTPA)

Where is the school where you are teaching located? City: _______ Suburb: ___x____ Town:_______ Rural: ______

Grade level: ___3rd_____ Number of students in the class: ___20_____

Students with IEPs/504 Plans


Complete the charts below to summarize required or needed supports, accommodations, or modifications for your students that will affect your
instruction in this learning segment.
IEPs/504 Plans: Number of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications, Pertinent
Classifications/Needs Students IEP Goals
Visual Impairment 1 Accommodations include handouts created with Tahoma
Bold font size 18, extended time on in class testing and
exams, directions read and clarified

Students with Specific Language Needs


Language Needs Number of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications
Students
Level 4 1 Accommodations include visuals with text, translator
dictionary, provide concept maps when appropriate, clarify
MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 57

vocabulary and language concepts in first language when


possible.

Students with Other Learning Needs


Other Learning Needs Numbers of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications
Students

Lesson ___3___ of a ___3___ Day Learning Segment

Subject and Lesson Topic: ELA – Literacy – Story Structure

Grade Level: 3rd Grade Lesson Duration: 30-40 mins.

Central Focus of the Learning Segment


The central focus is an understanding that you want your students to develop. It is a description of the important identifiable theme, essential
question, or topic within the curriculum that is the purpose of the instruction of the learning segment (Making Good Choices, 2016).

The central focus of this learning segment is to identify story structures using story elements and key details.

Knowing Your Learners


Using Prior Knowledge
What do you know about your students’ prior academic learning as it relates to the central focus? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 2a)
- I know that last year in Grade 2, my students covered the following standards - NY2R7: Demonstrate understanding of story elements
and or topics by applying information gained from illustrations or text features and Ontario Grade 2 Standard 1.4 – Demonstrating
MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 58

Understanding – of a text by retelling the story or restating information from the text, with the inclusion of a few interesting details and
1.7 – identify the main idea and some additional elements of texts.
- In our previous lesson we covered Thank You, Mr. Falker and as a class I prompted my students by asking them who the remember the
characters were, or settings, any problem and solutions that also occurred with Thank You, Mr. Falker.
How will you use this knowledge to inform your instruction? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 3a)

- In addition to what they have learned in Grade 2, we have also worked through identifying story structure in our previous lesson. Since
we worked through story structure as a class, the Students were provided with the Roller Coaster Graphic Organizer that they can use
as a reference. Students will also have access to the Anchor Chart that is posted in the classroom that defines: setting, characters,
problems, and solutions. All of these resources should be used by my students to help them with their upcoming group work for this
lesson.
- This will help my instruction because I will be able to see if my students understood the activity before they complete their individual
pieces of work. I will also make sure to go through each key vocabulary word that they should all be familiar with at this point, but I
want to make sure there is no confusion before they head into their individual assignments.

Using Student Assets


What do you know about your students’ personal, cultural, and/or community assets as they relate to the central focus? (edTPA Handbook,
Task 1, Prompt 2b)

 I know that the school area that I work in has students from families who are in a higher socioeconomic standing. I also know a lot of
my students have pets and sibling.
 Since I know a few of my students have siblings, and I do as well. I will remind them of the story that I shared in our previous lesson
about the time where my sister and I fought over playing a video game together. I will highlight to them again that to help us resolve our
problems we decided to share and take turns. I will show this in the story map I created previously.

How will you use this knowledge to inform your instruction? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 3a)
 Since I know some of my students have siblings. I can use this information to compare any conflicts that arise to their life with small
fights or arguments they get into with their siblings. This can also be tied to any of their favourite movies or TV shows.
 I will use this to inform my instruction by always being mindful of what is going on in their lives. I will also make sure to connect what
we are learning to their interests to keep them engaged in class. Students will likely run into problems at school and identifying them is a
good place to start. Highlighting a solution that they may have come up with on their own will help them to make these connections.
 An example I can highlight again for them would be the Disney movie Mulan (or any other Disney movie) I will highlight the conflict
that appeared within their family when Mulan wanted to serve in the military. Solution being she did what she wanted and in the end
MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 59

made her family proud.


 I know they will have to understand all the key terms so I will get them to define and use a graphic organizer for their reference, I will
also highlight in the future that we may have to write our own stories and order to have a good story we need to make sure our readers
can find all our characters, the setting, and any problems and solutions we have.

Curriculum Standards
New York State Standards: NY 3R7: Explain how specific illustrations or text features contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a text.
Ontario Grade 3 Standards: 1.4 Demonstrate understanding of a variety of texts by identifying important ideas and some supporting details.
1.7 – Identify specific elements of texts and explain how they contribute to the meaning of the texts

Objectives Assessment Modifications to Assessments


Using Bloom’s Taxonomy, include statements Using formal and/or informal assessment If applicable, explain how you will adapt
that identify what students will be able to do by tools, how will you evaluate and document assessments to allow students with specific
the end of the lesson and are aligned to the your students’ progress on each of the needs to demonstrate their learning.
standards identified above. objectives? (edTPA Task 1, Prompt 5b)
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to For this lesson I will get my students to For my Visually Impaired student and ELL
compile the characters, setting, problem and complete a formal assessment by asking them Level 4 student the following
solution into a graphic organizer by to fill out the graphic organizer provided with accommodations will be made throughout
themselves. a book they are selecting on their own from the lesson.
our class library. With this I am looking to see VI - Accommodations include handouts
whether they are able to identify the character, created with Tahoma Bold font size 18,
setting, problem and solution within the story. extended time on in class testing and exams,
I will also see if they are pulling evidence directions read and clarified
correctly. I am also hoping this organizer will Level 4 - Accommodations include visuals
help them to organize their thoughts. with text, translator dictionary, provide
concept maps when appropriate, clarify
vocabulary and language concepts in first
language when possible.
MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 60

Academic Language Demands Instructional Supports


(edTPA Task 1, Prompt 4c) Strategies teachers provide to help learners understand, use, and
practice the concepts (edTPA Task 1, Prompt 4d)
Function The language function the - I will support my students to use the language function by
Looking at your standards and students will use is to explain highlighting what it is to identify the key words and
objectives, choose the one Bloom’s their understanding of story elements of a story.
word that best describes the active structure by filling out the - I will explain the definitions and ask them to explain their
learning essential for students to elements of a story through their thinking and provide support as to why they think they are
develop understanding of concepts individual graphic organizers. right in the beginning of class.
within your lesson. - In addition, I will make sure I clearly explain examples of
each story element and using a thumb up or down to test if
they understand before they complete their graphic
organizers.
- I will keep both the anchor char and story map posted in the
class for them to reference.
Vocabulary The vocabulary words that my - I will support my students to understand and use the
Key words and phrases students need students will need to understand vocabulary by keeping the completed anchor chart up int
to be able to understand and use to use are, characters, setting, the class with the definitions of a story’s elements, and
problem, and solution. include examples for them to reference.
- These examples that will be displayed are from the story we
did in our previous lesson A Bad Case of Stripe by David
Shannon.
Syntax My students will use syntax by - I will provide my students with the Rollercoaster Graphic
Describe ways in which students will structuring their responses in a Organizer for their group work, which will help them to
organize language (symbols, words, graphic organizer through their visualize the ups and downs of the story.
phrases) to convey meaning. individual sheets. Students will - This structure provided will help them outline what has
support their findings with happened in a story and highlight key components.
evidence from the story.
Discourse Throughout the lesson my - I will support my students to use discourse by modeling
MSED ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT 61

How members of a discipline talk, students will be able to identify examples of how I identify the story’s characters, setting,
write, and participate in knowledge story elements by saying the and encourage my students to think of the problem and
construction and communicate their names of characters with solution that are outlined in the anchor chart posted in the
understanding of the concepts support, and highlighting class.
problems and solutions in the - I will show this in the beginning of the lesson when we
story with support as well. review what we have previously done and review the Story
Map that we filled out for A Bad Case of Stripe by David
They will be able to demonstrate Shannon.
discourse when they discuss story
elements using key vocabulary
such as characters, setting,
problem, and solutions and are
able to ask me questions using
these words.
Instructional Process Accommodations and/or Modifications
and/or Supports
Anticipatory Set/Motivator For my Visually Impaired student and ELL
- I will start our lesson by going over what we covered in our previous lesson, this includes Level 4 student the following
the graphic organizer that we completed for A Bad Case of Stripe by David Shannon, the accommodations will be made throughout
Rollercoaster Graphic organize we completed as a class for Thank you, Mr. Falker. the lesson.
- I will also remind the students that the group work that they completed is similar to what VI - Accommodations include handouts
they will be doing today but they will be completing this work individually. created with Tahoma Bold font size 18,
- For today’s lesson we will be using what we learned in our previous lesson about what extended time on in class testing and
makes a story a story, the elements of this story include characters, a setting, problem and exams, directions read and clarified
solution. Level 4 - Accommodations include
- “Can someone tell me who a character is in a story?” visuals with text, translator dictionary,
- I anticipate they will say the person or animal in a story – I will ask how they know that provide concept maps when appropriate,
they are the character, and I anticipate they will say that the story is about them. clarify vocabulary and language concepts
- “Can someone tell me what the setting of the story is?” in first language when possible.
- I anticipate they will say the setting is where the story took place – I will also remind them
Whole Class Support – I will check in on
that the setting also includes “when the story took place”
understanding of the content and to ensure
- “Can someone tell me how do you know there is a problem in the story?”
that the students are following a long with
- I anticipate that they will say that the problem in the story is when something has gone
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wrong. I will make sure to highlight that their own stories. I will also look for facial
- “Can someone tell me what the solution of this story is? How do you know it’s the expressions of confusion (if present) to see
solution?” if I need to explain anything as I am asking
- I anticipate they will say the solution was when the problem got solved, and I will questions.
emphasize that some of the characters may have helped solve this problem.
- I am using the above language, and prompts to encourage them to get in the mindset of I will also be walking around while they
thinking this way before they work on their graphic organizers. are reading and writing in their graphic
organizers to make sure they are okay. I
will also remind them

Instructional Procedures VI – All handouts will be in the above


- To prepare everyone for their individual work we will go over the elements of a story specified font, and support will be
structure all together and review the story elements anchor chart. provided, it is also recommended that the
- The Anchor Chart Shows the class below and I will repeat this and have them signal student remain in their seat at the front of
thumbs up and down for comprehension. the class
- “Our chart shows us that characters are? Yes that is correct, they are the people or animals
in the story.” Level 4 – Visuals with text will be
- “Okay, how about the setting? Yup that is where or when the story takes place, like in provided and a translation of the story
Thank You, Mr. Falker. Do you remember where the setting was? Yup that is correct, element words will also be provided along
Tisha was in different schools in Michigan and moved to California after.” with visuals that match with the story.
- “Awesome everyone you are all remembering really good key points, how do you guys
know that they are the characters and the setting? That is right you are using evidence from
the text.”
- “Lastly, we have two key parts of the story, what are they (STUDENT NAME)? That is
correct we have the problem and solution. What is the problem? Yup the problem is what
went wrong in the story, how do you know? Yes maybe a character was upset or couldn’t
complete something. These are all great. So what is the solution? Yup how the character
fixes the story, and how do we know that? Yup we know that the problem has been - In order to support my visual
solved.” learners I wanted to incorporate a
- I will remind the students that this Anchor chart will stay posted and they can look to it for drawing aspect for those that
help if they get stuck. wanted to.
- I will get one of my helpers to help me handout the worksheet to their friends, I will also
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remind my students to please put their names on the paper or they will not get marked.
- Once each person gets their worksheet they will be able to go to our class library and select
from our main 5 books, there are multiple copies for you to read.
- I will be walking around the room to ensure that my students are on the right track.
- I will also ask them for examples and support of why they pick things – if they need help
and guidance while they fill out the worksheet.
- I will check in on my students with visual impairments in the class to ensure they are able
to read everything and can participate.
- I will check for comprehension with my ELL learner by ensuring they understand the
story, depending on the story they pick I can have visual aids for them as well as, provide
any translation as needed. We can also look into including a dictionary for them to
translate words.

Questions I will ask my students if they are stuck:


- Why do you think that is the character?
- How do you know that is the problem?
- Could there be more than one problem?
- What are some solutions?
- Has anything like this happened to you before?
- Do you know of any examples of problems in the world that we could make connections
to?
- Where does this take place? What is the setting?
- Are there multiple locations for this setting?

Assessments: Formal Assessment Check in with my students who are


- For the assessment portion of this piece of work each student will receive a roller coaster on an IEP and have Language
worksheet that is to be completed. This will be collected for a formal assessment. needs, ensure they understood the
- Alright everyone, since I have walked around and checked in with each person I will give story and elements. Provide their
you a few more minutes to wrap up. own copy and translations where
- Does anyone have any questions? possible.
- I will check in to make sure I was able to help each student.
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- I will collect the individual work and assess to see whether or not each student was able to
identify the story structures from the books they read.

Closure

- Bringing back the students by saying, “Alright everyone we are going to get back together
as a class, please return to your seats.”
- So everyone lets go over what we covered today – Can anyone tell me what the main story
structure is made up of?
- Yes that is great, Characters. Next?
- Yup – Settings, and what is a setting?
- Next, We have?
- Problems, that is correct. And with problems what else do we have?
- Solutions, that is correct ! Well done everyone.

- How were we able to find these things? What did we need?


- Yes we needed proof or examples that is great.
- Now does anyone have any questions about what we did today?
- Great, for our next class we will be moving onto plot and theme of our stories.
List all materials and/or technology tools required for the lesson.
Key instructional materials must be attached. These materials might include such items as class handouts, assignments, slides, and interactive
white-board images.
- Anchor Chart with Key Words for Story Elements (Link and photo below)
- Roller Coaster Graphic Organizer (Photo and link attached)
- Story Map: A Bad Case of Stripes (Visual Aid in the Class)
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ANCHOR CHART
https://pin.it/eNLFiEd
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STORY MAP TO FILL THAT WAS FILLED OUT WITH CLASS


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https://pin.it/3cXeSMw
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ROLLERCOASTER WORKSHEEThttps://www.education.com/lesson-plan/story-structure-rollercoaster/

[Back to Table of Contents]


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Artifact #2: Math lesson plan.

Below you will find a math lesson plan that was created to explore fractions in a Grade 3

classroom. This lesson demonstrated my knowledge on math instruction, and showcases my

confidence and mastery developed in my ability to teach math concepts.

INTASC Standards

Standard #4: Content Knowledge

Standard #6: Assessment

Standard #7: Planning for Instruction

Standard #8: Instructional Strategies

DOE Claims

Claim 1: Subject Matter, Claim 2: Pedagogy, Claim 3: Caring Educators

CAEP Standards

Standard 1: Content and Pedagogical Knowledge

NYS Code of Ethics Standards for Educators

Principle 1: Nurture the intellectual, Principle 2: Create and Support, Principle 3: Commit to

their own learning

Ontario Teacher Ethical Standards

Care and Integrity

NYS P-12 Common Core Learning Standards


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Common Core / NYS: CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.D.8/ NY-3.MD.8 Geometric measurement: recognize

perimeter as an attribute of plane figures and distinguish between linear and area measures.

Ontario Curriculum Standards

Ontario – Grade 3: Measurement: estimate, measure, and record the perimeter of two-dimensional

shapes, through investigation using standard units.

ISTE Standards for Teachers and/or Students

For Teacher: Collaborator, Designer and Analyst

For Student: Empowered Learner

ILA International Literacy Association Professional Standards

Standard #1: Foundational Knowledge, Standard #2: Curriculum Instruction, Standard #3:

Assessment and Evaluation

CEC Standards

Standard #1: Challenging exceptions, Standard #2: High level of Professional competence,

Standard #3: Meaningful and Inclusion


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Medaille College Department of Education


Lesson Plan

Teacher Candidate’s Name: Victoria Brancalion Date: July 24, 2020

Context for Learning (edTPA)

Where is the school where you are teaching located? City: _______ Suburb: ___x____ Town:_______ Rural: ______

Grade level: ___3rd_____ Number of students in the class: __20______

Students with IEPs/504 Plans


Complete the charts below to summarize required or needed supports, accommodations, or modifications for your students that will affect
your instruction in this learning segment.
IEPs/504 Plans: Number of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications,
Classifications/Needs Students Pertinent IEP Goals
Visual Impairment 1 Accommodations include handouts created with Tahoma
Bold font size 18, extended time on in class testing and
exams, directions read and clarified
Students with Specific Language Needs
Language Needs Number of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications
Students
Level 4 1 Accommodations include visuals with text, translator
dictionary, provide concept map when appropriate, clarify
vocabulary and language concepts in first language when
possible.

Students with Other Learning Needs


Other Learning Needs Numbers of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications
Students
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Lesson ___1___ of a ___3___ Day Learning Segment

Subject and Lesson Topic: Math – Find the Perimeter: Real Life

Grade Level: 3rd Grade Lesson Duration: 40 minutes

Central Focus of the Learning Segment


The central focus is an understanding that you want your students to develop. It is a description of the important identifiable theme, essential question, or topic within
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the curriculum that is the purpose of the instruction of the learning segment (Making Good Choices, 2016).

The central focus of this learning segment is to find the perimeter of various shapes.

Knowing Your Learners


Using Prior Knowledge
What do you know about your students’ prior academic learning as it relates to the central focus? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 2a)
- I know the in Grade 2 for the CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.MDA1-4, students would have been measuring object with appropriate tools, also using two
measurements. They also should have covered length estimate using different inches, and how to measure how much longer one object is from another. These
can all be used to lead to calculating perimeter.
- In order to test whether or not this information was covered in Grade 2 I will perform a KWL asking what they know about measuring objects, ask if they know
different ways to measure objects, ask if there are ways to tell me the lengths of a unit. We can fill out the KWL Chart together. I will explain that we are going
through this to get to discovering the perimeter of objects in our daily life. I will ask what they want to know about it, how can they relate to what they have
done in the past. Once we have completed the lesson I will go in to add what we learned to the chart.

How will you use this knowledge to inform your instruction? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 3a)
- The above information will help inform my instruction by seeing whether or not we have a good baseline and understanding of measurement before we go on
to figuring out the perimeter.
- I will also provide them with the anchor chart attached below of “Perimeter is…can…look like…”

Using Student Assets


What do you know about your students’ personal, cultural, and/or community assets as they relate to the central focus? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 2b)
- I know that the school area that I work in has students from families who are in a higher socioeconomic standing. I also know that most people have a house,
with a backyard and fences. I can relate this to measuring the perimeter of a fence as well as this can be used in a later lesson looking at the area of that
backyard.
- I can also explain to them that there are many things we use perimeter for such as: building a swimming pool, putting lights up outside,

How will you use this knowledge to inform your instruction? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 3a)
- I will use this to inform my instruction by making connections to their home, asking them if they want to measure anything around. Ask if they are curious
about why they need to learn this?

Curriculum Standards
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Common Core / NYS: CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.D.8/ NY-3.MD.8 Geometric measurement: recognize perimeter as an attribute of plane
figures and distinguish between linear and area measures.
Ontario – Grade 3: Measurement: estimate, measure, and record the perimeter of two-dimensional shapes, through investigation using standard
units.

Objectives Assessment Modifications to Assessments


Using Bloom’s Taxonomy, include statements that Using formal and/or informal assessment tools, how If applicable, explain how you will adapt
identify what students will be able to do by the end of will you evaluate and document your students’ assessments to allow students with specific needs
the lesson and are aligned to the standards identified progress on each of the objectives? to demonstrate their learning.
above. (edTPA Task 1, Prompt 5b)
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to For the first part of my lesson I will conduct an For my Visually Impaired student and ELL Level
calculate the perimeter of various shapes. informal assessment by asking them to fill out a KWL 4 student the following accommodations will be
chart with me and their classmates. This KWL will be made throughout the lesson. 
used to see what they covered in grade 2 and if there is VI - Accommodations include handouts created
a basic understanding of measurement. We also will with Tahoma Bold font size 18, extended time
be completing the Geometry Basics: perimeter on in class testing and exams, directions read
worksheet as a class. In groups they will be completing and clarified 
the Let’s Go Around worksheet and will be correcting Level 4 -    Accommodations include visuals
as a class. with text, translator dictionary, provide concept
maps when appropriate, clarify vocabulary and
The “Presenting Perimeter” worksheet to be handed in language concepts in first language when
(either at the end of class or before our next lesson) for possible. Providing definitions of key terms:
a formal assessment and understanding of the lesson. perimeter, length, border.
While this is their first experience with perimeter I
hope this worksheet will also help me understand their I will pair up any of my struggling students with our
measurement understanding by whether or not they stronger students to help them with understanding
were able to correctly measure and write out the the process of measuring perimeter, and go through
perimeter. the terms and work together.

If time permits I can also have my students work in a


small group and guide them through a step-by-step
process of finding perimeter. I will ask them to
explain how they know their answer are correct to
test an informal assessment and whether or not they
understand the concept.
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Academic Language Demands Instructional Supports


(edTPA Task 1, Prompt 4c) Strategies teachers provide to help learners understand, use, and practice the
concepts (edTPA Task 1, Prompt 4d)
Function The language function the - I will support my students to use the language function by
Looking at your standards and objectives, students will use is to state the highlighting how we are able to find the perimeter, what the
choose the one Bloom’s word that best perimeter of various shapes. perimeter is and using the appropriate vocabulary throughout.
describes the active learning essential for - I will also support my students by showing them the perimeter
students to develop understanding of anchor chart (attached below) that they will be able to reference
concepts within your lesson.
while they are doing their group and individual work
- I will explain what the perimeter is to all of my students

Vocabulary The vocabulary words that my - I will support my students to understand and use the vocabulary by
Key words and phrases students need to be students will need to keeping the anchor chart posted in the class with the examples of
able to understand and use understand to use are, perimeter
perimeter, length, border, - I will also support my students by ensuring they understand the
shape. definition of length, border, and shape, especially for my ELL
student and VI student

Syntax My students will use syntax by - I will provide my students with the Geometry Basics: Perimeter that
Describe ways in which students will structuring their responses we will complete as a class as well as Let’s Go Around worksheet
organize language (symbols, words, through adding the sides to find and Presenting Perimeter worksheets. These worksheets have
phrases) to convey meaning. examples of how to calculate the perimeter. This is for students to
the perimeter.
be able to follow and reference.
- The structure of these answers stems will help students visualize
how to write out how to answer perimeter questions.

Discourse Throughout the lesson my - I will support my students to use discourse by modeling examples
How members of a discipline talk, write, students will be able to work of how I am calculating perimeter, talking about how we add up the
and participate in knowledge construction through different perimeters, sides, how they are borders and we calculate the length around and
and communicate their understanding of identified the perimeter.
the concepts
identifying the perimeter by
discussing the adding of sides of - I will show this in the beginning of the lesson when we review the
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shapes. anchor chart, I will ask questions on what they think the border is
They will communicate their called?
understanding by answering
the perimeter questions on
each worksheet.

Instructional Process Accommodations and/or


Modifications and/or Supports
Anticipatory Set/Motivator (10 minutes) For my Visually Impaired student and ELL Level
- Before we start our lesson on perimeter I want to get an understanding of where my students are at by 4 student the following accommodations will
figuring out if they covered the appropriate measurement items in Grade 2 be made throughout the lesson. 
- I will perform a KWL asking what they know about measuring objects, ask if they know different ways to VI -  Accommodations include handouts
measure objects, ask if there are ways to tell me the lengths of a unit. We can fill out the KWL Chart created with Tahoma Bold font size 18,
together. I will explain that we are going through this to get to discovering the perimeter of objects in our extended time on in class testing and exams,
daily life. I will ask what they want to know about it, how can they relate to what they have done in the directions read and clarified 
past. Once we have completed the lesson I will go in to add what we learned to the chart. Level 4 -     Accommodations include visuals
- Once we have completed the KWL I will ask my students if they know what the word perimeter means with text, translator dictionary, provide
- I will explain to them with the anchor chart that it is the measurement of the length of the border of a concept maps when appropriate, clarify
shape and go through what the perimeter is, how we can find it and what it looks like (see anchor chart vocabulary and language concepts in first
below) language when possible. 
- “Perimeter is a measurement of leant, and the length around a shape”  
- “Perimeter can measure a fence, and tell us how many feet of lights will fit on your house” Whole Class Support – I will check in on
- “Perimeter looks like show the rectangle with calculation” understanding of the content and to ensure
- I can get them to demonstrate this by getting up in class and staying around the room, I will explain that the students are following a long with the
that this border we have created in the class is the perimeter of our classroom math lesson. I will also look for facial
- For us to get the measurement of the perimeter of the classroom I will tell them that they will have to expressions of confusion (if present) to see if I
add up the lengths of the walls all together. need to explain anything as I am asking
- I will get my students to turn and talk to each other to see if they can explain the process of finding questions
perimeter to their elbow buddy
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Instructional Procedures/ Guided Practice (30 minutes) VI – All handouts will be in the above specified
 Once we have completed that activity, I will get them all to go back to their seats where we will get into font, and support will be provided, it is also
my modeling of how to find the perimeter of a few common shapes. recommended that the student remain in their
 I will draw a rectangle with 4 sides labeling each side, as well as a triangle with all their measurements. seat at the front of the class 
 I will ask my students what they think the perimeter is and give them a few minutes to work this out  
on their individual white boards. Level 4 – Visuals with text will be provided and
 I will check for understanding by getting them to tell me what perimeter is, how can we find it and get a translation of the elements of perimeter
a thumbs up or down for if we are good or need more information before we proceed.
 I will be completing the Let’s Go Around worksheet with the class, we will go through the definition of In order to support my visual learners I
perimeter again and figure out the perimeter by adding the length of all the sides. (Docu Cam) Asking wanted to incorporate a drawing aspect
students to help me with figuring out the perimeter for those that wanted to. They could
 Once this is complete, I will complete another informal assessment asking if the students understood outline and draw shapes as well and
what we covered (thumbs up or down) calculate for practice.
 They will all then be split up into groups to work on the Geometry Basics: Perimeter worksheet
together. I will outline that they have 5 questions with shapes and 2 short answer questions. I will also  For any enrichment activities I
remind them that they can draw out a sketch on the side if they need to help themselves visualize the will get my students to draw
word problem. polygons and use a ruler to
 If time is permitted, I will get my students to work on completing the Presenting Perimeter worksheet, measure the sides, and swap with
this will be taken for formal assessment. If time does not permit, they can take this home to work on their elbow buddies. They can
and submit for our next lesson. solve for the perimeter for their
respective shapes.

Closure
 Now that we have finished up the lesson, I will bring all my students back together.
 I will go over the KWL chart and ask what they have learned from our perimeter lesson and add that
into the column as well
 Ask students to help you plan for figuring out how much border you need to cover a bulletin board in the
classroom. Have them turn and talk to a partner and instruct them to write down three steps that you
should follow.
Have students share out their plans and collect student answers to create a list of three steps that you
could follow to find the perimeter of an area in the classroom.
 Remind students that finding the perimeter is an important mathematical skill in which you find the length
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of the sides of a shape.


 They also have their worksheets to submit for out next lesson

List all materials and/or technology tools required for the lesson.
Key instructional materials must be attached. These materials might include such items as class handouts, assignments, slides, and
interactive white-board images.
Anchor Chart - Perimeter
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Geometry Basics: Perimeter worksheet


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Let’s Go Around worksheet


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[Back to Table of Contents]


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Artifact #3: Pecha Kucha presentation.

For my class centered around teaching students in special education we were asked to

create a Pecha Kucha presentation centered around a specific learning disability. Below you will

find a movie file of the presentation that showcases an historical look and analysis of intellectual

disabilities. In addition to the general information provided about intellectual disabilities I have

also included parent and teacher resources as well as many books to be used in the classroom.

This is to further support inclusion and acceptance amongst our students.

INTASC Standards

Standard #1: Learner Development

Standard #2: Learning Differences

DOE Claims

Claim 1: Subject Matter, Claim 2: Pedagogy, Claim 3: Caring Educators

CAEP Standards

Standard 1: Content and Pedagogical Knowledge

NYS Code of Ethics Standards for Educators

Principle 3: Commit to their own learning

Ontario Teacher Ethical Standards

Respect and Integrity

NYS P-12 Common Core Learning Standards

N/A

Ontario Curriculum Standards

N/A

ISTE Standards for Teachers and/or Students

For Teacher: Learner


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ILA International Literacy Association Professional Standards

Standard #1: Foundational Knowledge, Standard #2: Curriculum Instruction

CEC Standards

Standard #1: Challenging exceptions, Standard #2: High level of Professional competence,

Standard #3: Meaningful and Inclusion


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ESP 600 Pecha Kucha - Transcript   


Slide 1 - Intellectual disability which is also known as general learning disability and mental

retardation, although the last term is rarely used, is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder

characterized by significantly impaired intellectual and adaptive functioning (which is our ability

to get along in our environment with the least amount of conflict and completing

our everyday skills or tasks)  

Slide 2 - General Characteristics of Intellectual Disability becomes evident during early

childhood and involves a deficits in a child’s mental abilities, social skills, and their ability to

complete activities of daily living when those with Intellectual disabilities are compared to peers

of the same age these are some indications to look at.  

Slide 3- There are many early signs that can identify whether or not your child has an intellectual

disability. These appear in a variety of ways and range in their severity. Some of the early signs

include: delays in reaching or failure to achieve motor skill milestones (sitting, crawling,

walking), slowness learning to talk, difficulty with self-help (this includes getting dressed or

feeding) 

Slide 4 - Other indications of an Intellectual Disability include poor problem solving abilities,

which as teachers we may witness. It also include behavioural and social problems, a failure to

grow intellectually and at this point they may maintain a child like behaviour. There may be

problems in their ability to keep up in school, may be unable to adapt to changes and follow

social rules.  

Slide 5 - History of ID - Intellectual disabilities have been documented through many names

during our history, a lot of which are now seen as offensive and do not get used as often
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(Thankfully). It is an unfortunate fact that throughout history humans that may have had an

intellectual disability were often seen as a burdens to their families and barely human beings.

Unfortunately through time the treatment of those with an intellectual disability was not kind,

and this was clearly evident in the Willow brook documentary we watched in the beginning of

the term.  

Slide 6 - Diagnosis - In order for one of our students to be diagnosed with an intellectual

disability, a child must have both a significantly low IQ and a considerable amount of problems

in everyday tasks in order to be diagnosed. IQ tests are usually performed on children around the

ages of 4 to 6. In order to determine whether or not a child is able to complete daily tasks they

are compared to peers of the same age.  

Slide 7 - Diagnosis continued. When children with an ID are compared to their peers we are

looking at whether or not they have the ability to take care of their personal care, whether

they are able to have conversations, how strong their school skills are, and whether or not they

feel safe. Children with an ID are often asking for help with these daily tasks. 

Slide 8 - Learning Characteristics - Students labeled as mildly intellectually disabled demonstrate

delays in cognitive, social, and adaptive behavior skills as previously mentioned, especially

within typical classroom settings. Often when they are in different settings, these same

individuals function quite capably both socially and vocationally. 

Slide 9- Learning characteristics relevant to teachers and the Impact - With the appropriate

supports in place, students with intellectual disabilities can achieve a high quality of life in many

different aspects. Curriculum and instruction must be carefully modified to help these students

reach their potential in both academics and other functional areas such as independent living.

While these students will have limitations in many adaptive behaviors, these limitations will co-
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exist alongside strengths in other areas within the individual. Independence and self-reliance

should always be primary goals of all instructional strategies employed with students with

intellectual disabilities. 

Slide 10 - Teaching Strategies - Useful strategies for teaching students with intellectual

disabilities include, but are not limited to, the following techniques: 

▪Teach one concept or activity component at a time 

▪Teach one step at a time to help support memorization and sequencing 

▪Teach students in small groups, or one-on-one, if possible 

▪Always provide multiple opportunities to practice skills in a number of different settings 

▪Use physical and verbal prompting to guide correct responses, and provide specific verbal

praise to reinforce these responses 

Slide 11 - Assistive Technologies - As we previously discussed in our past week assistive

technologies can be a key component for helping our students with additional assistance. There

are a number of existing software packages designed to support students with intellectual

disabilities in the classroom. One promising approach in literacy software utilizes universal

design for learning principles. This approach combines reading for meaning with direct

instruction for decoding and understanding. The resulting software consists of an audio and

video based curriculum that can be adjusted by the teacher to meet the specific academic

capacities of the student. 

Slide 12- Behavioural characteristics - As previously discussed people with an intellectual

disability have limited intellectual functioning. These limitations often create some commonly

observed difficulties. One such problem is impulse control. You may recall that people with ID
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have trouble connecting cause and effect. This in turn causes problems with impulse control And

decision making. 

Slide 13 - Behavioural Characteristics continued - A related problem is poor frustration

tolerance. When an impulse is inhibited, it requires the ability to tolerate a bit of frustration. This

ability is called frustration tolerance and is an important developmental skill. It allows people to

comfortably endure the small frustrations of everyday life and they are able to problem solve.

However, limited intellectual functioning makes it difficult. 

Slide 14 - How are these behaviours relevant to teachers - These behaviours are relevant to

teachers because we need to be aware of our students with an intellectual disability as they will

be more likely to act on impulse and get frustrated in different scenarios. Another impact is on

their students self-esteem. We need to try to help all of our students increase their confidence and

sense of self, we need to ease any change that occurs in our classroom and reduce any stressors.  

Slide 15- Educational Approach Suggestions for Teachers - One of the strategies that I found

online was to break down learning tasks into small steps. As this avoids overwhelming the

student. The second strategy I found is to modify the teaching approach. Lengthy verbal

directions and abstract lectures are ineffective. Most people are kinesthetic learners.  And they

learn best by performing a task "hands-on.” 

Slide 16 - Educational Approach Suggestions Continued - Strategy 3 includes having a learning

environment where visual aids are used. This might include charts, pictures, and graphs. Which

are useful for helping students to understand what behaviors are expected of them in the class. A

fourth teaching strategy is to provide direct and immediate feedback. This enables them to make

a connection between their behavior and the teacher's response. A delay in providing feedback
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makes it difficult to form connection between cause and effect. As a result, the learning point

may be missed. 

Slide 17 -  Student Support in the Classroom - How to support & the effects  

When we have students who have an intellectual disability it is important to remember that we

are supposed to be there to provide a safe, comfortable environment. This applies to all of our

students. We can do this in our classroom by demonstrating patience, encouraging our students

to be independent, assign chores, give them positive feedback and make sure to include them in

activities with the whole class.   

Slide 18 - Introduce ID to your class include Picture book to open the discussion with your

students - There are so many ways we can include an introduction to intellectual disabilities in

the classroom and when I found an overwhelming number of children books online I was so

happy to see the amount of inclusion.  This introduction should focus on being kind, and

including everyone no matter what. Some examples of books you can include in your class are

listed in this slide.  

Slide 19 - Support for Teachers  

Two great websites that I found for supporting teachers who work with students who have an

intellectual disability include Do2Learn which outlines many academic strategies to implement

in your classroom as well as behaviour management. Another website I found was connected

with the Ontario Teachers’ Federations and had a huge list of resources and strategies in working

with specific areas of student needs.  

Slide 20 -Website Suggestions for Parents  

Websites that I found online that were supportive of parents are the ones listed in the slide.

Center for Parent Information & Resources is a great tool and connectors families with students
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who have an intellectual disability and it went through their stories and family supports that are

available when working with your child and their education needs. 

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Artifact #4: IEP analysis.
Below you will find an IEP analysis that was done in our course for our special education

class given a IEP to assess. The purpose of this assignment was to have more practice and

comfort when dealing with IEPs in the class and how to properly make accommodations or

recommendations where needed. With this assignment we were also able to reflect on how we

are able to work with our students no matter the support that we need to provide.

INTASC Standards

Standard #1: Learner Development

Standard #2: Learning Differences

Standard #3: Learning Environments

DOE Claims

Claim 1: Subject Matter, Claim 2: Pedagogy, Claim 3: Caring Educators

CAEP Standards
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Standard 1: Content and Pedagogical Knowledge

NYS Code of Ethics Standards for Educators

Principle 1: Educators nurture the intellectual, Principle 4: Educators collaborate

Ontario Teacher Ethical Standards

Care and Respect

NYS P-12 Common Core Learning Standards

N/A

Ontario Curriculum Standards

N/A

ISTE Standards for Teachers and/or Students

For Teacher: Collaborator and Analyst

ILA International Literacy Association Professional Standards

N/A

CEC Standards

Standard #6: Using evidence and Research, Standard #7: Protecting and Supporting, Standard
#8: No harm to individuals with exceptionalities
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IEP Analysis Draft 

Victoria Brancalion 

Medaille College 

 
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Author Note 

This paper was prepared on April 20th, 2020 for ESP 600 Foundations of SPED, taught

by Professor Maureen England.  

Student Introduction

During ESP 600 I have had the pleasure to analyze and apply a lot of what I learned

because of Cai Davis’ Individualized Education Program (IEP). With that being said I will

provide a very brief introduction to Cai and where he is currently situated for his IEP. Cai is a

health 8 year old boy, who is enrolled in a typical third grade classroom in New York state. He

currently has a disability classification of a learning disability and has been evaluated through

classroom observation. Below we will further investigate his strengths, challenges and how his

modifications have affected his educational needs. We will also be making any further

recommendations for his IEP and to achieve his goals.

Cai’s Strengths
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Cai has many strengths through reading and math. He currently enjoys reading and

discussing stories in a classroom setting, and was able to orally recite key aspects of a story with

95% accuracy. He continues to comprehend reading material at the appropriate grade level. He

has also shown his proficiency in math and has a current average of 92% for homework

assignments and a 90% average on math tests and quizzes.

Cai’s Challenges

For Cai many of his challenges lie within writing, he has currently scored below level on

three separate tests that were conducted for the CORE Assessment measures. He also showcases

a delay in spelling and has serious delays in phonemic, orthographic and morphological

awareness.

Cai’s Academic Aspects

Overall, Cai is an energetic student who maintains appropriate behaviour among his

teachers and peers. In light of Cai experiencing some difficulties in class he does not allow this

to affect his attitude and is positive through the school day and puts forth great effort and trying

his best to learn. He has received countless positive feedback from many of his teachers who

work with him. He has a very positive energy and maintains appropriate behaviour with his peers

and teachers. When it comes to writing, Cai needs to have a stronger grasp on spelling towards

his grade level on his assignments and quizzes that are administered in class. For Math there is

no concern here as he is quite strong in this subject. The only concern in terms of reading is his

ability to answer questions in written form, other than that he is reading at grade level.

Cai’s Social Aspects

When it comes to Cai’s social aspects, as previously mentioned he has a great, positive

attitude and puts forth a lot of effort to try his best in all of his activities. Overall he is developing
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well with appropriate social and emotional skills. Cai works well in small and large groups and is

a team player who is always willing to help any students who are struggling. He is able to

partake in a typical classroom and gets support when things are related to reading and writing

school assignments.

Cai’s Physical Aspects

From a physical development perspective Cai is in good health and has met appropriate

physical expectations for his age. He demonstrates his physical capabilities by partaking in

school soccer team.

Cai’s Classroom Programs/Modifications/Accommodations

When it comes to Cai, the modification, accommodations and programs that are put in place

align with his needs although I feel that there are other changes or additional resources that could

be added. Cai currently has someone checking with him for understanding and highlighting word

that are misspelled. In terms of material resources he also works with an electronic speller when

needed, specifically for his writing assignments. Cai still remains in his regular classroom which

allows for the least restrictive environment and can remain with his peers. With Cai he has

integrated co-teaching services 5 times a week in addition to checking for understanding and

highlighting any misspelled errors. I think these recommendations will help set up Cai for

success but would also recommend that he may also use the following:

- A dictation software so he is able to see the spelling of words he knows or at least knows

how to say, and may have difficulty spelling.

- I would also give him access to a keyboard to encourage him to type out his words or a

pencil group if he shows signs of struggling with holding a pencil.


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- I also think encouraging him to use a reading app to increase his confidence may also

work in his favour in the long room.

I am hoping that these recommendations would better his learning experience and help him

improve in the future. I think that the tools that are currently in place align with his goals but I

find that any other additional recommendations that could be made would be great.

Describe whether or not Cai’s Goals align with his needs

For reading, Cai’s goals are to correctly decode 10 words that are presented to him, from

reading narratives or a specific text he is familiar with. In addition to that he has writing goals

that are as follows, he will be able to spell 10 words from his reading or specific subjects to be

able to spell correctly upon request, and spell them correctly in writing assignments. In addition

to these two spelling goals, he will also use the writing processes of revising and editing to

evaluate and quantify the revision and editing process. I think that these are great goals to have

for Cai as it will increase his confidence in writing and will allow him to be more aware of any

errors that he may make while writing. My recommendations for Cai would be to also provide

writing prompts for him to practice writing with. I would include his electronic speller if needed

for him to get comfortable with writing. I think it is important for us as Cai’s team to keep up

with his goals to constantly evolve as needed. “There is interconnectedness to the elements

described of the goal development process for standards-based IEPs.” (Caruana, V., 2015, p.242)

It is important to remember that this IEP is a tool to be used on, “how special education services

assist students with disabilities to reach high educational standards” (Caruana, V., 2015, p. 243).

Reflection

It is important to remember that this IEP is a tool to be used on, “how special education

services assist students with disabilities to reach high educational standards” (Caruana, V., 2015,
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p. 243). Which I think often times some people who are not aware may forget this and think that

this is an advantage above other students. I think often times we may see these advantages over

others but in actuality we are trying to level the playing field.

IEPs should have a collaborative aspect when used properly as there is usually an entire team

behind one student’s IEP. Ultimately when we are working with an IEP we incorporate a lot of

theorists and their methods in fine tuning and embracing any changes that occur for that student.

With B.F. Skinner, we look at behaviourism and how the positive reinforcement can often times

strengthen behaviours and the likelihood of them occurring again. When we are looking at how

to incorporate an IEP for our students it is important to remember to engage this positive

reinforcement as it will likely have a positive effect. If we reward positive behaviour for tasks

and goals that are met our students will likely try to continue to perform well in order to have

this positive reinforcement again. Another theorist to look at would be Piaget and his

connections to constructivism. It is important to note that often times students will learn by

doing, rather than by being told to do something, this is the general idea behind constructivism.

This works when we are working with any of our students and even those of our students that are

on IEPs. I think that when we look at this theory it allows us to connect to our students and their

interests in order to promote something that they may be more engaged with working with their

work. This theory also requires collaboration and a lot of work to find a balance on getting to

where your students with IEPs will be able to engage with this effective teaching style. We can

do this by understanding our students idea of the world and how they work within it. If we are

able to adapt to how our students learn or at least try and work with them we may be able to help

in the long run.


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Artifact #5: Child Abuse/ SAVE seminar.

Below you will find the certificates of completing our Child Abuse and SAVE seminars.

Being required to partake in topics that are often seen as uncomfortable and unimaginable was

shocking at first, but in reality this is a part of our role as educators. We will be the safe haven

for many of our students, and will also be providing them with support or assistance as needed.

These certificates signify the professional development that we have completed and should look

towards completing as much as possible to gain the most information from any of these topics.

INTASC Standards

Standard #9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practices


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Standard #10: Leadership and Collaboration

DOE Claims

Claim 1: Subject Matter, Claim 2: Pedagogy, Claim 3: Caring Educators

CAEP Standards

Standard 1: Content and Pedagogical Knowledge

NYS Code of Ethics Standards for Educators

Principle 4: Educators collaborate, Principle 5: Collaborate with parents and community

Ontario Teacher Ethical Standards

Respect and Integrity

NYS P-12 Common Core Learning Standards

N/A

Ontario Curriculum Standards

N/A

ISTE Standards for Teachers and/or Students

For Teacher: Citizen,

ILA International Literacy Association Professional Standards

N/A
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CEC Standards

Standard #6: Using evidence and Research, Standard #7: Protecting and Supporting, Standard

#8: No harm to individuals with exceptionalities


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Artifact #6: Cyber safety presentation.

Below you will find a Prezi presentation that was completed for our Technology for

Elementary education classrooms, this presentation was prepared to educate our students on the

importance of cyber safety and the vulnerabilities that our students may face online. You will

also find great resources for parents and teachers to use to bring awareness to a very popular and

vulnerable topic for our students.

INTASC Standards

Standard #4: Content Knowledge

DOE Claims

Claim 1: Subject Matter, Claim 2: Pedagogy, Claim 3: Caring educators

CAEP Standards

Standard 1: Content and Pedagogical Knowledge

Ontario Teacher Ethical Standards

Care and Integrity

NYS Code of Ethics Standards for Educators

Principle 2: Create & Support, Principle 5: Collaborate with parents and community

NYS P-12 Common Core Learning Standards

N/A

Ontario Curriculum Standards

N/A

ISTE Standards for Teachers and/or Students

For Teacher: Designer and Facilitator


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For Student: Digital Citizen

ILA International Literacy Association Professional Standards

Standard #1: Foundational Knowledge

CEC Standards

N/A
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https://youtu.be/HxySrSbSY7o
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9Htg8V3eik
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Artifact #7: Weebly website.


Below you will find information tied to my Weebly account that showcases my

technology skills that I am able to use in the classroom and to work under an online environment.

I hoped to create this page with resources that I have curated over my time at Medaille and my

love for technology.

INTASC Standards

Standard #3: Learning Environments

Standard #10: Leadership and Collaboration

DOE Claims

Claim 1: Subject Matter, Claim 2: Pedagogy, Claim 3: Caring Educators

CAEP Standards

Standard 1: Content and Pedagogical Knowledge

NYS Code of Ethics Standards for Educators

Principle 2: Create & Support, Principle 5: Collaborate with parents and community

Ontario Teacher Ethical Standards

Care and Integrity

NYS P-12 Common Core Learning Standards

N/A

Ontario Curriculum Standards

N/A

ISTE Standards for Teachers and/or Students

For Teacher: Learner, Citizen, Designer and Facilitator

For Student: Empowered Learner, Digital Citizen, Global Collaborator

ILA International Literacy Association Professional Standards


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Standard #1: Foundational Knowledge, Standard #2: Curriculum Instruction, Standard #3:

Assessment and Evaluation

CEC Standards

N/A
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Weebly website URL: https://victoriabmedaille.weebly.com

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Artifact #8: Google Classroom assignment.


Below you will find information tied to my Google Classroom that showcases my

technology skills that I am able to use in the classroom and to work well in an online

environment. I hope this showcases my comfort in moving to an online teaching environment.

INTASC Standards

Standard #3: Learning Environments

Standard #10: Leadership and Collaboration

DOE Claims

Claim 1: Subject Matter, Claim 2: Pedagogy, Claim 3: Caring Educators

CAEP Standards

Standard 1: Content and Pedagogical Knowledge

NYS Code of Ethics Standards for Educators

Principle 1: Nurture potential of each student, Principle 2: Create & Support, Principle 5:
Collaborate with parents and community

Ontario Teacher Ethical Standards

Care and Integrity

NYS P-12 Common Core Learning Standards

N/A

Ontario Curriculum Standards

N/A

ISTE Standards for Teachers and/or Students

For Teacher: Learner, Citizen, Designer and Facilitator

For Student: Empowered Learner, Digital Citizen, Global Collaborator

ILA International Literacy Association Professional Standards

Standard #1: Foundational Knowledge, Standard #2: Curriculum Instruction, Standard #3:

Assessment and Evaluation


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CEC Standards

N/A
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Google Classroom: classroom.google.com, Code: xgh2us2

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Conclusion

Overall, I found this to be a great exercise to complete for our portfolio, not only can we

see the work and dedication put through while we are getting our Masters in Elementary

education, but we see our progress. Not only has this been a great learning experience in terms of

getting a better understanding of the standards, but we are also able to collaborate and improve

where we may have had difficulties in the past. I think having a variety of our work including

lessons, research, presentations and technology components are key. I look forward to what is to

come through the rest of this portfolio but was thankful at looking back on all that I have

accomplished.

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Section Four: Alignment to Curriculum & Professional Standards

Introduction

Throughout my portfolio so far you are able to see how the experiences I have had,

through both my professional, and educational career have led me to this point today. You have

further seen this through my passion and effort I have put forth through each of my artifacts in

the previous section. With these artifacts we are relating them to educational standards that we

are all supposed to be able to work with and implement throughout our practice. It is important

for us to work with these standards and curriculums as they are key components to how we teach

and how we are supposed to work with our students as educators.

Below you will see a chart that includes all of my artifacts that are mentioned above as

well as the standards, both professional and curriculum that can apply. While there is no clear

explanation of why I chose these standards, given the opportunity to explain myself I can clearly

identify my rational.
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INTASC NYS Code NYS DOE ISTE ILA CEC Ontario Ontario
Artifact Standards of Ethics P-12 Claims & Standards Internationa Standards Curriculum Teacher
Title Standards Common CAEP for l Literacy Standards Ethical
for Core Standards Teachers Association Standards
Educators Learning and/or Professional
Standards Students Standards
Artifact #1: Standard Principle 1: NY 3R7: Claim 1: Teacher: Standard #1: Standard Ontario Care and
#4: Content Nurture the Explain how Subject Foundational #1: Grade 3 Integrity
ELA Knowledge Intellectual specific matter Collaborat Knowledge Challengin Standards:
Learning illustrations or or, g 1.4
Segment Standard Principle 2: text features Claim 2: Designer Standard #2: exceptions Demonstrate
(Grade 3) #6: Create and contribute to Pedagogy and High level of understandin
Assessment Support what is Analyst Professional Standard g of a variety
conveyed by Claim 3: Competence #2: of texts by
Standard Principle 3: the words in a Caring Student: Curriculu identifying
#7: Commit to text. Educators Standard #3: m important
Planning their own Empowere Assessment Instruction idea s and
for learning CAEP d Learner and some
Instruction Standard Evaluation Standard supporting
#1: #3: details.
Standard Content Meaningfu 1.7 – Identify
#8: Knowledge l and specific
Instruction Inclusion elements of
al texts and
Strategies explain how
they
contribute to
the meaning
of the texts

Artifact #2: Standard Principle 1: Common Claim 1: Teacher: Standard #1: Standard Ontario – Care and
#4: Content Nurture the Core / NYS: Subject Foundational #1: Grade 3: Integrity
Math Lesson Knowledge Intellectual CCSS.MATH matter Collaborat Knowledge Challengin Measurement
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(Grade 3) .CONTENT.3 or, g : estimate,


Standard Principle 2: .MD.D.8/ Claim 2: Designer Standard #2: exceptions measure, and
#6: Create and NY-3.MD.8 Pedagogy and High level of record the
Assessment Support Geometric Analyst Professional Standard perimeter of
measurement: Claim 3: Competence #2: two-
Standard Principle 3: recognize Caring Student: Curriculu dimensional
#7: Commit to perimeter as Educators Standard #3: m shapes,
Planning their own an attribute of Empowere Assessment Instruction through
for learning plane figures CAEP d Learner and investigation
Instruction and Standard Evaluation Standard using
distinguish #1: #3: standard
Standard between Content Meaningfu units.
#8: linear and Knowledge l and
Instruction area Inclusion
al measures.
Strategies
Artifact #3: Standard Principle 3: N/A Claim 1: Teacher: Standard #1: Standard N/A Respect and
#1: Commit to Subject Foundational #1: Integrity
Pecha Kucha Learner their own matter Learner Knowledge Challengin
Presentation Developme learning g
nt Claim 2: Standard #2: exceptions
Pedagogy High level of
Standard Professional Standard
#2: Claim 3: Competence #2:
Learning Caring Curriculu
Differences Educators m
Instruction
CAEP
Standard Standard
#1: #3:
Content Meaningfu
Knowledge l and
Inclusion
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Artifact #4: Standard Principle 1: N/A Claim 1: Teacher: N/A Standard N/A Care and
#1: Nurture the Subject #6: Respect
IEP Analysis Learner Intellectual matter Collaborat Using
Developme or and evidence
nt Principle 2: Claim 2: Analyst and
Create and Pedagogy Research
Standard Support
#2: Claim 3: Standard
Learning Principle 3: Caring #7:
Differences Commit to Educators Protecting
their own and
Standard learning CAEP Supporting
#3: Standard
Learning #1: Standard
Environme Content #8:
nts Knowledge No harm
to
individuals
with
exceptiona
lities

Artifact #5: Standard Principle 4: N/A Claim 1: Teacher: N/A Standard N/A Respect and
#9: Educators Subject #6: Integrity
Child Abuse/ Professiona Collaborate matter Citizen Using
SAVE l Learning evidence
Seminar and Ethical Principle 5: Claim 2: and
Practices Collaborativ Pedagogy Research
e with
Standard Parents and Claim 3: Standard
#10: community Caring #7:
Leadership Educators Protecting
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and and
Collaborati CAEP Supporting
on Standard
#1: Standard
Content #8:
Knowledge No harm
to
individuals
with
exceptiona
lities

Artifact #6: Standard Principle 2: N/A Claim 1: Teacher: N/A N/A N/A Care and
#4: Content Create and Subject Integrity
Cybersafety Knowledge Support matter Designer
Presentation and
Principle 5: Claim 2: Facilitator
Collaborativ Pedagogy
e with Student:
parents and Claim 3:
community Caring Digital
Educators Citizen

CAEP
Standard
#1:
Content
Knowledge

Artifact #7: Standard Principle 2: N/A Claim 1: Teacher: Standard #1: N/A N/A Care and
#3: Create and Subject Foundational Integrity
Weebly Learning Support matter Learner, Knowledge
Website Environme Citizen,
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nts Principle 5: Claim 2: Designer Standard #2:


Collaborate Pedagogy and High level of
Standard with Parents Facilitator Professional
#10: and Claim 3: Competence
Leadership community Caring
and Educators Standard #3:
Collaborati Student: Assessment
on CAEP and
Standard Empowere Evaluation
#1: d Learner,
Content Digital
Knowledge Citizen,
Global
Collaborat
or

Artifact #8: Standard Principle 1: N/A Claim 1: Teacher: Standard #1: N/A N/A Care and
#3: Nurture Subject Foundational Integrity
Google Learning potential of matter Learner, Knowledge
Classroom Environme each student Citizen,
nts Claim 2: Designer Standard #2:
Principle 2: Pedagogy and High level of
Standard Create and Facilitator Professional
#10: Support Claim 3: Competence
Leadership Caring
and Principle 5: Educators Standard #3:
Collaborati Collaborate Student: Assessment
on with Parents CAEP and
and Standard Empowere Evaluation
community #1: d Learner,
Content Digital
Knowledge Citizen,
Global
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Collaborat
or
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Conclusion

As you can see from the above all of my artifacts are clearly tied to multiple curriculum

and educational standards. This was an important exercise as it gave a lot of us the opportunity to

truly understand and work with these standards. Before this part of our portfolio we were only

vaguely introduced to these standards. I felt it was important for us to be reminded of what we

are to include in our classroom and throughout our lessons. Often times we are used to the

curriculum standards throughout our lessons, but we in turn uphold a lot of our New York State

Code of Ethics as well as the Ontario Code of Ethics in our classrooms without realizing it.

[Back to Table of Contents]


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Section Five: Teacher Candidate Reflection Guidelines

Introduction

While we have had the opportunity to reflect on a lot of our work and experiences at

Medaille, and through our Master of Science in Elementary Education, there has been a lot of

growth in under a year. Throughout this section you will see the connections to my experiences

and this project that will prepare me to become a teacher. You will also see the connections that

can be made to our TEAC and CAEP Standards and how that they will work within my portfolio,

and further into my teaching career. In addition, to reflecting on my portfolio project and

different learning experiences I will express my thoughts on how ready I feel to become a

professional schoolteacher. I will strive to highlight my strengths, weaknesses and areas of

improvement that I have seen and can continue to work on.

It has been my goal throughout this project to be better prepared to go into the teaching

profession, and I am finding that the smaller reflections we have completed throughout will help.

These reflections have allowed me to truly understand why we do what we do and how they

relate to teachers and the standards that we work with. Ultimately this experience has been a

learning curve that I was not anticipating in the beginning of our program, but eventually I have

learned a lot and enjoyed what has come from this.

Portfolio Project/Teacher Education Learning Experiences

Before I delve into topics that I have tied together for this portfolio, I would like to

further reflect on my experiences at Medaille through the course work. Looking back at the

growth I have experienced is shocking, I always knew I wanted to be a teacher, my love for

helping others, empowering students, and constantly learning is what drove me. I imagine like

many of my colleagues we held a lot of self-doubt in our ability to teach and have our own
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classrooms. Now that I am near the end of my journey at Medaille my views have changed and

for the better. Not only have we changed for the better, but we continue to uphold the DOE

CAEP Claims that tie to us as Medaille graduates. We ensure that we know the subject matter,

we make sure that we are able to meet the needs of diverse learners, and that we are caring

educators as a whole.

One of the first courses that I would like to reflect on would be the EDU 500 The Core of

Education, this was a deep dive look into how and why we teach. This was also a sharp learning

curve in figuring out how to create a lesson, shockingly enough they were not preplanned as a lot

of my friends had previously though. I know shockingly you do not show up to a classroom

where everything is done for you, we have to work with our students, curriculum and how to

teach. In preparing through this course we started to gain the knowledge to teach in a classroom,

which closely ties to Standard 1 of the CAEP Standards where, we as “candidates develop a deep

understanding of the critical concepts and principles of their discipline and, by completion, are

able to use discipline-specific practices flexibly to advance the learning of all students toward

attainment of college- and career-readiness standards” (CAEP, n.d.). For the Core of Education, I

have found that this class was most helpful in truly understanding the fundamentals of what we

are to do as educators. I believe that as educators we should all take this course to provide us

with the tools and confidence, we need in order to thrive in our classrooms. Through EDU 500

the most helpful tools to me would have been our class content, the textbook we have and the

modules that we were to complete. I believe that we all have different strengths and weaknesses

to harness when we are learning, this can be applied in our classrooms we hope to be in one day

to what we are learning here at Medaille. When we were in class and partaking in discussions

and collaborating when we do the gallery walks of different scenarios, I found these to be most
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helpful. Since we collaborated as a class, I felt that we were all bring something different to the

table and each future teacher is different and unique in their own ways. We as a class are very

supportive of one another and are there to help everyone, the unity that we have as a class has

been so helpful for me especially since I am not currently in the educational field. Our unity has

continued to this day and has helped through our transition to an online platform, not only

through class but outside for further support.

I enjoyed The Core of Education; I think the content and collaboration that it fostered in

the classroom has made for a good learning experience. All of the ways we were able to tie this

information to our classrooms or any prior experience has been very useful. I have been able to

build upon this and tie it to the classes I have completed at Medaille through the later terms as

well. Finally, I would like to highlight the advances I have made through the lesson planning in

term 1, which is vastly different to my experience and content now. Since I had no prior

experience with the classroom nor planning on teaching this was probably the most challenging

of my assignments to do in first term. Through guidance and constructive feedback, I had a better

handle on planning to the best of my ability so far, and can only improve at this point. Since I

was unsure of how to lead a class with the NY state formatted lesson plan, once I completed my

lesson plan demonstration, I was able to see how all the items tied together. I saw how you

would lead with your anticipatory set and go through the steps of the lesson plan nicely. I think

truly understanding each item and having them explained to me helped me put into perspective

of what to do in the classroom. 

Of all of the courses that I have taken at Medaille, I believe the one that has most

prepared me up until this point would have to be the EDU 503. This course which further delved

into Methods of Teaching of the Arts also very much prepared us for our edTPA. Not only did
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we get a clear review of what is expected of us through each section of the edTPA but we also

were able to go over a lot of aspects of our lesson writing to have us tie connections to our

edTPA. Since we did such a thorough explanation of why we write plans, how it related to the

edTPA and teaching in general I feel that I am the most prepared I can be. We were all given the

confidence and advice to better our lessons and in turn better prepare us for the classroom. Not

only were we concentrating on our plans we also were given many ways to teach difficult topics

in the arts such as history, economics, and civics. I think being in this course prepared us to

critically think on subjects that we aren’t typically comfortable working with. Further typing to

our CAEP Standard 1 we, “are able to use discipline-specific practices flexibility to advance the

learning of all students towards… career readiness standards” (CAEP, n.d.). As always, we were

told to prepare for the unexpected, and to expect your plans to go a different direction. I think

that not only have we witnessed this with our courses changing any given moment but

completing our master during a pandemic was definitely something that I believe none of us

were prepared for. Ultimately everything happens for a reason and we can see these

opportunities to learn with everything we have.

Below I will highlight a few things that I have observed through coursework, field

placement, and the general Medaille process. One thing that has remained true is expect the

unexpected, whether you learn something completely different in a class than what was planned

or for me working with many different students from varying socioeconomic backgrounds there

is always something to learn in these moments. I found even in a graduate class no matter how

much planning you have put towards your lesson, the organic nature of class and in class

discussion has the ability to throw a rut in your original plans. This I can still say we experience

while we are in an online platform, albeit not as seamless but we still get the opportunity to
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discuss, thankfully. The observations I have made through being a volunteer in a classroom or

Saturday academy has provided insight on how I would like to teach, to organize my classroom

and ways I would like to do things, as well as things I would not like to do. Working with

students with different need, intellectual disabilities and socioeconomic background has provided

an additional layer of understanding and applying what we have learned through our courses. I

find that this all relates back to the Medaille DOE Claims that we are to be caring educators

applying the best teaching practices.

From the beginning I understood the importance of this project, although I was skeptical

on completion and how to approach this portfolio. To say that this portfolio was intimidating,

and overwhelming is very much an understatement, but ultimately a necessary assignment and a

very reflective one, which ties strongly with ensuring that we have developed an understanding

of what we are learning to be educators. This is outline through the CAEP Standard, “ensuring

that candidates apply content and pedagogical knowledge” (CAEP, n.d.). Taking this portfolio as

one step at a time was a very good approach and I would definitely recommend this approach to

all who are coming through this program, another piece of advice would be to save all of your

documents, no matter how big or small.

Throughout all of that we have completed at Medaille, through fieldwork and our classes,

I think that being able to put all that we have learned into practice has been the most insightful.

Quite frankly there are a lot of things that I have learned through Medaille, with hands on

experience that I likely would not have gotten at any other school. Lessons that I have learned

through this experience is that you are never too young or old to learn, I have had my learning

style change many times and have worked with different test taking techniques. These tools that I

have acquired have helped me prepare my portfolio, articulate where I was having difficulties
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and have shown me that I am ever evolving through these experiences. I think that my portfolio

overall not only explores my work, showcases my dedication to be a well-rounded educator but

also proves that I will try my best to evolve and better myself.

Readiness to Become a Teacher

In complete honesty I genuinely wonder if we are ever able to truly be ready to teach,

but from what I have learned at Medaille and through this entire education process I feel

confident that I will be a great educator. Not only have we been put in a difficult position of

learning in the midst of a pandemic, but we have had many challenges from coming from

different learning backgrounds and professions. At the end of the day these challenges were only

put in front of us to make us better, stronger and more confident educators. My overall

understanding of planning, classroom management, and my ability to integrate technology into

my class and philosophy is constantly evolving and a great representation of our learning

experience.

Before I started pursuing a career in teaching, planning was always such a daunting idea

to me, I knew how important but couldn’t see the connections I could make. I am forever

thankful for learning to write a proper lesson plan and learning segment but also to connect what

we teach to other subjects. Now that we have gone through in extensive detail what it takes to

write a lesson plan, I see how each part of a plan works together to engage your students and

how to ensure they are truly understanding what they are learning and not solely memorizing. I

am grateful for my past experience through education which related heavily on memorization

versus retention and genuine understanding. Now I know how to employ the growth mindset and

have our students critically analyze what we are working on in the classroom. Another key

component that I look to encourage in my classroom is to always allow my students to


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acknowledge their failure and show that it will always lead to success. We have been told that if

you fall of the horse you must get back on and continue to ride. Success does not happen

overnight you must constantly work at it and one day you will achieve that.

Classroom management is such a crucial component of respect, understanding and leads

to having an organized, safe, and respected class. What I have learned throughout my degree is

that classroom management is crucial, there needs to be a mutual understanding and respect

between yourself and your students to be able to run your class smoothly. When you have an

organized, respectful classroom you have done the groundwork to engage your students and push

them towards learning and allows us to work to the best of our ability. If your room is not

managed well, you will have a lot of difficulty teaching and keeping your students engaged and

feeling safe. We learn this through Harry K. Wong that “The effective teachers spent time

organizing and structuring their classrooms, so the students knew what to do to succeed” (Wong,

H.K., Wong, R.T., & Seroyer, C. 2009). We have learned through B. F. Skinner that positive

reinforcement results in positive behaviour and negative reinforcement will likely result in

negative behaviour. We have learned that you can provide rewards, bonus points, treats or time

that your students will find valuable when they are all doing positive things in the class. Harry K.

Wong also highlights that “The number one problem in the classroom is not discipline; it is the

lack of procedures and routines” (Wong, H.K., Wong, R.T., & Seroyer, C. 2009). I think at the

end of the day the beginning of a great teacher lies within their classroom management, and it is

what I strive to achieve in my classroom, a safe and structures class for my students.

Lastly, I will explore the integration of technology and the importance of ensuring that

this is included in my classroom. Just like how we learn and teach has evolved since I have been

in school so has our technology. We once went from projectors with film to now a document
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camera, and I can’t wait to incorporate this into my classroom. In our technology class we have

learned to integrate a lot of different technologies into our classroom, with an integration of

professional development days this is pushing us in a great direction to better us in the

classroom. The added layer of complexity for us to be learning these through an online platform

versus an in class but has been rewarding given that if we are to experience this situation again. I

think my ability to adapt to our learning environments and surroundings is crucial. You are able

to see that I have put forth what I learned in our technology classroom through the artifacts that I

have posted.

Conclusion

While this was one of the more difficult and daunting tasks through our program, I do

believe it has prepared us for the better. Not only did this exercise prepare us for reflection, and

showed us our growth, it allowed us to realize that we are ready to be teachers. This was a great

experience for me being a person that is not currently in a school setting, it allowed me to realize

that I am ready to work in a classroom of my own. I know that I do not have a lot of experience

in the class, but what I can gain will come with time and practice and from this point on I can

only get better. The portfolio writing process has been a great learning experience which I now

get to explore in the final section of my portfolio in section 6 which is the virtual interview. This

interview will showcase my confidence in putting forth all that I have learned through my Master

of Science in Elementary Education. You will see this through drawing on my fieldwork and

class experience and by also applying all the theorists that we have covered while upkeeping our

ethical standards and adhering to curriculum. Another theorist who concentrated on positive

behaviour would be Harry Wong, he stresses that, “

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Section 6: Teacher Candidate Teacher Interview Video

Teacher Candidate Interview Video

Welcome to the final portion of my portfolio completed here at Medaille college, and

probably the most fun to complete while also learning a lot in the process. While this entire

experience has provided many learning opportunities preparing for this Teacher Candidate

Interview Video has probably provided the most growth. I feel that this section of our portfolio

was the most important as it allows us to personally explain how we are as educators and why we

will be great educators.

Weebly: https://victoriabmedaille.weebly.com

Screencastomatic: https://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cYirfFEFce

Teacher Candidate Interview Questions & Responses

Arriving on the final component for our portfolio has been rewarding and challenging at

the same time, although I feel that the majority of challenges have prepared us for the better. The

interview that I have attached above will give you an insight to why I wanted to become a

teacher, what I have learned, how I would conduct lessons and how this all helps me stay

informed as an educator. Ultimately, the end goal of this section is to showcase why I would be a

great candidate to hire compared to other applicants. Below you will find the questions posed to

me in this mock interview setting.

1. Briefly share a little about your background experiences that have led you to choose a career

in education?

Usually when I share this part of my story people are quite surprised but from an early

age I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. From the start of my kindergarten class I always

made sure all of my classmates were included and made sure we all went down for nap before
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me. This story is one that my parents share to this day to highlight my nurturing side. As I made

my way through school, I bounced around many ideas of what I wanted to be when I was older, I

have always gravitated towards children and have enjoyed spending time and helping. This is

why I am where I am today and have started this path to becoming an educator.

When I finally made my way to university, I put that dream on hold, got a bachelor’s

degree in Political Science and wanted to become a lawyer. In actuality I realized quickly that

the environment, culture and day to day activities was something I was not passionate about. I

loved the quick pace and ever changing but in the back of my mind that was not for me. Having

been in the corporate world for over 9 years I made the decision to go back to my true passion

and pursue a career in education. While I have learned a lot and will be able to apply a lot of

what I learned in the corporate world to my career in education, I am very much looking forward

to getting back to my passion.

2. What have you learned in your teacher training program that will make you an excellent

classroom teacher and colleague?

I think an overarching theme for my experience in this training program to become an

educator that will differentiate myself from other is my overall adaptability. Not only did we start

this degree while still having a full-time job and balancing life, and whatever else came my way

but also to complete almost half of our degree through a global pandemic and online shows

perseverance. We have learned that there will always be changes in what you are planning and

what works one year, one week or one day ago may not work today. The adaptability I have

managed to harness has been incredible to work with and truly show case that being an educator

is never really a dull moment. I think my ability to collaborate, support and work with my

colleagues through both in class and online work has prepared me to collaborate with my
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colleagues and also collaborate with my class. I think often times educators may forget that they

can ask for the opinion of their students and how we can improve.

3. Provide us with an example of a lesson you taught. How did you integrate it with other

curriculum areas, address the CCLS, technology, student engagement and motivation?  What

were the results of the lesson?

While I have not had the opportunity to teach this lesson to a class full of students, I have

had the ability to showcase this in front of my peers. I was fortunate enough to teach this lesson

on inference in my first term at Medaille and have had the ability to adapt and modify as I got a

deeper understanding of lessons and planning. In addition to this, I have had to adapt to an online

learning environment and modified and brought this to my Google classroom, here I

incorporated different engagement videos, worksheets, and other graphic organizers for my

students to work on. Over all the results of this lesson through my first term at Medaille were

great, I got a lot of positive feedback and feedback for improvement. For the modifications I

have made to an online learning platform I could not be happier with the results.

4. How will your knowledge of the current trends in education inform you as an educator in our

district/board/school?

I think the current trends in education are a little thrown off at the moment, we went from

a climate of our premiers wanting to increase class sized and have up to 30 students in a class.

Whereas now coming to a post-pandemic world and a lot of shifts to how we teach whether

online, in class or a hybrid, and placing a limit on the amounts of students in that class, our

environment is an ever changing one. I feel that to be a teacher you must be able to adapt in

order to overcome and these past few months have been a true testament to that.
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Another area that I am familiar with and quite passionate about is our increase in

technology usage, and its ever-changing nature. Not only do we see the over growing use of

technology, we are also witnessing more mental health issues, and have to be more aware and

educated on the subject matter. I was fortunate enough to take a Mental Health First Aid course

for working with Youth and found that more students are being subjected to bullying, anxiety

and depression at a young age and even more societal pressures. I think these trends are also very

important as educators to keep up on, by trying to be the most informed we will be better suited

to help our students.

5. Why should we hire you instead of the other applicants we have interviewed?

What makes me different from other applicants is my driven passion to strive to be the

best educator, while I believe we can never be the best we can come close. I have been able to

adapt and learn a lot in my years in the corporate world that I can bring to the table in becoming

an educator. I have a fierce goal to try and reach every student in one way or another, and if I can

have a positive impact on just one than I have done my job. I want to be the educators that

inspired me through my journey, my ability to always adapt to ever changing environments, to

strive for excellence and improvement to do better is always there. I have been put in many

difficult situations throughout my career and working through these problems with problem

solving and critical thinking skills has benefited me greatly. I try to surround myself with people

I can learn from, ask for guidance and in turn provide support and advice as needed. I think this

is important, we should all strive to do better and be better for our students.

Conclusion

In completing section six of our portfolio it is quite shocking to see how far we have

come in such a short period of time. Recording this interview and showcasing my Weebly
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highlights the passion that I have to become an educator and shows my love for technology and

being adaptable with our times. I think overall this portfolio project has been eye opening and I

feel better prepared and more confident in my abilities.

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References

Bloom, B.S. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational

goals.New York, NY: Longmans, Green.

Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation. (n.d.). Introduction - Council for

the Accreditation of Educator Preparation. CAEP. Retrieved July 1, 2020, from

http://caepnet.org/standards/introduction

Caruana, V. (2015). Accessing the Common Core Standards for Students with

Learning Disabilities: Strategies for Writing Standards-Based IEP Goals. 

Preventing School Failure, 59(4), 237–243.

Crompton, H., Burke, D., & Lin, Y.-C. (2019). Mobile Learning and Student Cognition:

A Systematic Review of PK-12 Research Using Bloom’s Taxonomy. British

Journal of Educational Technology, 50(2), 684–701.

Eun, B. (2019). The Zone of Proximal Development as an Overarching Concept:

A Framework for Synthesizing Vygotsky’s Theories. Educational Philosophy

and Theory, 51(1), 18–30.

Piaget, J. (1954). The construction of reality in the child. (M. Cook, Trans.). Basic Books.

Schcolnik, M., Kol, S., & Abarbanel, J. (2016). Constructivism in Theory and in Practice. 

English Teaching Forum, 44(4), 12–20.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes

Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.

Wong, H. K., Wong, R. T., & Seroyer, C. (2009). The first days of school: How to be

an effective teacher. Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications.

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