Section Five: Teacher Candidate Reflection Guidelines

Introduction

My experiences at Medaille, as a teacher candidate, have taught me more than I could

have ever imagined before beginning this program. Not only have I been lucky enough to gain

amazing role models that are working in the field of education, and I have also gain incredible

support system within my fellow teaching candidates. The knowledge I have acquired, along

with the experiences I have been engaged in have given me the skills needed to be a great

teacher. This portfolio is just the beginning of my journey, and marks the transition from

candidate, to teacher. An immense amount of time has been put into assembling this project, and

my hope is that my dedication to leaning and the field of education is understood upon exploring

my work.

Portfolio Project/Teacher Education Learning Experiences

My experience creating this project, and completing my teacher education has been

challenging, but incredibly rewarding. While completing this program I was also working full-

time in special education. I knew taking that taking on a full course load while working would be

time consumer, however I was able to take what I was learning from my course work and apply

it to my practice in special education which was an invaluable experience (TEAC/CAEP Claim

2: Pedagogy, Best Teaching Practices for Diverse Learners).

I distinctly remember walking into orientation at the beginning of my first semester,

feeling a mix of nerves and excitement as the program director outlined the program for us. As I

began classes, my nerves started to ease as I became more excited than ever to start working

through the content. The professors I have had the pleasuring of learning from throughout this

journey have all offered me a different perspective on teaching in the classroom, as every faculty
member has first-hand experience. For example, my first experience writing a formal lesson plan

took place in my Core of Education course during semester 1. My experience in special

education was working as a certified Developmental Therapist. I learned an incredible amount

working in that role, creating and implementing IEPs (TEAC/CAEP Claim 3: Caring Educator),

however I never had to create a formal lesson plan. My professor at the time did an incredible

supporting myself and my fellow teacher candidates, guiding us with foundational knowledge

and strategies that have worked for her in her classrooms. As a result, my ability to create

detailed lesson plans has become a major strength for me (TEAC/CAEP Claim 1: Subject

Matter).

Lesson planning has been one of my favourite learning experiences throughout all of my

course work. I have taken courses all focusing on different subject matter, classroom approaches

and educational pedagogy. Within these different concepts, I have had to create a variety of

lesson plans on topics such as literacy, math, and science, for example (TEAC/CAEP Claim 1:

Subject Matter). Each subject requires you, the teacher, to adapt your teaching strategies to

engage diverse learners and accommodate and/or modify instruction to support the students in

your class. Being creative within my lessons to engage my students is something that makes me

excited to become a teacher, and I hope that the lesson plans I have included as part of my

artifacts showcase my passion for this (TEAC/CAEP Claim 2: Pedagogy, Best Teaching

Practices for Diverse Learners). Not only do I put time and effort into the learning environment I

create, I also believe the lesson plans included demonstrate my ability to activate prior

knowledge, instruct, and assess student understanding.

Another prominent learning experience I had during my graduate studies took place in

my Transitions from Education’s Roots to the Present course, which focused on discussing
different influential theorists and theories in the field of education (TEAC/CAEP Claim 2:

Pedagogy, Best Teaching Practices for Diverse Learners). During my undergraduate studies I

learned about many of the theorists and theories that have shaped our education system today,

but it wasn’t until I began my graduate studies that I really started making connections between

influential theorists and theories, and my own philosophy of education. After working through

the material from that class, I realized that my own philosophy is influenced by a variety of

theorists, including Jane Addams and Howard Gardner. Through developing my won philosophy

of education, I learned a lot about myself as an educator and the kind of classroom community I

want to create for my students.

A learning experience I did not expect to be so influential on my practice going forward

was the knowledge I acquired in my technology course. I didn’t grow up using technology in the

classroom. There were no SMART Board, computers in the classrooms, iPads, etc. The computer

lab we had access to was in the library, where there were 2 rows of very old Macs. Even when I

entered high school there was minimal technology used, just projectors used to display

PowerPoints. Despite my lack of experience using technology in the classroom as a student, I

still felt I was fairly tech-savvy. It wasn’t until I started working in my technology course that I

realized I had a lot to learn about using technology in the classroom. Being able to navigate my

own personal technology use is one thing, but it became very clear to me very fast that I needed

guidance and support when learning how to use different classroom strategies.

This was another course that I felt extremely lucky to have a connected, well informed

professor teaching me. My initial fears about not being able to adapt to current technology trends

and keep up with new ones coming in were eased within the first week. Before I knew it, I was

creating interactive and engaging presentations using SMART Board technology, using different
parts of a Google classroom, and learning other tools to interact with my students (TEAC/CAEP

Claim 2: Pedagogy, Best Teaching Practices for Diverse Learners). In contrary to my initial

feelings about taking a course on technology in the classroom, what I learned in that class and

the resources I continue to practice using make me incredibly excited to integrate different tools

into my lessons. I was very proud of the SMART Board presentation I created on Shel

Silverstein, and it was included as one of my artifacts. It showcased my ability to use technology

interactively, while meeting standards of learning (TEAC/CAEP Claim 1: Subject Matter).

A new addition to the Medaille curriculum included an increase of field placement hours.

Like I’ve mentioned, a majority of my work done in the field has been in special education,

specifically children with autism. I had the opportunity to take part in two different environments

for my placements. The first was a community event for families in a lower income

neighbourhood. The event provided fun activities for families to do and included breakfast and

lunch. The second was a more classroom style placement, where gifted learners from lower-

income families went to additional classes on the weekends in hopes of receiving scholarships to

attend good high schools. Two very different learning experiences for me, but two very

important learning experiences. Both placements were run/taught by certified teachers, and I

really enjoyed watching their teaching strategies because every teacher instructed and engaged

students differently (TEAC/CAEP Claim 2: Pedagogy, Best Teaching Practices for Diverse

Learners). I strongly believe that every new teacher taking part in teacher education should have

experience with different populations of students before embarking on their full student teaching

placement. Again, I have years of experience working in special education, however the learning

experiences I took away from the placements set up by Medaille provided me with a perspective

I would not have had otherwise, preparing me even more to work in the field.
 Overall, Medaille has provided me with a variety of learning experiences that have

shaped me into the educator I am today. The artifacts I have included and the experiences I have

included in this section of my portfolio project are merely a glimpse of my accomplishments and

moments I am proud to share. Beyond what has been included are endless challenging

assignments, topics of discussion, and people who have shaped me throughout this journey

(TEAC/CAEP Claim 3: Caring Educator).

Readiness to Become a Teacher

I cannot begin to explain how excited I am to transition from teacher candidate, to

teacher. Everything I have learned thus far, including my experience working in special

education, has shaped me into a ready and capable educator.

I believe that the field of education is a field that requires constant training, and

willingness to embrace new teaching practices as the field of education evolves. I believe that I

currently possess the knowledge, skills and practical experience to make me a great teacher but

more than that, I believe my dedication to a life-long learning profession makes me an even

greater teacher. I love learning, but I am completely aware not all of my students are going to

share the same enthusiasm. However, in an effort to remain connected to best practices, and new,

innovative teaching strategies I will dedicate myself to professional development. I believe that

all students, whether learning excites them or not, have the potential to meet and exceed their

learning goals. With that, I am prepared to continue seeking out learning experiences for myself

so I can continually better myself as a teacher to help my students succeed.

A huge part of my work in special education was creating individualized education plans

(IEPs). The IEPs I was creating, however, vary greatly from the plans most students hold. My

job was to assess and understand the sensory needs of the students I worked with before creating
their education plan. The IEPs I created included gross motor skills, fine motor skills, social

skills, communication skills, pre/academic skills, etc. What was unique about the programs I put

in place for these students was that each of their goals were taught in a way that meets their

sensory needs. For example, one of my students sought a lot of vestibular input, or movement.

He was working on basic printing and reading; however, he was unable to remain seated for

more than a brief moment. Rather than having him focus his energy on remaining seated, I

adjusted his accommodations to include standing and printing on a vertical surface and reading

while standing up.

That is a basic example of one of the accommodations I created for my student, however

I wanted to share that my readiness to become a teacher includes my dedication to meeting the

diverse learning needs of students (TEAC/CAEP Claim 2: Pedagogy, Best Teaching Practices

for Diverse Learners; TEAC/CAEP Claim 3: Caring Educator). In every class I took during my

time at Medaille, the importance of using different strategies to differentiate instruction and meet

the various learning needs of the students in your classroom was made a priority by all of my

professors. I was working a job that had very specific requirements that needed to be included in

each IEP, and while I was creating IEPs, collaborating with my colleagues, I was indeed

differentiating my instruction and meeting my students where they were. I wasn’t aware at the

time that I was doing those things, but as I progressed in my graduate studies, I realized that I

already had a skill set that would benefit me going forward. I genuinely believe that I have a

perspective on teaching and diverse learners that provides me with additional skills and

qualifications that I wouldn’t have without my experience working in special education.

Conclusion

I am ready to embark into the teaching profession, and I believe that all of the

information I have included showcases why I am not only capable, but ready to become a

teacher. My passion for planning lessons, engaging students and helping students reach their full

potential demonstrations my enthusiasm for the profession. More than that, my dedication to a

field that requires life-long learning and professional development shows that I am ready to keep

putting the work in to support my students. Teaching is what I am meant to do, and I know that

for certain because as discussed earlier in the portfolio, teaching found me. My hope is that after

exploring my portfolio, you understand the work I have put in to ensuring I am prepared to enter

the field. I have never felt more confident in my ability to be a caring, prepared educator and I

am excited to finally be starting my career!