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MSED ELEMENTARY

MSED Elementary Portfolio Project

Iman Abrar
November - 30, - 2015

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

______________________________
Iman Abrar
Medaille College Graduate Student

______________________________
Dr. Virginia Batchelor
Project Director

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Table of Contents
Section One: Teacher Candidate Introduction to the Elementary Portfolio Project................3
Section Two: Teacher Candidate Background Experiences.10
Section Three: Teacher Candidate Artifacts.........33
Artifact #1: Literacy Lesson Plan..34
Artifact #2: Science Unit Plan .46
Artifact #3: Annotated Bibliography ....84
Artifact #4: SMART Board Author Presentation..91
Artifact #5: Cyber Safety Presentation...111
Artifact #6: Weebly Website ..116
Artifact #7: Educational Survey...122
Artifact #8: Professional Development in the Field of Education Certificates..133
Section Four: Alignment to Curriculum & Professional Standards ..139
Section Five: Teacher Candidate Reflection ......150
Section Six: Teacher Candidate Interview Video ..156
References ...1

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Section One:
Teacher Candidate Introduction to the Elementary Portfolio Project
Introduction to the Portfolio Project
It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge
(Albert Einstein, n.d.).
This portfolio project will showcase the things I have learned in my teacher education
program. It is important to construct and have a portfolio because it is a useful tool for educators.
It includes records, accomplishments, experiences, skills, and demonstrates and serves as
evidence of my preparedness and competency as a teacher. This section will serve as an
overview and include information about teacher competencies, and theorists in education that
will be discussed further in subsequent sections. I believe that the teachers role is not just
knowing subject matter, but serving as a source of guidance and direction for students.
Education is a way for students to learn curriculum matter, but also about themselves and their
interests. Teachers require a multitude of traits such as patience, adaptability, communication and
listening skills. As someone certified in teaching the English language, I have learned that there
are many different aspects of teaching that need to be prepared before teaching a lesson. During
planning I learned to anticipate students areas of potential confusion with a grammar point, think
about how I would address that and plan different ways I could teach the point. . In addition I
learned about the different issues students could have, by researching how different the students
native tongue was from English. This allowed me to help the students in my class from diverse
backgrounds in ways specific and applicable to them. I also had to become proficient in
technology because my classroom had an interactive whiteboard as the main teaching tool and a
small whiteboard. While I was an English language teacher in Saudi Arabia, I had to be

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culturally aware about my students and the topics I could/could not discuss in the classroom.
From that experience and others such as coaching a basketball team, volunteering in and
observing classrooms, and through out the past two semesters at Medaille, I have learned that
teaching is more than being knowledgeable in a particular field or subject. There are many
different aspects that need to be considered while planning, during instruction and in assessment.
This portfolio will include artifacts that showcase how my educational background and
experiences have helped me in becoming a competent and confident teacher in Elementary
Education.

Portfolio Overview and Rationale

The purpose of this portfolio is to showcase my preparedness as a future teacher. I will
provide documentation of my educational practices and my professional dispositions for
cultivating an environment that is conducive for the classroom. I will share my thoughts and how
I understand the importance of student engagement, assessment, planning, instruction, culturally
responsive teaching, and the many facets of education in an Elementary classroom. This portfolio
project serves as more than a resume highlighting experiences, interests and education. It is an
aid a teacher can use when searching for employment and also to look at throughout their
teaching career. A portfolio can always be added to or edited to continuously reflect the beliefs,
philosophies, skills, and experiences of a teacher. This portfolio will serve as a presentation of
the skills, experience, and knowledge that demonstrate my preparedness and competency as a
teacher. It is important for teachers to know their students when planning lessons. Each student
has unique needs, skills, and abilities that teachers can use during instruction. Teachers can use
various techniques to engage, motivate and facilitate students learning. Todays students are tech-

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savvy and a successful teacher should know how technology can be integrated effectively into
the classroom. Students also come from diverse backgrounds, which need to be considered when
teaching to avoid discriminating or hindering students. The also includes considering students
learning needs, which are significant in the learning process. Teachers should be able to know
how to accentuate students strengths, work on their weakness, and support the needs of each of
their students. These skills and practices are things that I have learned from different experiences
as well as the courses that I have taken so far in this Masters Program.

Portfolio Development
The portfolio is composed of sections, which are comprised of different areas, but are all
interconnected. This first section of the portfolio serves as an introduction to my portfolio as well
as an overview of the theorists and experts whose work have influenced the field of education
and my beliefs, values, and attitudes towards teaching. The second section will look at my
educational and work related experiences. This section will provide insight as to how my
background experiences as a teacher, volunteer, and student have influenced me in teaching.
In this component of the portfolio you will learn a lot about the experiences that have
shaped me into wanting to become an educator. The third section will introduce the artifact that I
have chosen as evidence of my knowledge of pedagogy, subject matter, teaching practices, skills,
and professional dispositions. The artifacts will include descriptions of each item and rationales
to explain why they were chosen and how they connect to the New York and Ontario curricula,
theorists/experts, teaching practices, and my proficiency as a teacher. The fourth section will
look further. In this section I will provide evidence of my knowledge of pedagogy, aptitude to be
an effective and supportive teacher, and of subject matter through exploration of my artifacts.

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In the fifth section I will reflect on my experiences writing this project, how I considered
which artifacts to include, and the overall experiences I have acquired in developing this project.
Reflection of lessons, students work, attitudes, values, and approaches are important as a teacher
to be effective and as a way to move forward in a positive way. The last section of the project is a
visual showcase of my work, experiences, and beliefs through an interview video. The video will
include my teacher website, which I created during my Technology for the Elementary
Classroom course, as well my answers to potential interview questions. This video allows readers
to not only read my work, but also see a visual representation of myself. The sections of this
video do not stand alone, but build upon each other just like the various experiences I have had
throughout my life as a student and an educator.

Theorists and Experts in the Field of Education

An important aspect of the MSED Portfolio Project is connecting our ideas and practices
to theorists and experts who have contributed to learning. There are many theorists who have
influenced my ideas, knowledge and attitudes about learning before I knew about them. I formed
my attitudes and values based on what I observed from other teachers as a student; from my
various educational experiences, and from what I thought was my own head. Throughout my
coursework at Medaille, I realized that my ideas have some basis in different philosophies and
align with particular theorists.
I have always believed that learning is both a social and independent process. Being the
youngest in my family, I learned a lot from my older siblings in the interactions we had. Lev
Vygotsky considered learning as internalization and transformation of socially defined
knowledge. He believed that learning takes place in Zones of Proximal Development (ZPD),

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where individuals learn from more knowledgeable others around them in social settings. An
example of this is in school where young children in kindergarten start using new phrases,
behaviors, and ways of doing things that they learned from interactions with others (Hickey,
2003). I think that I learned more than I would have from my siblings than if I had been an only
child. Vygotsky believed that language as means of internalization; where cognitive functions are
transferred from the social plane to an individual plane (Petrov, 2013). Through social such as
play, cognitive processes can be developed. I believe that student interactions in the classroom
and outside can help students develop social skills, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills.
Students can relate their experiences to others and learn new behaviors from others as well.
Another expert in the field of education was Jean Piaget. Piaget believed in cognitive
constructivism, where an individual learns through active processes such as assimilation,
adaptation, and accommodation. Piaget believed that knowledge as something that came about
through an individuals formations in responses to specific experiences and observances
(Peterson, 2011). Cognitive theory also outlines stages of development that can aid teachers in
learning more about their students. The theories are fluid and students may reach them at
different ages or different ways. Piagets idea of a learner is much like Vygotsky in that the
learner is an active observer and inspires students to pose questions and test out hypotheses. I
have always believed that learning is an active process instead of passive. Learners interact with
themselves/others to construct new knowledge in different experiences and situations.
Howard Gardners Theory of Multiple Intelligences is one of the first things I remember,
which gave me insight into what kind of learner I am. I remember as a student doing tests with
my class and sharing what our intelligences were. It made a lot of sense to me that those
classmates who were good at sports were bodily kinesthetic and that they liked to move around

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as opposed to others. Gardner came up with 8 intelligences to explain the different ways people
learned: Bodily-Kinesthetic, Musical-Rhythmical, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, LogicalMathematical, Naturalistic, Visual-Spatial, and Verbal-Linguistic. This can give teachers insight
into how to best serve the diverse learning needs of students. Teachers may teach in a style that
best suits their learning style because that is what they are used to. By learning about the
different styles and their characteristics teachers can use this knowledge in their planning and
instruction.

Conclusion
In conclusion, this Portfolio Project is a tool through which I will highlight my
competencies and preparedness to become an elementary teacher. In this section I have
introduced the Portfolio Project, its importance and the reasoning for creating a portfolio. I have
also given an overview of what the portfolio will contain in each of the sections to outline the
project as a whole. This portfolio will share my background experiences; provide evidences of
my skills and knowledge, and the alignment of my artifacts to curriculum and standards. I will
also make connections to educational theorists, such as Piaget, Vygotsky, Gardner and others.
This portfolio will culminate with a reflection of my overall experiences, a video of my teacher
website and a simulated interview.
Throughout this project, I will discuss ideas, rationale, and strategies that I have and will
use in my future career as a teacher. My artifacts will provide evidence of my awareness of
culturally responsive teaching, the Dignity for All Students Act, differentiated instruction, how to
increase learner engagement and motivation, technology integration in the classroom, and
display my enthusiasm for teaching. In the next section I will discuss my educational

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background, work experiences, school observations and classroom applications, my philosophy
of education and, my resume.

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