Artifact #8: Professional Development in the Field of Education Certificates & Letters

My Professional Development in the Field of Education Certificates & Letters, align with

the following standards: INTASC Standard 10: Leadership and Collaboration. The teacher seeks

appropriate leadership roles and opportunities to take responsibility for student learning, to

collaborate with learners, families, colleagues, other school professionals, and community

members to ensure learner growth, and to advance the profession; NYS Code of Ethics Standards

for Educators, Principle 3 Educators commit to their own learning in order to develop their

practice; NYS P-12 Common Core Learning Standards is not applicable in this case; NYS

Learning Standards are not applicable in this case; TEAC/CAEP Claim 3, Medaille College

graduates are caring educators; ISTE Standards for Teachers, Standard 3.b. Model digital age

work and learning; International Literacy Association (ILA) Professional Standards, Standard 6,

Professional Learning and Leadership; CEC Standards, Standard 2: Professional Competence;

Ontario Curriculum Standards do not apply in this case; Ontario Teacher Ethical Standards Ethics

Standard of Respect Ethics: Standard of Care.

My Professional Development in the Field of Education Certificates & Letters have been

included as an artifact in the MSED Elementary Portfolio Project as a means of demonstrating my

commitment to continuing education in the profession. The certificates that I have earned highlight

my care and concern for the safety of todays youth and prove that I have had the appropriate training

to prepare me for real-life situations in the field. I have also chosen to include Certificates which

demonstrate my high level of dedication, time commitment and academic achievement in French

Immersion studies. These certificates are of particular importance as I am passionate about teaching

French as a second language and it is my intention to combine my knowledge of the French language

with my passion for teaching students at the elementary level.

 The certificates I have chosen include the following: Netsmartz Workshop Certificate-

Teaching Digital Citizenship; DASA Training Certificate; STEAM Seminar Certificate of

Completion; SAVE Training in Identification and Reporting of Child Abuse and Maltreatment

Certificate; SAVE Training in School Violence Prevention and Intervention Workshop Certificate;

Ontario Womens Hockey Association Respect In Sport Certification; Letter of Reference from

Rockwood FC Soccer Club; Letter of Reference from Principal of dual track language school;

Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, Food Handler Certificate; Le Prix DImmersion

Certificate; Ontario Scholar Certificate and Certificate of French Immersion Study.

My DASA Training Certificate; SAVE Training in School Violence Prevention and

Intervention Workshop Certificate and Training and Reporting of Child Abuse and Maltreatment

Certificate are all important professional development certificates within my MSED Elementary

Portfolio Project. These certificates demonstrate that I am committed to professional development

which focuses on the safety of our youth. Children are among the most vulnerable in our society and

as such, it is of the utmost importance that we protect their safety and well-being. Through my

participation in these valuable workshops, I have gained skills and knowledge in the areas of

identifying indicators of potential distress and abuse; both of the physical and mental/emotional

variety. I have gained knowledge about how to report abuse while supporting the best interests and

well-being of the student(s) involved. I understand the sensitive nature of abusive situations and will

conduct myself with the highest level of discretion. Further to this, I am equipped with the awareness

of how factors such as culture, socio-economic status, religion and ethnicity can impact how

situations of a sensitive nature should be managed. Again, it is important for me to have a

collaborative relationship with other professionals within the school and the community in order to

offer the most appropriate support for each individual situation. This speaks to my care and concern

for the health and well-being of all students in my classroom. In addition, my Netsmartz Workshop

Certificate- Teaching Digital Citizenship is an equally important showcase of my abilities to protect

students from harm in the digital era. In earning this certificate, I gained the skills and the knowledge

to identify 9 different components of digital citizenship. Digital literacy and ethics are important

skills for any educator to have and through my participation in this workshop, I learned how to

identify concerns, address potentially harmful situations, educate students about the dangers of

unsafe use of technology and how to empower each student to be a responsible digital citizen for

their own protection and that of others. This is a valuable set of skills I have gained which will

definitely be an asset that I will use while leading my students in the classroom.

It is with pride that I share my STEAM Workshop Certificate as part of Artifact #8 in my

MSED Elementary Portfolio Project. This workshop taught me the value of teaching science,

technology, engineering, arts and math with an open mind. My certificate demonstrates that I have a

desire to learn from others about how to best reach all students through engaging them in hands-on

learning while meeting various levels of curriculum requirements. This workshop reinforced the

value of educating all students equally while and encouraging every student, regardless of race,

gender or ethnicity. It was noted that subjects such as math, science or engineering have traditionally

been areas of focus for male students while arts and languages were more typically pursued by

female students. In using the STEAM approach to teaching, I believe that I have the ability to inspire

my students love of the whole curriculum as I endeavor to teach without preconceived notions or

biases.

My Respect In Sport Certification from the Ontario Womens Hockey Association and my

letter of reference from the Rockwood FC Soccer Association speak to my love of supporting

children in physical education. I thoroughly enjoy my time teaching and engaging in extra-curricular

activities with students and youth. I believe that my involvement with these organizations

demonstrates my abilities as a role model and leader both inside the school and within the local

community. Being an involved and passionate coach and leader demonstrates to parents and children

that I am a caring educator with a desire to teach students the value of exercising their minds and
bodies to support good overall health. As an active member of our local community, I am able to

demonstrate that I am an approachable educator who has the best interests of all students and families

at heart.

Finally, my Ontario Scholar Certificate; Certificate of French Immersion Study and Le Prix

DImmersion Certificates showcase my high level of academic achievement in the field of French as

a second language studies. It is my intention to pursue my educational career in the area of French

language studies. These certificates demonstrate my commitment to putting forth a full effort in all

that I do. They demonstrate my personal qualities of setting goals, aiming high and pursuing

excellence. These qualities speak to my abilities as a leader and a role model; they also align with my

philosophy of education as I am able to lead by example to show students that if they put forth the

effort, they can achieve anything they set their minds to.

Finally, I am very proud to have included a letter of reference from a local school Principal

which outlines the various roles I have undertaken within our dual track French/English public

school. This letter speaks to the time I have spent volunteering in the School Nutrition Program; for

which I undertook and received a Certificate from the Wellington-Dufferin Public Health Unit as a

Certified Food Handler. This letter highlights my role in working with students in the French

Immersion and Core French programs in order to support their academic pursuits. This letter

demonstrates that I am able to make time to volunteer within the community with the aim of helping

students to gain a feeling of achievement while in a supportive atmosphere as I encourage them to

believe in themselves and continually strive for success.

The importance of professional development is discussed in depth in a 2011 article, published

by the International Professional Development Association. It reads: teachers and school leaders

need to have a profound knowledge of learning. They need this knowledge in order to take care of

their own learning as professionals and that of their colleagues, staff and that of their pupils. In their

professional responsibility, they are in charge of providing learning opportunities and of creating a
supportive learning environment for all stakeholders. In this respect they are serving the core purpose

of school and schooling and of leadership of professionals.