ELEMENTARY PORTFOLIO PROJECT

BY: HOLLY NEIL-BUCHAN

Part 1
Welcome everyone,

I would like to thank you for watching my elementary portfolio project screen cast. This screen cast will be split
into two parts, with the first parting being an introduction and overview of the website that I created in my EDU
571 course. In my website, I have included many different pages that are filled with different assignments and uses of
the latest technology. This experience was not only a lot of fun, but it was also a great learning experience for me.
The second part of this screen cast will consist of 5 mock interview questions which took a lot of careful planning.
In my response to these questions, you will learning about my background information, both personal and
professional and why I chose to become a teacher. You will also learn about the teacher training program at
Medaille College, as well as what skills I have acquired through this program.
Now I would like to start with giving you a tour of my website. If you look here on the far left, you will see that I have
broken down my website into 12 different tabs. In the home tab, you will see an image of what my ideal classroom will
look like. I was my classroom to be very well organized, full of learning resources and games for my students. I would
like to have a corner that will be dedicated just do reading. I will fill this corner with comfortable seats and pillows and
of course a variety of levelled books for all different readers! I do not believe in having desks set up in rows until the
junior grades, and even still, I would rather have an open concept, where my students will be able to see more than just
the whiteboard. Back to my website …….. You will also notice that in my home tab, I have included a variety of
YouTube videos such as criss cross apple sauce. If you scroll down, you will see that I completed a pallet, which is a
form of technology where the teacher can post a question and students can go online and answer the question. I really
like this method of communication because it is engaging for the students.
The next tab, I have names what’s on deck. This is the page that will serve as a resource of both parents and students.
If you scroll down, you will see a YouTube video of a read aloud to Harold and the Purple Crayon. If you continue to
scroll down, I have included another padlet, called what is your favorite color of crayon. Each month I will upload
what themes we are working on, what books we are reading, what we are writing about and what units we are doing
in all subject areas. I will also include what skills to encourage at home for example, retell stories, making connections
to text, sight words and 3-D figures in my environment. I will also include any events that are going on in the school
and classroom each week. Under the next tab, you will find my portfolio information, which serves as a collection of
my best work throughout my time at Medaille. I have included each section of my portfolio project, including: Section
One: Teacher Candidate Introduction to the elementary portfolio, Section Two: Teacher Candidate Background
Experience, Section 3: Teacher Candidate Artifacts, Section 4: Alignment to Curriculum and Professional Standards,
Section 5: Teacher Candidate Reflection and Section 6: Teacher Candidate Interview. Please look through this tab at
your own leisure but beware, it is over 220 pages! The next tab that I have included is Classroom Rules. In this
section I have include a variety of different posters with rules that I will use in my classroom. The next tab is Cyber
Safety and if you click on it, you will see the Cyber Safety presentation that I have created to help students
understand the dangers involved with the internet and social media. I feel that it is best to educate students on their
use of the internet and social media before they get to an age where they are given the opportunity to search content
on their own.
The next tab I have labelled is Author Study. When you click on this tab, you will find the Author Study that I created
on illustrator London Ladd. For this task, I used the SMART board, and not only will you get the opportunity to learn
about this wonderful illustrator, you can also see my abilities with the SMART notebook technology. The next two tabs
serve as resource pages for parents and students, please take a look when you have a chance. Finally, I have included a
tab for Virtual Field trips. I think that Virtual Fields trip not only a lot of fun for students, but they also serve as a great
learning tool. Students can learn about almost any culture and society through a virtual field trip. I have included for
your viewing, a virtual filed trip on a journey down the Nile River, the Amazon rainforest and as Sebastian in The Little
Mermaid would say, “Under the sea”. This is an underwater field trip that engages many students who love the ocean
life!
Well that is it for Part 1 of my screencast, we will now go back to the portfolio page and I will discuss part 2, my mock
interview questions with you.
Part 2
Capstone interview questions
1. Briefly share a little about my background experiences that have led me to choose a career in
education
My journey to becoming a teacher really started when I was a little girl, but I did not know it until I became a mother to
my two beautiful children. I have always enjoyed learning and when I wasn’t in a classroom I felt unfilled. It wasn’t until
later in life that I realised that, Hey I love to learn, why don’t I become a teacher, I will never have to leave the classroom!
My educational journey had given me many challenges, but I never let those challenges stand it my way. The decision to
become a teacher started when I brought my oldest to senior kindergarten. Prior to that, it took a lot of soul searching
and life experiences and basically life in general to bring me to my decision. I would like to share these experiences with
you today for it to truly make sense.
When I was in grade 11, I decided to take a co-op placement with a law office. I have always loved the law! I started
my placement with two lawyers who took the time to teach me about the law, their practice and the court system.
They took the time to answer all my questions, which let me teel you, were never ending. They never made me feel
like I was disturbing them because like we all know, lawyers, like teacher, are very busy people. I spent the semester
learning about how to become a lawyer, and I was given great responsibility at a very young age. I remember walking
into the office one day and my mentor lawyer had a leather brief case waiting for me. I knew then that my pink
backpack would not be acceptable for the task that he was about to get me to do. I was so excited when he sent me
to the bank with a certified cheque for a house! My task was to close a real estate deal with another lawyer. As I left
the office that day, my mentor lawyer said, “Don’t forget the keys to the house”! I was amazed with the responsibility
and trust that he had in me. I worked for this firm for 5 years off. I had made up my mind; I was going to law school!
After completing a two year law and security program, I started my degree in Criminology. I married my high school
sweetheart and soon after, we were blessed with the birth of my son.. At this time, I was working full time and
completing my Bachelor of Arts in Criminology. I remember writing my exams 8 months pregnant; it was great! I
knew in my heart that when I put my mind to something, I could do anything!
! It wasn’t long after I completed my degree that I started to feel sad and that feeling of personal being unfulfilled began
to kick it. It took me a while to realize that, I need to go back to school soon! The years went by and I spent my time
working and teaching my little boy everything that I could about life. This was a turning point in my life; when I realized
that, I love watching him learn! I knew that I needed to go back to school but I still didn’t put two and two together that,
I would be a great teacher. Four years after my son was born, we were blessed again with the birth of our little girl. At
this same time, my son was to start Junior Kindergarten. I remember this day very clearly, as this was the day where I
realized, I was going to be a teacher! I remember learning about classroom management that day, but not realizing how
important it actually was! When I picked up my son from his first day of Kindergarten, I remember walking into the
classroom and his teacher had the kids, all 18 of them sitting on a bench. I even commented on this to his teacher. I was
amazed that she had such control of her classroom! From that day forward, I started picking her brain and I realized how
eager she was to help me. I realized that this was teacher in her. Not only did she help teach my son, she helped me
understand what being a teacher all was about. Unfortunately, at this time, as much as I wanted to start school that
semester, my family and I had just bought our first home, and we were not in the financial position for me to go back to
school. I continued to work full time and teach my children, knowing in my heart that my time would come. After
working shift work for 5 years, I decided that I could not miss anymore evening’s home with my children. I finally made
the decision to go to teachers college that time finally came in the year of 2017. Once I realized that I had to break out
of my comfort zone, I decided with the support of my family, that I needed to make my move. Although I still work shifts,
I found the inner strength to complete my program, but I couldn’t have done it without my family. Thank you for allowing
me to share my experiences with you today.
2. What have I learned in my teacher training program that will make me an excellent classroom teacher
and colleague?
I have learned so much over this past year! I am really impressed with the skills that I have acquired both in the
classroom and in my student teaching placement. In the classroom, I have learned in detail how to make a unit plan or
learning segment. In the creating of my learning segment in EDU 500 (The Core of Education), I learned how to create
learning objectives that were aligned with the curriculum and content. I learned to create formative and summative
assessment based on these learning objectives. When planning for this learning segment, I had to modify instruction for
students with an IEP, 504 plan, as well as struggling readers. Overall I have learned that not all students learn the same, in
fact, they all learn very differently. I have learned that it is important, if not imperative to integrate technology into my
lessons, to help engage the students, who are natives to technology. I have found that introducing a new unit with a short
video about the content that can help engage students. I will provide an example of this in my next lesson.
In my EDL 550 (Developmental literacy) course, I learned many different strategies to help students not only learn to read,
but love it! In this course, I created a guided reading lesson where I taught my students how to read by monitoring their
comprehension, as they are reading. In this lesson, I taught the students that when they came to an unfamiliar word, they
should stop and use different strategies, such as: looking at the pictures to determine an unfamiliar word, asking
themselves, what would can I use that would make sense in this sentence and finally, by re-reading the sentence to see
what work will flow with the sentence itself. This course taught me many different ways to help with literacy instruction
in the classroom.
In my class ECI510, I learned that research is very important in the field of education, I have always love to research new
topics. Even when I wasn’t a student, I would find myself doing research on topics of interest. In this course, I learned the
correct way to research using online databases and peer edited journals. I know that what I learned in this course will
help me when I am working in the field of education.
Finally, I would like to connect my student teaching placement with what I have learned that will make me an excellent
classroom teacher. First, and foremost, I have learned that classroom management is the key to success! I have learned
that classroom management should be the priority in the first week of class. The students need to learn what is expected
of them, as well as the rules of the classroom. Each year classroom management will be different because not all students
are the same. It also depends on what grade I am teaching. If I am teaching a grade one class, classroom management
includes teaching the students not only the rules of the classroom, but the rules of school and society. The transition from
kinder to grade one is huge and students will need very detailed instruction and modelling of these rules. My good friend
who teaches grade one explains that the first month of grade one is very difficult, not only for him as a teacher, but for the
students. In the junior grades, classroom management is more of a review of the rules that’s they already know,
intertwined with the teachers own behavior expectations. I learned through both of my placements, one primary and one
junior that the best way to reinforce these behaviors is by having a poster on the wall for easy reminders. When I started
both of my placements, I completed an ice breaker as well as a classroom rule assignment. I asked the students to
complete a task where I had them list the rules of the classroom, so I could learn what the rules were from them. They all
did a really great job at teaching me the classroom rules. This allowed me the opportunity to set my expectations, which
added to those classroom rules. I will use this technique in my future classroom.
I have learned that communication is also very important when working with students and colleagues. I would like to
establish an open communication policy with my students. I want my students to know that I will always be there for
them and if they ever have questions, to come and ask me. I want my classroom to be full of trust, respect and kindness.
Communication is also very important when working with colleagues. In both of my placements, my associate teachers
would co-teach and it is impossible to co-teach without communication. I have learned through my student teaching
placements that most teachers form a sub-culture of their own that is very tight knit and very helpful. I was very lucky
to have the amount of support that I had with the teachers in both of my placements. At least once a day, I would have a
visit from a teacher other than my associate, who would just ask me how everything was, or to answers all of my
questions.
3. Provide an example of a lesson that I taught. How did I integrate it with other curriculum areas,
addressing the CCLS, technology, student engagement and motivation? What were the results of my
lesson?
Throughout my student teaching placements, I created so many lessons that I am very proud of. Planned, instructed and
assessed learning segments and lessons in all content areas including: language, math, social studies, religion, health and
physical education. The lesson that I would like to include as an example here is a lesson in social studies that I taught
towards the end of my learning segment. In this example, I created a learning segment in social studies where I taught my
grade 4/5 split First Nations and Europeans in New France and Early Canada. The lesson that I would like to provide
example to is the lesson on Fur Trade. In this lesson, I taught not only the grade 5 social studies curriculum, but I also
integrated it with physical education (health) with crossed with Daily Physical Education or DPA which is mandatory for
teachers to use in the Halton Catholic board. This lesson also integrated literacy and math curriculum. In this lesson, the
learning goal was for students to describe significant aspects of the interactions between First Nations and European
explorers and settlers during this period. Students were split into two groups, one group being the First Nations and one
group being the European settlers. Each group had access to a trading post that proved them the opportunity to trade
what they had for furs (pelts), weapons, beads and other items. I gave printed out a number of cards on paper which
included these items and students had to trade these items with one another to experience the trading of goods between
the two groups. I
. I integrated CCLG by asking the students to only communicate through non-verbal communications to understand
that that was the only way the the First Nations and European explorers could communicate with one another.
Language was a barrier with these two groups. I placed a star on the back of a few cards but I did not tell the students
why. I gave the students 10 minutes to trade their card goods ( pelts including other, skunk, beaver and deer, spools of
thread, clothing, muskets, beads, knives etc) I watched as the students traded with one another as well as understanding
the challenges of these two groups. When the trading was complete, I asked the students who had a card with a star on
the back? I had 8 students raise their hands. I then explained to these students that they have caught a disease as a
result of trading with one another. We then had a short discussion on health and how easy it was to transmit diseases at
this time because there were no healthcare available. They were shocked! This lesson also integrated with physical
education because the students were required to move around, math, because they were required to count their cards
and literacy because they had the opportunity to understand how blessed we are to have such great education, that we
do not have to use a non-verbal means to communicate. At the end of the lesson, I had the students write a reflection
that compared what life was like in the time of the First Nations and European sand what life is like now for us. This also
integrated literacy instruction. I integrated technology in this lessons as I allowed students to use the class iPads to help
them with their reflection task. . I believe that this lesson provides example to student engagement and motivations. The
students were more engaged in this lesson because I had them out of their seats and moving around as opposed to
learning around the fur trade in a teacher centered lesson.
4. How will my knowledge of the current trends in education inform myself as an educator in your
district/ board and school?
As the trends in education charge, educators must also strengthen their knowledge in these areas. There are a number of
reasons to why I chose a career in teaching, and one of my main reasons is to be a lifelong learner. Below, I will discuss
the trend in education and how I can use these trends to further my knowledge to become an excellent candidate for
your school board
A. Interest and continued education in trauma informed practices for responding to traumatic events that affect children
of all ages. 25 percent of children under the age of 16 have experienced trauma in their lives. Children bring their
lives to school each day and as a result teachers are learning to apapt classroom management strategies, instructional
supports and school climate to support children who have experienced trauma and help them to build their
resilience.
B. Continued education and support in mental health in children. According to Children’s Mental Health Ontario, ½ of
Ontarian parents report having concerns about their child’s anxiety. 1/3 of Ontario parents have had children miss
school due to anxiety and 1 in 5 children and youth in Ontario will experience some form of mental health. I believe
that schools should be the safe house for children with mental health issues and with teachers having mandatory
education in the area, they can help students cope with their lives.
C. Teachers will need to adopt more inclusive practices in education; practices that are designed to enable a child with
a disability to be involved in the general education curriculum. Although inclusive education is not a new concept,
teachers can continue to make progress in their knowledge about effective ways to support students with a wide range
of needs in the least restrictive environment.
D. Leveraging technology in education is very important for both educators and students. For example: flipping is a
relatively new concept that provides a video lesson platform that helps to engage students in the tools that are available
to foster oral, audio, and written skills. Students can use these skills to express themselves beyond the capacity of their
own writing skills. Critical thinking skills can also be taught through flipping technology.
E. Teachers will see opportunities to become trained mentors and support the early years of new teaching to help
them to develop into experienced teachers.
5. Why should we hire you instead of the other applicants we have interviewed?
I believe that I am an excellent teacher candidate for a position with your board. I have just recently completed the
MSED Elementary program at Medaille College in Buffalo, New York. I have worked very hard to acquire the necessary
skills to teach in the elementary level. My skills include: Technology, including the SMART notebook software, planning,
instructing and assessing a diversity of students. I have knowledge and experience with working with students with
exceptionalities, as well as ELL. I completed two students teaching placements, one within your board, where I made
some great contacts in the field of education. I have been a member of a IMH parish since I was a grade two student
and attend liturgy regularly with my children. I have completed the Faith Reference portfolio package and I have a copy
of it for you here today. I have a genuine concern and love for all students and I make a visible effort to live in Christian
love with my family. I look forward to the challenges and rewards that the teaching career has to offer and I am
dedicated to being a lifelong learner as a teacher in your school board. I have been a student with your school board
and I have children who attend your school board. I have participated in Christian meditation and I admire the way
your teachers and staff put the needs of the students first. I am here to day to ask for the opportunity to now become
a teacher in the school board that has help shaped me to be the person that I am here today before you.
Thank you