Section Two: Teacher Candidate Background Experiences

Introduction

In this section of my portfolio, I will highlight relevant work and educational experiences

that have impacted me on my journey to becoming an educator. Work experiences that I will be

addressing include, my time as an emergency supply teacher and my time as a swimming

instructor. Both of these positions allowed me to develop my passion for teaching and develop an

understanding of the importance of my role as an educator. Furthermore, in regard to my

educational experiences, my grade six teacher had a great influence on me and inspired me to

one day become an educator. Reflecting back on my experience in their classroom, it is clear that

this teacher has a great joy and passion for education, and this was demonstrated to me, even at a

young age. Furthermore, my parents have had a very large impact on my journey to becoming an

educator. They themselves are both educators and have inspired me greatly. Seeing how

passionate and dedicated they are about their positions, and their students has always been

inspiring to me, and has encouraged me to pursue my own career in education.

In addition to my work and educational experiences, this section will also highlight the

fieldwork observations during my time at Medaille College. These experiences took place in a

grade 1 and grade 6 classroom and were extremely beneficial, as I was able to observe how

different classrooms and different grades are run. Finally, this section will also include my

personal philosophy of education, as well as my resume, both of which will summarize my views

and experiences in education. I will also reflect upon my experience with the Say Yes Buffalo

program, which I had the opportunity to observe virtually during my second and third semesters

at Medaille.
Teacher Candidate Educational Background and Work Experiences

Educational Background.

Although it has been a long time since I was in grade six, my teacher had such a

significant impact on my education journey that I remember it as if it was yesterday. Not only

did I learn mathematics, language, science and social studies from this teacher, but they also

taught me the importance of kindness, and respect. This teacher made every student in the

classroom feel valued and heard. When you walked into their classroom, you knew that you had

a purpose. I particularly remember one activity that we completed weekly with this teacher. We

were provided with journals at the beginning of the year and were allowed to decorate them any

way we wanted, with scrapbook paper, drawings, or stickers. Each week, we were given a

prompt or were told to write anything we wanted in this journal. Now this might seem like an

ordinary task, but what this teacher did that particularly stood out to me was they allowed us to

fold our page over and write ‘private’ if we did not want him to read our journal entry. Allowing

us to do this was so significant and is something I will forever appreciate. It gave us the freedom

to express our thoughts without fear of judgement, and in a place that we knew was safe.

I remember one day being extremely frustrated with a math lesson, and later that week

writing in my journal about how much I disliked the lesson and making it a private note. The

teachers simply put a smiley face beside the word. This journal allowed us to develop teacher-

student relationships that was built on a foundation of trust. Having this trust was key in our

classroom environment, and it made my experience so much better. This teacher inspired me to

one day become an educator myself, and to leave a positive impact on their lives, just as they left

on mine. I will always reflect on my grade six year with admiration and appreciation for my

teacher. I still have, and always will keep the journal to remind me of this teacher.
In addition to my grade six teacher, my parents have also had a significant impact on my

desire to become a teacher. Growing up, my parents were always extremely present in my

education, they read with me at night, helped me with homework, and attended parent teacher

conferences. With my parents being so involved in my education journey from pre-school all the

way to teacher’s college, I always knew that I had support. As an adult, I am so incredibly

grateful to have had such involved parents. It not only encouraged me to try my best, but also to

love education and to always want to continue to learn and grow. I want to be able to provide this

support to students of my own. I know how important it is for students to have positive

relationships with education. If students are not engaged, they will not develop a love of

learning, and that will make going to school difficult. If I can be a positive influence, it will

benefit not only my students, but myself as well and will make learning together that much more

enjoyable.

In addition to their support, my parents influenced my education, they influenced me in

another way as well. They themselves are high school teachers. Growing up, I watched them

create lesson plans, write report cards, search for resources and talk about how they can better

help their students succeed. Seeing their passion for their career and their students is absolutely

inspiring to me. They have inadvertently taught me that teaching goes beyond the classroom and

beyond the lesson plans. It is about connecting with students, building relationships, and teaching

them to be passionate about learning. Seeing them make a difference in the lives of their students

firsthand is amazing, and I know it does not go unnoticed by others. Through thank you cards

and gifts of thanks at the end of the semester, it is clear that their students appreciate the time and

dedication my parents have given to them on their journey. I hope to be half as amazing as my

parents and to inspire my students the way they have and still do inspire me.
Work Experiences.

I have had the privilege of working as an emergency supply teacher since the year 2017.

This opportunity has allowed me to work in various different classrooms ranging from

kindergarten up to grade twelve. Through my various classroom experiences, I have had the

chance to execute many different lessons in several different subject areas. This has allowed me

to better understand how different classrooms are structured, and to see first-hand, how my

teaching methods work in the classroom. One of my most recent positions was working in a high

school classroom. The teacher was leaving the position, and it had not yet been filled, so I

worked in the class for three days. Due to the fact that the teacher had left the position, it was up

to me to create lesson plans for the days that I would be covering the class. This opportunity

allowed me to put into practice, all that I have learned throughout my time at Medaille. I created

lesson plans following curriculum, adapted my lessons depending on the students understanding,

and I created and marked assignments. Although my time in the classroom was short, it was

extremely impactful. I proved to myself and to the administration that I am capable of creating

successful lesson plans that follow curriculum, while also maintaining a safe and effective

classroom environment.

Another experience that I have had is working as a qualified swim instructor. I am

qualified to teach children from six months of age, up to adults, all of varying levels and skill

sets. Often times, I would be given split level classes of up to four different levels. Although this

was challenging at times, it taught me how to differentiate in a way that is effective not only for

myself, but for the entire class as well. This was challenging at times, as the lessons were only 30

minutes in length, but it forced me to be creative and use my time effectively. I ensured that

when I created my lesson plans, they were clearly outlined, and colour coded so that I did not
waste any time thinking about what I was teaching next. This assisted me while I was writing

report cards as well because I could reflect upon what I taught when and made sure to make

notes at the end of every lesson regarding how my students progressed. This work experience

was an excellent introduction to teaching me about how important our role is as educators.

School Observations and Classroom Application

Grade One:

During my time at Medaille, I had the opportunity to observe virtually in a grade 1

classroom, as well as a grade 6 classroom. Both experiences were extremely beneficial and

through strictly observing, I was able to take down notes, and write down any questions that I

had for the teachers.

In the grade 1 classroom, I learned a lot from the teacher not only regarding her lessons

and how they fulfill curriculum expectations, but also about managing her classroom. These

young elementary students had a lot of questions and comments throughout the day, and the way

in which the teacher handled these was a fantastic learning experience for me. She wanted her

students to be heard, and to feel important, but she also had to make sure that the lesson stayed

on track, as their time during the day is limited. In order to do both of these things, she structured

her lessons in such a way that the students were constantly answering questions and had the

chance to speak. This helped to limit distractions because students knew that they had a chance

to say something during a lesson rather than just sitting and listening the entire time.

Additionally, she also gave students time to chat with her before recess and at the end of the day

if there was something that they were excited about and wanted to tell her. This was fantastic to

see because it demonstrated to myself and to her students that she truly cares about them and

wants to hear from them.

students got a question correct, did a good job reading aloud, or completing their assigned task,

she was sure to give them lots of praise and positive reinforcement. At times as well, she also

asked to quickly speak to a child’s parent at the end of the day or before breaks if possible, to

update them on how well their child was doing. It was obvious that the parents appreciated this,

and the students were beaming with happiness. This approach reminded me of B.F Skinner and

his theory of Behaviorism. Skinner’s theory focuses on the idea that causes of behaviour are

always found within the environment (Overskeid, 2018, para. 6). When looking at this in relation

to the classroom I observed in, it is evident that this is the case. The students were encouraged

and excited to talk to their teacher because they felt valued by her. They knew they would be

praised for hard work and wanted to make her and their parents proud. Seeing Skinners theory in

action was very eye opening and encouraging. It reiterated to me just how important positive

reinforcement is and how significant the impact is on our students.

To conclude my experience with this observation I want to touch upon a scenario that

occurred in the class that influenced me greatly. One of her students asked if she could read a

book to her classmates, and teacher agreed. Although this was not in her daily plan, this book

opened up a fantastic discussion for students and was a really great opportunity for the student to

practice their reading out loud. I think that the reason this event was so significant to me was

because it taught me that we can learn so much from our students when we give them the chance

to share. I loved how this teacher was able to adapt her lesson around the book the student chose

to read, and it ended up being an engaging and educational lesson for all of the students.

Obviously, this cannot be done all the time, but when it can be, it is so wonderful to see. This
experience taught me to be flexible with my teaching, and that adapting is critical in being

successful in the classroom.

Grade Six.

Moving forward to my experience in the grade six classroom, this was extremely

influential in very different ways. The teacher for this class was very well organized and her

lessons were structured very effectively. She used a lot of different types of online resources to

help engage her students such as Nearpod, interactive slideshows and google polls, however, not

all of the students wanted to engage in the lesson. This is a drastic change from what I observed

in the grade one classroom, where all of the students wanted the chance to speak and to be heard.

The teacher did a great job of trying to connect with the students that did not seem engaged by

asking to speak with them privately after class. She encouraged them to participate in activities

and ask questions when they were having trouble so that she could help them. This did help to

improve engagement with some students and is a process she is still working on.

What really stood out to me during this observation was the way in which the teacher

presented her lessons. For each lesson, she had a visual component for the students to observe

while she was talking. This worked extremely well in her classroom because it tailored to the

learning needs of a lot of her students and helped them gain a better understanding of what they

were learning. One of the activities that she did in her class was structured specifically around

images. She presented several pictures to her class, and they each took turns coming up with one

to two sentences about the pictures. This not only allowed her class to be creative, but it also

taught them about the importance/ influence of images in stories.

The methods used by this teacher reminded me of Howard Garder and his theory of

multiple intelligences. Gardner’s theory states that “there are multiple types of human
intelligence, each representing different ways of processing information” (Edutopia, 2016, para

3). The types of intelligence that Gardner proposes include, but are not limited to verbal, logical,

kinesthetic and musical. It was fantastic to see this theory brought to life in the classroom, and it

was evident that this method benefitted the students. You could see that the students who had

their camera’s on were engaged and interested in their learning, and they were looking at the

screen because it was filled with information that would assist them in their learning.

Say Yes

Another opportunity that I had at Medaille was to participate in the Say Yes program in

Buffalo New York. Their mission is, “… to remove barriers to educational attainment,

workforce, participation and economic mobility for students in public and charter schools in

Buffalo, NY”. The program is designed for students from kindergarten up to high school and is

divided accordingly. The children have the opportunity to participate in different activities each

week, with new guests each week. What is interesting about the Say Yes Program is that the

guests are not always teachers. Some of them are farmers, university students, actors and even

chefs. This is fantastic to observe because the students are constantly learning from new people,

in different areas. Having the opportunity to observe this program was absolutely phenomenal. I

had the chance to see how different people approach teaching, and how the students responded to

their methods. It was evident when the students were extremely engaged and enjoying the lesson,

and when they were losing interest. Although, as I mentioned, the guests were not always

qualified teachers, I still believe that I gained a lot of knowledge from watching them.
Philosophy of Education

School.

My philosophy of education is that all students deserve to be treated with respect and

dignity not only personally, but also within their academic endeavors. I believe that the role of

the school within society is to create social, responsible individuals through academic

engagement, as well as interpersonal relationships. In doing so, schools create active and

contributing members in society. This idea stems from the theory of behaviourism as explained

by B.F. Skinner. In an article which discusses Skinner’s theory, the authors claim that “School is

a place where children and youth can learn academic social norms and the ability to interact

positively within personal and family relationships, as well as the ability to demonstrate positive

concern and consideration from others” (Banks et al., 2014, p. 53). In order to accommodate this

philosophy, the goals and objectives of the school would be to ensure that every

student feel included and valued within the school environment by administration, teachers and

their peers. Furthermore, the point in which schools and society interface is apparent from the

moment that a child enters the education system. This is because the school environment

provides them with the opportunity to learn, and society, as mentioned previously, provides then

with the opportunity to develop their learning.

Curriculum.

In order to accommodate my philosophy, I believe that the curriculum should be geared

toward creating learning experiences that take into consideration their personal beliefs and

learning styles. In order for this to be successful, the student- teacher relationship must be

developed early on in the school year so that the teacher understands each individual student and

learns not only who they are as an individual outside of the school environment, but their
learning style as well. In doing so, the teacher can be sure to create lessons that aim to benefit the

entirety of the class, not just tailoring to select students.

Learning.

My philosophy accommodates the developmental stages of a child at all grade levels

because as the child progresses, so will the way that they learn. As the child grows, they will

learn more about who they are as a learner, and what role they are successful in. Within my

philosophy, the role and place of the child in the process of instruction is at the forefront. This is

because I believe education should be accommodated to suit the child, not the child

accommodating to the way of education. This idea is inspired by the theorist Jean Piaget and his

theory of cognitive development. Piaget, as I referenced earlier in my portfolio, believes that

children develop certain skills and understandings at a specific age (Babakr et al., 2019, p. 518).

Learner.

As the children grow, so does their understanding of how the world functions, and we

should teach our children to their developmental stage according to Piaget (Babakr et al., 2019,

p. 518). The needs of the child are the most important part of their education because if the

learning does not suit them, they will not benefit from in, and will instead become frustrated and

feel unsuccessful.

To conclude, my philosophy of education is that all students deserve to be treated with

respect and dignity not only personally, but also within their academic endeavors. I believe that

the role of the school within society is to create social, responsible individuals through academic

engagement, as well as interpersonal relationships. This should be done so through building

positive student-teacher relationships, tailoring lessons to fit the needs of all students, assessing

often and fairly, and focusing on the student.

Relevant Experience
Emergency Supply Teacher Bluewater District School Board February 2018 - Current
• Experience in a variety of classrooms from Kindergarten to Grade 12
• Lesson planning, taking attendance, student supervision, classroom management,
communication with office and teaching staff, vice principal and principal.
• School experience in both rural and town schools

Youth Program Director - Carson’s Camp, Sauble Beach Ontario. June 2019- Sept 2020
• Working with children between the ages of 6-12 years old
• Planning activities, teaching basic life skills (i.e cooking and cleaning), and playing
educational games, assisting children with their online learning during COVID school
closure

Additional Experience
Aquatics Coordinator - Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo Ontario Sept 2018 - March
2020
• Co-coordinating a team of 28 lifeguards/supervisors
• Responsibilities include scheduling, planning staff training, staff conduct and hiring

Lifeguard/Rides Operator - Story Book Park, Owen Sound Ontario May 2018 - August 2018
• Coordinating with a team of lifeguards and ride operators to maintain a safe and fun
environment for families.

Lifeguard/Team Lead/ Instructor/ Daycare Provider -YMCA Owen Sound 2013 - 2017
• Various roles and responsibilities
• Working with patrons of all ages both on and off of the pool deck.
• Responsibilities include managing lifeguards during recreational swims, teaching lessons,
working as an aquatic fitness instructor, creating lesson plans, completing final report
cards.

Education
Honours Bachelor of Arts - Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo Ontario. 2016-2020
• Major: English
• Minors: Religion and Criminology

Ontario Secondary School Diploma June 2016

References Available Upon Request

Conclusion

In section two, I reflected upon my relevant work and education experiences that have

influenced me to become an educator. I have developed my passion and dedication to education

through these experiences and am thankful for every opportunity that I have had. These

experiences are reflected in my attached resume and discussed within my philosophy of

education paper. This section highlights my readiness, skill set, and passion for education. I

know how powerful and influential this career path is, and I chose to use my influence well. I

hope to one day inspire my students the way that my teachers have inspired me.

In the next section of my portfolio, I will present the eight artifacts that I discussed in the

first section. These artifacts are as follows: Guided Reading Lesson Plan; Weebly Website;

Science Fieldtrip Proposal; Classroom Management Plan; Literacy Learning Segment; Survey

Assignment; Cyber Safety Presentation; and DASA Certification. Each of these artifacts

represent the knowledge that I have developed during my time at Medaille, and how I will utilize

this knowledge in my own classroom.