Professional portfolio which includes exceptional undergraduate work to exemplify my pedagogical knowledge, experience, and growth.

1. Kerry O’Connor Education Portfolio

2. Table of Contents Knowledge Demonstrates knowledge of content: Liberal Arts: Math222 Exam 1 Pedagogy: EDUC 340 Final Exam InstructionalApplication Utilizes research: Annotated Bibliography Assess student learning: Language Arts Unit Assessment EthicsandValues Demonstrates a caring and respectful manner with all students: Fall 2010 Mid-semester Evaluation Demonstrates ability to collaborate with colleagues: Exploring Biomes WebQuest ProfessionalDevelopment Reflection on performance: Fall 2010 Post-Observation Reflection Active Participation in educational conferences/workshops: Verizon’s Thinkfinity Workshop

4. Reflection: Elementary Mathematics covered various topics throughout the year. The information I learned has benefitted me in more than just expanding my knowledge in the subject. It has helped me to effectively create lesson plans and assessments. Additionally, the instruction in this Liberal Arts area has helped me to excel in the mathematics sections of the LAST and Multi-Subject CST New York State Teacher Certification Examinations.Knowledge Demonstrates knowledge of content (Liberal Arts):

10. Reflection: This exam exemplifies my knowledge in special education pedagogy. Throughout the semester, I learned what different acronyms and words meant and how they are used in an educational setting. Knowledge of the pedagogy demonstrated on this final exam is necessary when working with a variety of students. Being aware of the diverse learning needs of all students requires an understanding in education pedagogy and practice. Having this background information will help me understand the pedagogy that is displayed in schools with different types of learners.Knowledge

14. Reflection: After looking for books for the annotated bibliography, I learned that many children’s literature books can actually be applied to other instructional contexts. Books that are only used for literacy purposes in classrooms can actually be used for math, science, and other content areas. While looking for children books for my annotated bibliography, I came across many books that I would have never thought of using for math lessons. As I actively researched books for math instruction, I came across many books for a variety of math topics that meet New York State standards. Applying my research skills of finding children’s literature that is useful for various content areas has been beneficial in my lessons. Many useful and engaging lessons can be created using children’s literature.Instructional Application

17. Reflection: Assessing student learning helps teachers to understand the types of learners who are in the classroom. Additionally, it helps teachers to see what aspects of each lesson need to be emphasized or what lessons need to be taught again. Creating a data spreadsheet on Microsoft Excel also helps to organize information that can be utilized to assess both student learning and teacher performance of a lesson or unit. On this particular unit, class 5L did very well demonstrating their Language Arts knowledge on the unit quiz.Instructional Application

22. Reflection: Creating a positive and supportive classroom environment is an important part of classroom management. When both the teacher and the students possess these qualities, the classroom environment becomes an easier place in which to teach and learn. I strongly demonstrated these qualities the first day I stepped into the classroom. The challenge is teaching the students to understand and demonstrate the qualities on their own.Ethics and Values

25. Reflection: For this WebQuest, my partner and I split the work evenly between us. This assignment required a great amount of time; therefore, working together helped minimize individual work and helped the project to be completed quickly and efficiently. Collaboration took place in person and over the Internet. I was grateful for working with my partner for this project because we both put a great deal of work into the presentation, and we were pleased with its outcome. Working with a fellow classmate on a project has provided practice for collaboration with teachers in the future. Effective collaboration in school settings creates a positive learning environment for students and a positive working place for teachers. Having the ability to collaborate with others helps accomplish certain tasks quickly and easily.Ethics and Values

26. WebQuest

28. Reflection: Being able to reflect on teaching performance helps improve teaching skills and strategies. Because I reflected on my teaching performance, I learned from the few mistakes I made, and made the decision of teaching a follow-up lesson to emphasize important points of the original lesson. Additionally, I noticed strengths to my lesson, which helped me to see what worked for the students. Knowing what worked and what did not work in a lesson helps the teacher to understand what approaches and methods can be used in a follow-up lesson, or for next year’s students. It is important to always reflect on teaching performance, so that strengths and weaknesses can be utilized to effectively plan future lessons.Professional Development

31. Reflection: The Thinkfinity workshop was extremely useful for me. Being shown the various sites to find lesson plans, activities, and other ways to improve teaching performance has helped me in my student teaching. Additionally, the sites on Thinkfinity have helped me to incorporate multiple subjects into one lesson, while using various activities. Because of this professional development workshop, I learned that ongoing development helps keep teachers up to date with various ways of engaging students and expanding teacher knowledge. Using outside resources, such as sites seen on Thinkfinity, enhances teaching by offering various ways to teach lessons and providing engaging activities. Professional Development

33. “To teach… …is to touch lives forever.” -Anonymous