English Language Learners Capstone Portfolio: Shanshan Zhu, Fall 2019

Abstract

This Capstone Portfolio delineates my journey towards teaching excellence. First, I describe my teaching philosophy, which is informed by coursework and refined by practice during my time in the ELL program at Vanderbilt University. My philosophy consists of three cornerstones: cultural and linguistic responsiveness, communicative competence, and meaningful assessment. Next, I demonstrate my enactment of practices derived from this philosophy in accordance with the TESOL domains through an analysis of artifacts I completed during my graduate studies. Finally I delineate potential challenges in enacting the philosophy in future implementation, particularly in the under resourced and test-driven school climates where I will likely work, and offer proposals for overcoming these challenges.