Instructional Design Portfolio
Designing Learning Experiences That Drive Measurable Growth
Five years of instructional design practice across higher education, workforce development, and arts education. Building curriculum, training programs, and LMS-housed courses grounded in evidence-based learning theory and verified by outcome data.
Design Philosophy
"Effective learning design begins with the learner: their prior knowledge, their goals, and the barriers that stand between them and mastery. I design backwards from clearly defined outcomes, embed multiple pathways to engagement and demonstration of understanding, and treat assessment not as a judgment but as a feedback loop."
My practice is grounded in Universal Design for Learning, Bloom's Taxonomy, and mastery learning frameworks. I build iterative feedback cycles into every course, including lesson plan revision loops, peer review structures, and formative checkpoints, because learning is a process, not an event. I design for access: every learner, every context, every modality.
Frameworks & Tools
Instructional Frameworks
LMS & Delivery Platforms
Active Learning & Assessment Tools
Student evaluation responses across four Rutgers teaching evaluations
Highest reported teaching effectiveness rating at Rutgers
FIGS respondents rated teaching effectiveness Good or Excellent
PI Ed students rated instructor support High or Above Average
Approach
How I Design Learning
Every project begins with the same question: what do learners need to be able to do, and what stands between them and doing it? From there, the design unfolds backwards.
Learner & Context Analysis
Identify who the learners are, what they already know, what barriers they face, and what the environment demands. Define the performance gap.
Outcomes & Objectives
Write clear, measurable learning objectives using ABCD structure and Bloom's Taxonomy. Align objectives to competency frameworks including NACE, NJ Standards, or organizational goals.
Assessment & Sequence
Design assessments before content: formative checkpoints, iterative revision cycles, peer review structures, and summative evaluations that measure mastery, not completion.
Content & Materials
Build multi-modal content including video lectures, readings, interactive activities, simulations, case studies, and discussion forums organized and delivered through LMS infrastructure.
Measure & Iterate
Collect learner feedback and outcome data. Use evaluation results to revise content, adjust pacing, and improve the learning experience in subsequent iterations.
Access is non-negotiable
Universal Design for Learning is not an accommodation — it's a starting point. Every course I design builds in multiple means of engagement, representation, and expression before a single piece of content is written.
Feedback is the curriculum
The most powerful learning happens in the revision cycle, when a learner receives specific, actionable feedback and has the opportunity to apply it. I build iterative loops into every design, not as an afterthought.
Measure what matters
Assessment should measure genuine competency, not familiarity with content. I design rubrics, competency frameworks, and performance tasks that surface real mastery and give learners meaningful insight into their growth.
Project Portfolio
Instructional Design Case Studies
Digital Marketing Certification Program
Designed and delivered a full 8-week digital marketing certification program for workforce learners through Mylestones Workforce Academy. The course was built as a hybrid model with daily asynchronous modules in Canvas supplemented by weekly live sessions, enabling learners to progress independently while receiving direct instruction and real-time feedback. The program culminates in an industry-recognized proctored certification exam and prepares learners to enter any organization and improve its digital marketing performance.
Design Decisions & Components
- Full Canvas LMS course architecture with 8 weeks of daily modules, each containing textbook readings, video lectures, slides, quizzes, and discussion forums organized by day for maximum clarity
- Simulation-based learning via MimicPro (Stukent) where learners complete 10 rounds of a real-world digital marketing simulation, with scaffolded walkthroughs available for learners who need additional support
- Case study projects woven throughout, including a Website Audit, Email Marketing Campaign, and Social Media Content Creation assignment that give learners immediate application of each module's concepts
- External certification integration: HubSpot Social Media Marketing Certification and Canva Essentials Training embedded as assessed components, adding industry-recognized credentials to the program
- Multi-modal assessment structure with quizzes (retakeable, highest score kept), discussions, simulation rounds, midterm, and a final proctored certification exam weighted 30/10/20/20/20
- Workforce readiness capstone in the final week, including LinkedIn profile review, interview skills coaching, resume development, and a final reflection that extends learning beyond content into career preparation
Design Rationale
Asynchronous-first design was chosen to maximize accessibility for working adult learners. Scaffolded simulation walkthroughs apply UDL principles by providing additional means of representation without removing the challenge of independent problem-solving. The retakeable quiz structure reflects a mastery learning approach, prioritizing demonstrated competency over penalizing initial struggle.
10-Week Intern Professional Development Program
Designed a comprehensive professional development training program for Ferrell Studios undergraduate interns structured entirely around the eight NACE Career Readiness Competencies. The program was built to do more than orient interns to their role. It was designed to produce measurable growth in professional competency and give interns a portfolio of evidence including SMART goals, resume bullets, and a facilitated presentation they could carry forward into their careers.
Design Decisions & Components
- Competency-based curriculum architecture where each week aligns to a specific NACE competency with clear learning objectives, structured activities, and reflection prompts
- SMART goal framework scaffolded from Week 1, with interns setting measurable professional development goals at the outset and tracking progress throughout the program
- Asynchronous Equity and Inclusion module with choice-based completion: interns select from LinkedIn Learning courses or curated HowlRound readings, applying UDL's multiple means of engagement
- Peer teaching model from Week 5 onward, where interns design and facilitate their own 25-minute competency sessions using NearPod, Kahoot, or case studies to build facilitation skills through direct practice
- Resume development workshop with structured peer review using Columbia Career Education methodology, producing 3-5 polished resume bullets describing the internship experience
- Mid-point and final performance evaluations using NACE competency rubrics with competency-based scoring from Emerging Knowledge to Advanced Application, submitted through Canvas
- Instructor training program designed in parallel with synchronous and asynchronous onboarding content for teaching artists joining Ferrell Studios
Design Rationale
The peer teaching model in the second half of the program reflects a core instructional design principle: the best way to consolidate learning is to teach it. By requiring interns to design and facilitate a session, the program creates a performance task that simultaneously assesses competency and deepens it. The choice-based asynchronous module ensures equitable participation regardless of schedule or learning preference.
Peer Instructor Education (01:090:320), Rutgers University
Instructs and has contributed significantly to the design of this 3-credit undergraduate course that prepares FIGS Peer Instructors to design and facilitate their own seminar sections for first-year students. The course itself is an instructional design practicum: students learn ID theory by doing it, producing four complete lesson plans across the semester through a structured cycle of design, feedback, revision, and practice teaching.
Design Decisions & Components
- Iterative lesson plan design cycle where students submit drafts, receive detailed written feedback from the instructor, revise, and resubmit, with measurable improvement tracked across submissions
- ABCD learning objective framework embedded throughout, teaching students to write Audience, Behavior, Condition, and Degree objectives and apply them directly to their own course design
- Demo teaching practicums where students facilitate live teaching demonstrations in the classroom, receive structured peer and instructor observation feedback, and revise their approach
- UDL principles integrated as a course framework, with multiple means of engagement, representation, and expression modeled in every session and required in student lesson plan submissions
- Community-building activities embedded as intentional learning objects, modeling for future PIs how to create inclusive classroom environments from day one
- NJ Standards and FIGS competency alignment with lesson plans assessed against defined program standards, training students in standards-based curriculum design
Outcome Data
100% of Spring 2025 students agreed the feedback they received improved their lesson plans
100% of Spring 2025 students rated teaching effectiveness Good or Excellent
100% of Spring 2026 students rated PI Ed instructor support High or Above Average
Introduction to Theatre Arts, 9-Week Virtual Curriculum (Ages 13-18)
Led the development of a fully asynchronous, self-paced virtual course providing a comprehensive, standards-aligned introduction to theater arts for high school students. Designed collaboratively with a team of virtual instructors and undergraduate education students, the course offers multiple modalities for every concept, including video lectures, readings, interactive EdPuzzle assignments, Padlet activities, Google Draw design tasks, and choice-based written or video assessments.
Design Decisions & Components
- Standards-aligned to NJ Visual and Performing Arts Standards across HSI, HSII, and HSIII levels with explicit standards citations in each week's learning objectives
- Choice-based assessments throughout where students may submit written paragraphs or 3-minute video responses, applying UDL's multiple means of expression
- EdPuzzle integration for video lectures with embedded comprehension checks within video content to ensure active engagement rather than passive viewing
- 9-week scope and sequence covering theatre history, dramatic genre, acting, directing, playwriting, design, musical theatre, and play analysis
- Cumulative final assessment where students select a play or musical of their choice and conduct an original in-depth analysis applying all course concepts
- Collaborative development model with curriculum built alongside a team of instructors and undergraduate interns, modeling a real instructional design team workflow
Standards Alignment
All 9 weeks explicitly aligned to NJ VPA Standards including TH:Cn, TH:Cr, TH:Pr, and TH:Re anchor standards, with differentiation built in for HSI through HSIII levels.
Academic Coaching & Workshop Design, Rutgers Learning Centers
Designs and delivers individualized coaching plans for undergraduate students navigating academic challenges, and facilitates group workshops on academic success strategies. Each coaching engagement begins with a learner needs assessment to identify the specific gap between current performance and desired outcomes, resulting in a structured, time-bound plan that addresses time management, study skills, metacognition, and goal-setting through applied, student-directed practice.
Design Decisions & Components
- Individualized learning plan design where each student receives a tailored coaching plan addressing their specific academic challenges, not a generic skills workshop
- Metacognitive frameworks embedded throughout so students learn how to learn, not just what to study, with explicit attention to self-monitoring, self-evaluation, and strategic adaptation
- Group workshop design across 32+ facilitated sessions on academic success topics, each with clear learning objectives, active learning structures, and formative reflection
- International student specialization with a separate coaching track designed for undergraduate international students navigating the unique academic and cultural transition to a US university
Scale
32+ academic coaching workshops facilitated at Rutgers Learning Centers
Coaching approach informed by collaboration with Learning Center faculty and staff through ongoing professional development and pedagogy meetings
Outcome Data
Evaluation Results
Data drawn from Rutgers SIRS evaluations and course-level assessment instruments across FIGS and Peer Instructor Education cohorts.
4.89/5
Teaching effectiveness rating, above the course, level, and department averages
Rutgers SIRS · Fall 2022 · 19 respondents
4.89/5
Positive attitude toward assisting all students in understanding course material
Rutgers SIRS · Fall 2022 · 19 respondents
100%
FIGS respondents rated teaching effectiveness Good or Excellent
FIGS Evaluations · Fall 2022 + Fall 2023 · 29 respondents
100%
Peer Instructor Education students rated teaching effectiveness Good or Excellent
PI Ed Course Eval · Spring 2025 · 12 respondents
100%
Peer Instructor Education students rated instructor support High or Above Average
PI Ed Course Eval · Spring 2026 · 14 respondents
100%
Peer Instructor Education students rated classroom community High or Above Average
PI Ed Course Eval · Spring 2026 · 14 respondents
Learner Voice
In Their Words
Feedback from Rutgers students and future Peer Instructors across FIGS and Peer Instructor Education courses.
"Luke's comments on my lesson plans made me want to learn more and get better each week."
Student, PI Ed at Rutgers, Spring 2026"Luke did a really good job at answering questions and providing actionable feedback for lesson plans."
Student, PI Ed at Rutgers, Spring 2026"Luke taught me new ways of thinking about the process of educating students."
Student, PI Ed at Rutgers, Spring 2025"He fostered such a welcoming environment, and I have always looked forward to going to class."
Student, PI Ed at Rutgers, Spring 2025"The instructor effectively created a safe space and cultivated the ability for the class to develop critical thinking skills."
Student, FIGS Seminar at Rutgers, Fall 2022"This course has enlightened me to thought processes, the world of theater, and how to apply your passions to your life."
Student, FIGS Seminar at Rutgers, Fall 2023Let's talk about your learning goals.
Available for instructional design projects, curriculum development, LMS course design, training program development, and higher education consultation. I bring both the design expertise and the classroom experience to build learning that works.