Philosophy
These are not abstract principles. They are commitments that show up in every lesson plan, every slide, and every assessment I write.
Core Belief
Every decision I make as an instructional designer — what to include, what to cut, how to sequence, what to assess, whose voice to center — is an ethical decision before it is a design decision. The question is not only "does this work?" but "does this work for the people it is supposed to serve, in the context where they actually are?"
That conviction shapes my entire practice. It is why I use backward design: not because it is a popular framework, but because starting with the learner's desired understanding rather than the content to be covered is a fundamentally more honest way to approach design. It is why I apply universal design principles to everything I build — not to check a box, but because a learning experience that excludes some learners is not, in any meaningful sense, a good learning experience.
Five Principles
Coverage is not learning. The question that opens every project is: what must the learner genuinely understand when this is over — not what material will be presented, but what insight will be transferable? That question, answered honestly, determines everything else.
Universal design is not about making things easier. It is about removing the barriers that prevent people from engaging with the challenge you are offering. Cognitive load from poor design is not the same as productive struggle with meaningful content.
Every design produces data. When something doesn't work — a lesson that falls flat, an assessment that doesn't distinguish levels of understanding — that is not a problem to minimize. It is information to use.
Following Costanza-Chock's design justice framework, the most important question in any design process is whose experience and knowledge shapes the decisions being made. Instructional design that treats learners as generic recipients of content produces generic results at best, and harmful ones at worst.
If I claim to practice equitable, accessible, learner-centered design, this portfolio must demonstrate those qualities — not just describe them. Every design decision here is an argument about my values. I have tried to make those arguments honestly, including acknowledging where I fall short.