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Instructional Design Portfolio

Learning design
that sings.

Turning complex ideas into learning that resonates. For more than 20 years.

20+
years designing learning, curriculum, and educational content
Published
writing featured in HuffPost, the Houston Chronicle, ABC affiliates, and outlets nationwide
50%+
adult enrollment growth generated in the first year of a major program launch
NEA
program named a national benchmark and featured on CBS Evening News
Lisa Shaw
What I do

When content is complex, I help the learning find its rhythm.

Your experts know the material. Your learners need a way in. I bridge that gap by turning dense notes, rough ideas, and underdeveloped content into learning that people can follow, remember, and apply.

Featured Work

The human side
of work.

Workplace learning samples focused on communication, feedback, and manager development. Each piece is built around a clear through-line — so the message lands and stays with the people who need it most.

04Projects
What Kind of Manager are You? course title slide showing a woman leading a team meeting Articulate Storyline 360
Branching Scenario Module

What Kind of Manager are You?

A branching scenario module built in Articulate Storyline 360. Learners play a first-time manager navigating five real-world moments with a struggling direct report. Decisions are scored, feedback is immediate, and results reflect the cumulative impact of each choice.

  • Branching scenario with cumulative scoring
  • Five escalating decision points with layered feedback
  • Accessibility audit — alt text, focus order, heading structure
Launch course View IDD document
What Your Employee Isn't Saying: Trauma-Informed Management course banner Articulate Rise 360
Microlearning Module

What Your Employee Isn't Saying: Trauma-Informed Feedback for Managers

A scenario-based microlearning module for experienced managers. Explores how trauma responses show up as workplace behavior — and what to do differently. Includes three scenario practice points and a companion job aid.

  • Modular microlearning segments
  • Scenario-based examples
  • Includes companion Quick Reference Card job aid
View full module View IDD document
The Aware Manager Quick Reference Card Canva
Performance Support Tool

What Your Employee Isn't Saying: Trauma-Informed Feedback for Managers — Quick Reference Card

A companion job aid for the microlearning module above. Designed for rapid scanning before or during difficult management conversations.

  • Information chunking & visual hierarchy
  • Plain-language management guidance
  • Real workplace phrasing managers can use
View reference card
Giving Constructive Feedback as a New Manager module cover Google Slides
Microlearning Module

Giving Constructive Feedback as a New Manager

A self-paced slide-based module for new managers, built around the SBI (Situation-Behavior-Impact) feedback model. Follows a complete instructional arc — from framework introduction to a realistic workplace scenario, scaffolded reflection, and modeled response.

  • SBI model instruction with realistic workplace scenario
  • Scaffolded reflection prompt and annotated model response
  • Designer's note documenting instructional design rationale
View full module View IDD document
Featured Work

Young learners,
big ideas.

Curriculum and slide-based learning for younger learners — science, reading comprehension, and humanities. Designed to find the note that makes a young learner lean in.

03Projects
The Life Cycle of a Butterfly module Grades K–2
Interactive Science Module

Life Cycle of a Butterfly

An NGSS-aligned interactive module teaching early elementary learners to identify and sequence the four stages of a butterfly’s life cycle.

  • Visual scaffolding for emerging readers
  • Content chunking
  • Formative assessment
View full lesson
The Playground Adventure reading comprehension module Grades 1–2
Reading Comprehension

The Playground Adventure

An early literacy interactive module aligned to CCSS RL.1.3 and RL.2.1, building comprehension and story recall through guided practice.

  • Early-literacy scaffolding
  • Oral language integration
  • Formative assessment design
View full lesson
Jazz and the Harlem Renaissance lesson cover Grades 5–7
Interdisciplinary Humanities

Jazz & the Harlem Renaissance

An inquiry-based humanities lesson exploring how jazz reflected social change in 1920s Harlem, with discussion and written assessment.

  • Interdisciplinary & arts-integrated
  • Inquiry-based learning
  • Higher-order thinking assessment
View full lesson
Featured Work

Writing samples.

Selected writing that shows how I explain ideas, shape voice, and write for real audiences. Clarity, structure, and reader connection — the same skills I bring to learning content.

02Samples
HuffPost · Narrative Nonfiction
Published essay
for a broad audience.
Published Essay · HuffPost

Sometimes Panic Attacks Can’t Be Explained, And That’s Okay

A published essay demonstrating narrative voice, pacing, and audience connection — written for a broad general audience on a deeply human subject.

  • Narrative nonfiction voice
  • Human-centered storytelling for a general audience
  • Pacing, warmth, and clarity
Read on HuffPost
Recognition
WordPress.com Best Posts of 2016
One of only 18 posts selected from across the entire WordPress.com platform.
Services

Learning assets with rhythm, structure, and a clear way in.

From quick-reference tools to full learning modules — every piece scored for clarity, so people know what matters and what to do next.

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Microlearning & eLearning

Focused modules, Rise courses, slide-based learning, and short experiences designed around clear outcomes.

Job aids & performance support

Quick-reference tools that help people apply what they know in the moment they need it.

Curriculum & lesson materials

Structured learning sequences, activities, prompts, and assessments for education or training contexts.

Customer education & onboarding

Guides, walkthroughs, and plain-language explanations that help users get oriented fast.

Scenario-based learning

Realistic practice activities that help learners make decisions, reflect, and transfer skills to real situations.

𝄢

Content restructuring

Clear rewrites of dense or expert-heavy source material into learning content people can actually follow.

Lisa Shaw
More about me

My background

I’ve spent my whole life in learning spaces — as a student, a performer, a voice teacher, a homeschooling parent — always designing the experience, even when that wasn’t what it was called.

I’ve designed learning experiences in private voice instruction, led education programs at Levine Music and Encore Stage & Studio, and hold three degrees. My tools include Articulate Storyline 360, Articulate Rise 360, Canva Pro, Google Workspace, and Microsoft Office. I work within ADDIE and apply adult learning theory and Bloom’s Taxonomy across every project.

Get in touch

Let’s make something that sings.

Open to instructional design, LXD, and curriculum writing roles. Based in the Washington, DC area.