Annotated Transcript

This page is the product of my Master of Arts in Learning Experience Design (MALXD) through Michigan State University. This portfolio was developed as part of my Capstone course in Spring 2026, taught by Dr. Matthew Koehler and Megan Eikey. The capstone, this website, is designed with a foundation of continuous iteration with existing work in previous courses and meaningful community feedback. 

My annotated transcript is organized by the three graduate certificates that comprise the MALXD program. Course Code Legend: CEP = Counseling, Educational Psychology & Special Education, EAD = Educational Administration, UX = User Experience

Learning Sciences

Dr. Brittany Dillman

Fall 2024: This course used a metaphor of a museum to guide our exploration of foundational learning theories—an approach that modeled excellent learning design in itself. Prior to this program, I believed that learning primarily occurred through reflection and a natural curiosity about the “how” and “why” of our lives. While I still hold that curiosity and reflection are vital, this course pushed me to synthesize these beliefs into a theory of learning. My framework is now deeply informed by Ryan and Deci’s (2000) research on intrinsic motivation within Self-Determination Theory, as well as Lave and Wenger’s (1991) Situated Learning theory.

This coursework has repeatedly reinforced itself within my 6th-grade ELA classroom, focusing intentionally on how to foster the intrinsic motivation required to deeply engage and inspire my middle school learners.

Dr. Emiko Blalock

Fall 2024: My understanding of andragogy is grounded in several critical questions posited throughout this course: Whose perspectives, assumptions, and experiences inform scholarship on adult learning? Whose knowledge is left out? What is most worth knowing for a community, and how does context shape the value of that knowledge? Exploring these questions highlighted the social nature of adult education, drawing heavily on Lave and Wenger’s (1991) concepts of legitimate peripheral participation and Wenger’s (1998) Communities of Practice.

In my final project, I apply these principles to build a robust community of practice titled The Blue Knight Learning Network. This project aims to create a cohesive support system of teachers, staff, and families, translating theoretical andragogy into tangible, community-driven professional and personal growth.

Dr. Cary Roseth

Spring 2025: In this course, I explored the methodologies behind quantitative, qualitative, and humanistic research. The coursework allowed for diverse, hands-on application: I created surveys, proposed research on reading materials, and even explored denotative and connotative analysis through Kendrick Lamar’s song “tv off.” This course culminated in finding, evaluating, and critiquing peer-reviewed literature to build a formal research proposal evaluating the implementation and impact of student planners in a middle school setting. 

The ability to critically evaluate and design educational research has strengthened my pedagogical decision-making. The research plan for middle school planners is a direct response to a real-world need in my building, and it is a graduate project I actively hope to see come to fruition in my school.

Learning Design

Dr. Anne Heintz and Nicole Zumpano

Spring 2025: This course emphasized the humanizing elements of online learning design. I wrote an online learning manifesto founded on Paulo Freire’s (1970) anti-banking method of education, arguing for digital spaces that empower rather than simply deposit information. To put this into practice, I created a comprehensive learner inventory and built an interactive online unit focused on argumentative writing built in the LMS Google Classroom.

My work in this course taught me how to move beyond basic digital document sharing to actually humanize the digital learning spaces I create for my middle schoolers.

Dr. Brittany Dillman

Summer 2025:  This course allowed me to look behind the assessment philosophy of the MALXD framework and solidify my own philosophy of education. I researched Alfie Kohn’s (2011) argument toward a practice of ungrading and critically evaluated standardized assessments, such as the i-Ready Reading Diagnostic, to understand their broader impacts on student learning.

My approach to grading has fundamentally shifted from a traditional points-based system to a feedback-oriented approach. This shift is currently a developing, active project in my own 6th-grade classroom as I implement the newly designed assessments from this course.

Louise Stauffer

Summer 2025: This course expanded my understanding of accessibility across both digital and physical spaces. To better understand and design for diverse user needs, I learned how to develop and apply user personas to my work.  I completed an accessibility audit of a nonprofit website and explored the accessibility features of my mobile device. Moving beyond the screen, I also conducted an informal physical accessibility audit of a local free restroom.

This course exposed me to WCAG web compliance standards, which has directly guided my work on this very portfolio. As I built this website, I actively applied these principles to ensure the design achieves a WCAG compliance rating of 2.0 or higher, making my professional work accessible to all users.

Learning Design Leadership

Blair Stamper

Fall 2025: In this course, I evaluated core project management frameworks, including ADDIE and SAM. Through this exploration, I defined my personal leadership philosophy, ultimately creating a vision for organizational change at my school. Prior to this course, I did not see myself as a leader. However, I now view the small, meaningful changes I make in my day-to-day practice as a vital form of leadership. I learned how to build sustainable systems, creating a project scope and initial deliverables for an adaptive growth platform that utilizes a self-directed approach and relies heavily on the existing knowledge within our organization.

My leadership dashboard is a compilation of my leadership approach, coaching philosophy, and organizational vision. I aim to support those around me to learn and iterate on their own practices. 

Candace Robertson

Fall 2025: This course challenged me to identify and tackle systemic issues within my educational environment. I completed a learner empathy map to pinpoint a specific, pressing problem at my school: student digital apathy. To address this, I collaborated directly with our technology committee to co-design a solution rooted heavily in Liberatory Design and the Leading for Equity framework.

The collaborative protocol I designed is directly applicable to our building’s technology strategy. I am better equipped to lead initiatives that address not just the symptoms of technological disengagement, but the root causes impacting our middle school learners.

Dr. Andrew Saltarelli

Spring 2026: This course will help support the momentum required for post-graduate success. Rather than focusing on a single overarching theory, this space allowed me to self-direct my learning and experiment with highly technical and practical skills. I have dedicated time to experimenting with JavaScript, authoring tools like Articulate, and the principles of plain language in design.

I am actively exploring the areas in which I hope to take my studies and career in the future, and thus, ensuring that my learning design skills remain sharp, relevant, and adaptable to my next challenges.

References

Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc.

Kohn, A. (2011). The case against grades. Alfie Kohn.

Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge University Press.

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68-78.

Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge University Press.

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