Instructional Designer· Educational consultant · Curriculum Developer

Mentolawit Taye

PORTFOLIO

I architect performance-based curricula, lead professional development workshops, and publish thought leadership that bridges research and classroom practice — across K-12, higher education, and adult learning.

Featured Projects

Selected Work Samples

Dive deep into actual lesson architecture, curriculum plans, and peer-reviewed educational research assessments.

Research evaluation report with data charts and magnifying glass
Interactive Preview
Research & Educational Effectiveness

Curriculum Evaluation & Research Summary

An in-depth curriculum evaluation focused on diverse classrooms, evaluating alignment to Common Core standards and real-world student success benchmarks.

Evaluates standards alignment across high-need diverse K-12 populations.
Analyzes mixed-method learning data, pre-tests, and educator feedback.
Provides actionable, culturally responsive instructional recommendations.
Open notebook and lesson document on a wooden table
Interactive Preview
Curriculum Design & Learning Arc

Atomic Aftermath: One-Week Learning Arc

A complete, week-long learning progression proposal mapped to English standards, exploring ethical dilemmas in historical contexts.

Anchored in Backward Design & Universal Design for Learning (UDL).
Integrates digital tools like collaborative whiteboards and exit tickets.
Delivers balanced formative check-ins alongside summative rubrics.
Close-up of hands holding earthworms in fertile soil
Interactive Plan Explorer
Featured Lesson Design

Lesson 3: Soil Amendments for Regenerative Small Farming

A complete, hands-on instructional guide focused on soil health restoration. Scaffolds complex agricultural chemistry into collaborative classroom activities and diagnostic matrices.

Classifies amendments into organic, mineral, and innovative (biochar/local waste) types.
Embedded formative sorting activities, riddles, and collaborative decision labs.
3-Level Rubric to assess standards-based diagnostic reasoning and contextual application.
Calculator, coins, and stationery representing budgeting and finance
Interactive Plan Explorer
Featured Lesson Design

Lesson 2: Develop a Budget for You

A premium, hands-on personal finance curriculum scaffolding complex spending decisions through step-by-step workflows with interactive tools.

Visual, structured methodology: Income → Bills → Spending → Balance → Adjustment.
Traffic-light indicators (Green/Yellow/Red) to easily evaluate budget health.
Interactive reinforcement using simulations and an integrated Skill Check Rubric.
Higher Education / Inclusive Teaching

Multicultural Education Materials

Professor teaching a diverse group of students in a university lecture hall
View Sample
Course Module

Culturally Responsive Teaching in Higher Education

A 6-week hybrid course module on culturally responsive teaching designed for university faculty and teacher educators. Scaffolds from cultural competence foundations through implementation and action planning.

Cultural competence, implicit bias awareness, and inclusive curriculum design.
Culturally relevant pedagogy with student-centered case studies.
Equitable assessment, bias-free feedback, and personal action planning.
Adult Learning / ESL Instruction

ESL Intervention Program

A diverse group of adults in a learning session engaging with a presentation
View Sample
Sample Lesson Plan

English for Workplace Communication

A 60-minute workplace communication lesson for intermediate adult ESL learners. Covers professional greetings, responding to instructions, small talk, role-play practice, listening comprehension, and exit-ticket assessment.

Workplace communication: greetings, instructions, and professional small talk.
Role-play, listening comprehension, and sentence starters for differentiation.
Designed for virtual and in-person delivery with Flipgrid and Google Forms.

Expertise & Approach

With deep expertise spanning K-12, adult learning, and higher education, I design curricula grounded in backward design, Universal Design for Learning, and culturally responsive pedagogy. My work integrates AI and digital tools to create inclusive, performance-based learning experiences that produce measurable outcomes.

K-12 Education Universal Design for Learning Backward Design AI & Digital Tools Culturally Responsive Teaching Performance-Based Architecture
Students learning in a classroom setting with a teacher assisting and laptops on desks

Professional Development & Workshops

Facilitating growth for educators and institutions through targeted training.

Effective Curriculum Alignment Workshop

Led workshops for K-12 schools on aligning curriculum to state standards while embedding culturally responsive teaching strategies.

ESL Intervention Program for Adult Learners

Designed intervention materials based on comprehensive needs assessments, improving language acquisition outcomes and long-term learner retention.

Multicultural Education Materials for Higher Ed

Created inclusive course materials that enhance cultural awareness and belonging in higher education environments, supporting equity-focused institutional goals.

Curriculum Design & Instructional Materials

Standards-aligned, differentiated instruction designed for real classrooms.

ELA · Grades 6–7

Character Development Through Fiction

A 60-minute ELA lesson for grades 6–7 aligned to CCSS RL.6.3 and RL.7.3. Students analyze character growth through fiction using graphic organizers and digital tools.

Objectives: Identify character change, cite textual evidence, compare development across works. Differentiation includes sentence starters, leveled texts, and cross-text comparison for advanced learners.

Middle School · 8-Week Arc

Collaborative Lesson Plan Arc for Effective Instruction

A quarter-long, co-designed lesson arc using the DEAR model with embedded culturally responsive practices.

Aligned to Speaking & Listening, Writing, and Informational Text standards. Features team-based planning, tiered assignments, project-based learning, and rubric-based performance assessments.

Top-down view of a desk with charts, a laptop, and notebooks

Research & Educational Effectiveness

Evaluating Curriculum Effectiveness in Diverse Classrooms

Conducted rigorous, data-driven research across multiple K-12 settings to evaluate instructional impact and identify leverage points for improvement.

Signature Frameworks & Case Studies

Performance-based curriculum architecture that transforms subject-matter expertise into structured, actionable learning journeys.

Performance-Based Architecture

Instructional Designer vs. SME Dynamic

The 5 Whys Methodology

Case Study

Your Money–Your Future: Financial Literacy Architecture

Transformed dense banking guidelines into an 8-lesson behavioral roadmap with authentic tool simulations.

Case Study

Soil Smart: Regenerative Practices for Small-Scale Farming

Converted academic soil science into field-level diagnostics with crop rotation decision matrices.

Course: Writing Across the Curriculum

Writing Across the Curriculum

Illustration about Writing Across the Curriculum with books, a notebook, and a pen

What Is Writing Across the Curriculum?

Lesson Description

This lesson introduces the foundational principles of Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) and explores how writing can be used as a tool for learning in every subject area. Participants will examine the purpose of WAC, its impact on student learning, and the role writing plays in promoting critical thinking, comprehension, reflection, and communication.

Through practical examples and real-world applications, learners will discover how writing extends beyond language arts classrooms and can support learning in disciplines such as science, mathematics, social studies, business, agriculture, and the arts. The lesson also addresses common misconceptions about integrating writing into content-area instruction and highlights the benefits of making writing a regular part of the learning process.

What You'll Learn

  • The definition and purpose of Writing Across the Curriculum
  • How writing supports learning and knowledge retention
  • The differences between writing-to-learn and learning-to-write
  • The benefits of WAC for students and educators
  • Examples of WAC practices across different disciplines

Key Takeaway

By the end of this lesson, participants will select foundational Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) principles to transform a regular lesson into a content-area writing plan.

Check out my course on Gumroad

Curriculum Portfolio

Featured Compilation

Final Portfolio Submissions

A premium, comprehensive compilation displaying extensive curriculum architecture, revised lesson blocks, and rigorous instructional design models optimized for diverse educational environments.

Pedagogical Foundations

Backward Design (UbD) structured roadmap Alignment
Culturally Responsive Pedagogy with student-focused scaffolding
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) inclusive frameworks

Portfolio Deliverables

Revised Lesson Plans 1 & 2 with enriched activities
Non-lesson submission and administrative framework
Comprehensive additional lesson plans and assessments