Capstone: The Aletheia Instructional Portfolio
AICI 601 is the capstone of The Aletheian Design Theory of Learning sequence. Each lesson moves participants from collected artifacts and scattered insights toward a coherent, living Aletheia Instructional Portfolio that can travel with them into classrooms, leadership roles, and future design work.
Learners step back from individual artifacts to articulate a through-line: who they are as designers, how ADTL has shaped their practice, and what story the capstone portfolio needs to tell.
- Identify a core narrative focus for the portfolio (e.g., equity, visual design, AI integration, assessment).
- Connect that focus explicitly to The Aletheian Design Theory of Learning.
- Clarify the intended audiences: hiring committees, school leaders, colleagues, or self-reflection.
- Review sample portfolio narratives and designer statements.
- Mini-lesson on narrative arcs: before → turning points → current practice → emerging questions.
- Guided writing to draft a first version of a personal “Aletheian Design Story” statement.
- Brainstorm key moments, artifacts, and shifts in practice across previous AICI courses.
- Draft a one-paragraph portfolio narrative anchored in ADTL language and pillars.
- Initial Aletheian Design Story statement that could open the portfolio.
- Short list of 3–5 anchor artifacts likely to feature in the capstone.
Learners present a concise capstone proposal—narrative focus, artifact set, and audiences—and use critique to clarify what their portfolio is really trying to show and change.
- Share a written capstone proposal (1–2 pages) outlining narrative focus and planned artifacts.
- Explain how the proposal embodies ADTL pillars and the Aletheian Learning Cycle.
- Name at least one primary and one secondary audience for the portfolio.
- Peers ask: “What story is this portfolio really telling?” and “Where is the center of gravity?”
- Group surfaces possible overreach (too broad) or missed opportunities (too narrow).
- Participant revises the proposal for focus, feasibility, and clarity of ADTL alignment.
- Participant emerges with a clear, motivating capstone plan.
- Participant can name specific success criteria for the capstone experience.
Learners sift through units, tasks, visuals, assessments, reflections, and student work to choose a focused, representative set that supports their capstone narrative and ADTL connections.
- Distinguish between “favorite” artifacts and “representative” artifacts.
- Align each potential artifact to a specific ADTL pillar or design move.
- Consider multiple forms of evidence, including student work and feedback.
- Mini-gallery walk: types of portfolio evidence (planning documents, visuals, assessments, student artifacts).
- Mini-lesson on curatorial decisions: inclusion, omission, and balance.
- Structured sorting: “Essential,” “Supporting,” and “Archive” artifacts.
- Create a Capstone Artifact Inventory listing candidate pieces with rationale.
- Select a first draft set of core and supporting artifacts.
- A prioritized list of artifacts mapped to ADTL pillars and the capstone narrative.
- Notes about gaps in evidence that may still need to be filled or approximated.
Learners present their curated artifact sets and invite critique on coverage, coherence, and how well the evidence illuminates both design process and impact on learners.
- Share the Capstone Artifact Inventory and draft selection.
- Explain why each core artifact earned its place in the capstone.
- Describe what is missing or underrepresented in the current set.
- Peers ask: “If this were all I saw, what would I believe about your practice?”
- Group identifies gaps (e.g., student voice, assessment design, visual language, AI workflow).
- Participant refines the set to avoid redundancy and highlight range.
- Participant documents strategies to address evidence gaps (even if only with reflective commentary).
- Participant maintains a tight alignment between artifacts and capstone narrative.
Learners draft concise, reflective commentary for artifacts, making their design decisions visible and legible to readers who were not in the classroom or studio with them.
- Use commentary to tell the story “behind” each artifact: context, purpose, constraints, and ADTL alignment.
- Balance theory language with concrete classroom realities and student voices.
- Leverage AI as a drafting partner while preserving authentic voice.
- Examples of strong and weak artifact commentaries.
- Mini-lesson on a simple structure: Context → Design Move → Evidence → Reflection → Next Steps.
- Guided writing sprints to draft commentary for 1–2 core artifacts.
- Write commentary drafts for selected artifacts using a common template.
- Mark where ADTL language appears and where student evidence is referenced.
- Commentary drafts that reveal design reasoning and learning impact.
- List of questions to bring into the mastery studio for refinement.
Learners share commentary drafts, focusing on how their voice, theory language, and classroom realities come through—and revising to strike the right balance for their audience(s).
- Read commentary for one or two artifacts aloud or share in small groups.
- Identify where their voice feels most and least authentic.
- Explain how their commentary explicitly invokes ADTL pillars and student evidence.
- Peers respond with “reader feedback”: what’s clear, what’s confusing, what’s compelling.
- Group suggests where to expand storytelling versus where to tighten language.
- Participant revises commentary to be precise, reader-friendly, and grounded in ADTL.
- Participant develops a consistent voice across artifacts.
- Participant names how they’ll use AI intentionally (and transparently) in future revisions.
Learners decide how their portfolio will live—slide deck, PDF, site, or hybrid—and design the visual and structural container so that the story is easy to navigate and aligned with Studio Aletheia’s aesthetic.
- Choose the portfolio format(s) and platform(s) that best serve their goals and audiences.
- Apply Studio Aletheia’s visual language (palette, typography, motifs) to the portfolio structure.
- Plan navigation, section headers, and wayfinding for readers.
- Examine models of visual portfolios (slides, microsites, PDFs) with commentary.
- Mini-lesson on layout hierarchy, whitespace, and visual rhythm in Aletheian terms.
- Sketch wireframes for the portfolio’s overall structure and 1–2 key spreads/pages.
- Create a structural outline of sections and navigation for the portfolio.
- Draft low-fidelity wireframes for the introduction, one artifact page/spread, and the closing reflection.
- Wireframes that clearly show how readers will move through the portfolio.
- Design notes connecting visual decisions to Studio Aletheia’s brand canon.
Learners bring early portfolio layouts or slide samples to critique, focusing on aesthetic coherence, readability, and accessibility for different devices, abilities, and contexts.
- Present draft layouts (screenshots, slides, or live prototypes) for key sections.
- Explain design decisions around typography, color, imagery, and navigation.
- Identify known access constraints (e.g., printing, screen readers, bandwidth).
- Peers respond using visual literacy and accessibility lenses.
- Group offers concrete suggestions for improving hierarchy, legibility, and accommodating different readers.
- Participant refines layouts to be both beautiful and functionally accessible.
- Participant documents specific accessibility choices (contrast, font size, alt-text, navigation clarity).
- Participant ensures the portfolio can travel across contexts (digital/print, large/small screens).
Learners plan how they will present the portfolio—live, recorded, conversational—and practice telling the story of their work in a way that is concise, compelling, and grounded in ADTL.
- Design a presentation arc that mirrors the portfolio structure.
- Decide which artifacts to highlight and which details to leave in the written/visual portfolio.
- Use ADTL language fluently and accessibly in spoken form.
- Mini-lesson on narrative arcs for oral presentations and interviews.
- Storyboard activity: mapping key moments, transitions, and pauses.
- Short rehearsals in pairs or trios to test framing and timing.
- Create a Portfolio Defense Outline or slide cue sheet.
- Draft or refine opening and closing statements for the presentation.
- Clear presentation plan that can support a 10–20 minute defense or showcase.
- Documented talking points tied to ADTL and concrete classroom examples.
Learners deliver a rehearsal version of their portfolio presentation, receive targeted feedback, and refine both content and presence before final submission or live defense spaces.
- Present a shortened version of the portfolio defense (or key segments).
- Use visuals, commentary, and ADTL references in a live or recorded format.
- Respond to at least a few audience questions or prompts.
- Peers offer feedback on clarity, pacing, and alignment between spoken story and portfolio artifacts.
- Group identifies moments of strongest resonance and places where the story feels thin or rushed.
- Participant refines slides, script, or prompts based on feedback.
- Participant notes strategies for managing nerves and maintaining presence.
- Participant can confidently explain how ADTL shows up across their portfolio.
Learners treat the capstone as a waypoint, not an endpoint—naming future projects, questions, and structures that will carry Aletheian design into the next seasons of their career and life.
- Reflect on how their practice has shifted across the AICI sequence.
- Identify long-term design questions and commitments grounded in ADTL.
- Plan rhythms for continued portfolio growth, documentation, and reflection.
- Guided reflection across courses: “What has changed? What remains in process?”
- Mini-lesson on cycles of professional inquiry and portfolio refresh.
- Drafting of a 1–3 year Aletheian Practice Plan.
- Write a Future Practice Statement describing desired impact on learners and systems.
- Outline 2–3 concrete future design projects or experiments.
- Draft Aletheian Practice Plan that includes goals, supports, and checkpoints.
- Clear ideas for how the portfolio will evolve beyond AICI 601.
Learners present their near-final portfolio and practice plan in a closing studio critique, receiving feedback and formally naming the next chapter of their Aletheian design journey.
- Share the almost-final portfolio and highlight key revisions made through the course.
- Present the Aletheian Practice Plan and Future Practice Statement.
- Explain how the portfolio and plan together embody The Aletheian Design Theory of Learning.
- Peers and facilitators offer affirmations and final suggestions for polish.
- Group reflections: emergent themes, shared questions, and possibilities for collective work.
- Participant finalizes a portfolio piece suitable for The Aletheia Design Portfolio.
- Participant leaves with a concrete, motivating roadmap for future design projects.
- Participant can see themselves as an ongoing designer of possibility, not just a course completer.