📌 Role Overview
I took full ownership of developing two Cambridge-based English course product lines — one aligned with the FCE exam and the other focused on 21st-century skills (4Cs) at the PET level. I led end-to-end instructional design, from textbook review to interactive courseware, workbooks, and student video tutorials, serving over 8,000 students nationwide across 15+ Xueersi branches.
📌 I am also a nationally certified English teacher (China National Teaching Certificate), serving as an in-house SME for Cambridge English pedagogy.
🎯 Key Initiatives & Outcomes
1. Course Development – Two Cambridge Product Lines
Product Line 1: FCE-Aligned Course (Age 11–12 | 30 lessons)
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Aligned with Cambridge FCE exam difficulty and competency model
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Focused on exam readiness, academic English, and advanced writing
Product Line 2: 21st-Century Skills Course (Age 9–10 | 40 lessons)
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Centered on the 4Cs: Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Creativity
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Built at PET exam level
My End-to-End Responsibilities:
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Reviewed Cambridge University Press textbook and workbook scripts before finalization
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Led instructional design for every lesson across both product lines (70+ lessons total)
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Created interactive courseware, knowledge checklists, workbooks, and supporting materials
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Recorded detailed video tutorials for students (used across all branches)
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Managed both in-person and online course formats
Scale & Reach:
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8,000+ students served nationwide
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15+ Xueersi branches adopted these product lines
2. Dual-Modal Design – Offline vs. Online Differentiation
I designed both product lines for two delivery formats simultaneously, with activities specifically tailored to each modality's strengths.
📌 This dual-modal approach ensured that learning outcomes were consistent across formats, while the learning experience was optimized for each delivery context.
3. Story-Based Learning – Pedagogical Framework
I implemented story-based learning in every unit of both Cambridge English courses.
Benefits of Story-Based Learning:
Learning Outcomes:
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Students acquire unit vocabulary and grammar structures naturally through stories
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Gain insights into international cultures and customs
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Proven edutainment effect — students enjoy learning while retaining more
📌 Practice has proven that students greatly enjoy this mode of learning. A sample story-based lesson plan is available upon request.
Screenshots of scripts for a story
Click the image to watch the story
4. Authoring Tools & Technical Skills
I used TAL's proprietary interactive e-learning development tool — an authoring platform that allows instructional designers to arrange:
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Triggers (conditional interactions)
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Layers (progressive content reveal)
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Interactive elements (drag-and-drop, hotspots, branching scenarios)
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…
📌 *This tool functioned similarly to Articulate Storyline but was built in-house for TAL's specific K12 content needs.*
5. Team Development – Peer Learning Sessions
I organized periodic training sessions to accelerate team learning and build a shared knowledge base.
How it worked:
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Each team member was assigned a different chapter from a Cambridge English teaching methodology book
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They presented their key findings to the rest of the team
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Sessions enabled the whole team to benefit from multiple chapters without each person reading the entire book
Outcome:
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Rapid, scalable team learning
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Shared vocabulary around Cambridge pedagogy
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Strengthened team culture and knowledge sharing
📌 This approach turned individual reading into collective growth — a model I continue to use in team settings.
6. Mentorship & SME Role
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Subject Matter Expert (SME) : I passed the China National Teaching Certificate Examination and served as an in-house Cambridge English SME, advising on pedagogy, assessment, and Cambridge alignment.
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Mentorship: Mentored 3 junior instructional designers, providing feedback on their courseware, lesson structures, and interactive design.
🧰 Tools & Methodologies Used
🧠 Reflection Section
Reflection: From Designer to SME, Mentor & Team Catalyst
This role at TAL was where I grew from a content designer into a subject matter expert, team mentor, and learning culture builder — while still owning end-to-end product development.
What I learned:
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Dual-modal design is a mindset, not an afterthought: Designing for offline vs. online simultaneously forced me to think deeply about what each format does best — not just converting offline activities to screens.
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Small online engagement tools matter: Polls, random wheels, and paired role plays seem simple, but they transformed passive screen time into active, unpredictable, game-like moments.
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Being an SME changes your design perspective: Passing the national teaching certification exam gave me the credibility to challenge textbook scripts and propose better pedagogical approaches — not just execute others' decisions.
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Team learning scales culture: The peer-led chapter presentations meant the whole team learned faster than any individual could alone. This became one of my most satisfying contributions — not to a course, but to a team.
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Proprietary tools teach transferable thinking: TAL's in-house authoring tool (triggers, layers, interactivity) taught me that great instructional design is tool-agnostic — the thinking transfers to Storyline, Captivate, or any modern authoring platform.
How this shapes my ID philosophy today:
I now believe that instructional design excellence comes from four overlapping roles:
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Designer — who creates engaging, effective learning experiences
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SME — who brings subject matter authority to the table
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Mentor — who lifts others and multiplies impact
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Team catalyst — who builds learning cultures, not just learning content
TAL gave me the space to develop all four. Today, I walk into any ID role not just as a course developer, but as a pedagogical leader and team builder.
Contact
I’m always open to meaningful conversations. Let’s connect — whether for opportunities, ideas, or collaborations in learning design.
(+86)175-2683-5198