Curriculum Portfolio · 2013 – 2026
Sher Lin Lee
Early Childhood Educator · Curriculum Developer · Instructional Designer
10+ years · Singapore, Ireland, Malaysia · First Class Honours, ECCE
This portfolio showcases 9 projects spanning classroom curriculum, community education, and applied product design across early childhood, community education, and educator training contexts in Singapore and Malaysia — demonstrating an approach to learning experiences that are inquiry-driven, human-centred, and outcomes-focused.
My practice is grounded in Reggio Emilia principles and inquiry-based learning, with a deep belief that the architecture of a learning experience — its environment, sequence, relationships, and provocations — is itself the most powerful instructional tool.
Explore My Work
Educational Innovation
The following projects grew directly from the curriculum problems documented above — practical attempts to solve gaps that ten years of classroom experience made impossible to ignore: turning observations into inquiry, and making documentation easier to revisit, reflect on, and act upon.
01
Spark Provocation — Inquiry Thinking Companion
Learning Need
Reggio Emilia-inspired and inquiry-based educators consistently face a specific problem that generic lesson planning tools do not address: translating a classroom observation or a child's emerging question into a pedagogically grounded provocation, with the right materials, the right environment setup, and the right documentation lens. The blank page on a Sunday evening — when the knowledge is present but the energy to produce from it is not — is a real and recurring barrier. No existing tool was built with this philosophy in mind.
What I Designed
Spark by Sher is an AI-powered thinking companion purpose-built for early childhood educators working in inquiry-based and Reggio-inspired practice. The educator inputs either a topic or a raw classroom observation — for example, "Leo and Sarah spent 20 minutes watching an ant carry a leaf across the brick walkway." Spark returns seven pedagogically structured outputs: environment provocations, open-ended inquiry questions, suggested open-ended materials, a semester-spanning anchor question, an environment setup guide, documentation prompts (what to notice across words, movement, and time), and a signal for when the inquiry has shifted and what to introduce next. Every output is designed to amplify the educator's existing knowledge, not replace it. The tool covers four age groups — Toddlers through K2 — and was built entirely from scratch by a practising early childhood educator with no prior coding experience.
How It Was Delivered
Spark was conceived, designed, and built independently in May 2026 using Cursor, Node.js, the Claude API, JavaScript, GitHub, and Render — tools learned from scratch over the course of a single night. The pedagogical framework embedded in each output draws directly from ten years of curriculum design across Singapore, Ireland, and Malaysia. The tool underwent iterative refinement through user testing and feedback before public launch. It is currently live and accessible to educators globally.
The Tool
↗ sparkbysher.onrender.com — click to open the live tool
Outcomes
- Live web application built and launched independently — from zero coding knowledge to deployed product in one session
- Seven pedagogically grounded output types per query, each mapped to Reggio Emilia and inquiry-based practice
- Covers four age groups: Toddlers, Nursery, K1, and K2
- Observation-based input mode allows raw classroom moments to drive provocation design — keeping the educator's eye as the primary input
- Accessible globally at sparkbysher.onrender.com
Design capabilities demonstrated: needs analysis from practitioner experience · pedagogical framework design · AI prompt architecture · iterative product development · user testing · independent technical execution
02
Spark Reflection — Documentation Reflection Companion
Learning Need
Pedagogical documentation is often rich in the moment but difficult to hold over time. Educators may capture meaningful observations in notes, photos, or fragmented records, yet struggle to revisit them across weeks, compare patterns across children, or notice who has quietly become under-documented. The problem is not that educators do not notice; it is that classroom life makes it difficult to see the larger learning story across many small moments.
What I Designed
Spark Reflect is an AI-supported documentation reflection companion for inquiry-led and Reggio Emilia-inspired educators. It helps educators gather student observations, revisit them across time, and surface patterns, questions, and possible curriculum connections without replacing professional judgement. The tool is deliberately structured around three separate lenses — patterns, questions, and connections — so reflection does not collapse into quick conclusions or generic assessment language.
Pedagogical Intention
Reflect was designed to protect the educator's thinking rather than automate it. Its purpose is not to label the child or produce a finished report, but to help the educator see what may be emerging: repeated interests, shifts in language, returning frustrations, changes in participation, or new possibilities for inquiry. It also makes documentation equity visible by showing which children have many observations, few observations, or may not have been documented recently.
How It Was Delivered
The Reflection Tool was designed and launched as part of the wider Spark ecosystem using AI-assisted development tools including Cursor, Codex, Node.js, Claude API, GitHub, and Render. The pedagogical framework was shaped by classroom realities: iPhone notes, scattered observations, parent conversations, portfolio writing, and the difficulty of remembering a child's learning trajectory across a busy semester.
The Tool
Spark Reflection
From scattered observations to visible learning patterns.
A reflection companion that helps educators look across documentation, surface patterns, hold open questions, and notice children who may be less visible in daily records.
Patterns
Questions
Connections
Documentation Equity
↗ reflect.sparkbysher.com — open the live tool
Outcomes
- Second live educator-facing tool launched within the Spark ecosystem, extending from inquiry planning into pedagogical reflection
- Supports cross-documentation thinking across multiple observations rather than isolated single-entry reflection
- Separates patterns, questions, and connections to preserve educator judgement and avoid premature conclusions
- Introduces a documentation equity lens by making under-observed children more visible to the educator
- Accessible at reflect.sparkbysher.com
Design capabilities demonstrated: pedagogical documentation systems · reflective practice design · documentation equity · AI-supported educator workflow · product iteration · independent technical execution
03
Teacher Content Production Framework
Learning Need
The school's social media presence had been dormant for an extended period. Teachers had no structured system for producing classroom content — materials were ad hoc, inconsistent in quality, and not reaching new families. There was a clear gap between what was happening in classrooms and what was visible to the wider community.
What I Designed
A teacher-facing content production framework — a repeatable, scalable system giving non-specialist staff a clear structure for creating social media materials independently. The framework included content categories, a production workflow, visual guidelines, and example templates, lowering the barrier so any teacher, regardless of digital experience, could contribute consistently.
How It Was Delivered
I rebuilt and relaunched the school's social media channels using the framework, modelling its use in real time. Rather than a separate training session, teachers were onboarded through school operations — embedding the learning directly into their daily workflow.
Outcomes
- 36,600+ views generated within the first four weeks of relaunch
- 560% surge in accounts reached
- 44% organic reach from new audiences — families who had not previously engaged with the school
- Teachers independently sustained ongoing content production using the framework
- Examples of educational content and reels available at linktr.ee/sherlinlee
Evidence
Instagram analytics · approximately 4 weeks post-relaunch · 36,609 views · +559.8% accounts reached
Examples of Educational Content & Reels ↗Transferable design capabilities: adult learner analysis · scalable systems design · scaffolded onboarding · outcome measurement
04
Colours of the Wind — Inquiry on Bird Species, K2
Learning Need
Following a Birds of Paradise excursion, K2 children returned full of questions about birds — their appearance, habitats, behaviours, and the stories told about them across cultures. The pedagogical opportunity was to build a full semester inquiry around children's own questions, developing the dispositions needed for primary school: curiosity, perseverance, creativity, and collaborative thinking.
What I Designed
A semester-long inquiry curriculum titled 'Colours of the Wind', spanning science (researching local and international bird species, habitats, and characteristics), visual arts (observational drawings and clay bird sculpting), language and literacy (bilingual labelling in English and Mandarin, storytelling), and social-emotional learning. The physical environment was designed as a curriculum tool throughout — bird photography, natural materials, research displays, and documentation panels making children's thinking visible across the full semester.
How It Was Delivered
A pivotal moment came when two parents — having noticed bird nests in their surroundings — independently brought in real, empty, disinfected nests as a gift to the classroom. This became a sustained science investigation: children observed the nests as specimens, examining construction and materials, measuring and recording their findings, then researching online together to identify the probable species. The nests then sparked a design challenge: working in groups, children built their own nests from open-ended materials, with one constraint — the nest had to hold together without falling apart. This took approximately five hours across multiple sessions, with children iterating and persevering before successfully completing their nests. The semester concluded with 'K2's Bird Paradise' — a full parent showcase where children presented their learning and invited families into hands-on stations: origami birds, nest-building, and Friendship Pearls.
Outcomes
- Real bird nests sparked a self-sustaining science investigation — species identification, structural observation, and measurement — driven entirely by children's curiosity
- Children demonstrated exceptional resilience — approximately five hours across sessions to build structurally sound nests from open-ended materials
- Parent engagement extended beyond the classroom — families actively contributed specimens, deepening the home-school learning partnership
- Full parent showcase executed, with children leading their own learning presentations
- Children demonstrated primary school readiness dispositions: sustained inquiry, creative problem-solving, and collaborative resilience
Relevant design capabilities: semester-long curriculum architecture · responsive learner-led sequencing · multi-domain integration · formative assessment through documentation · stakeholder engagement
05
Little Designers: Assistive Device Inquiry & SPD Community Outreach, K1
Learning Need
Young children rarely have structured opportunities to understand what physical disability means — or to develop genuine empathy and agency in response to it. This project set out to build disability literacy and design thinking in K1 children, culminating in a real act of community service. The goal was to develop children as compassionate, creative thinkers who could identify a problem in the world and imagine a solution.
What I Designed
A semester-long inquiry and design project in three phases. Phase 1: children explored physical disability — the challenges people face navigating spaces and staying independent at home — and what tools could help. Phase 2: each child was paired with one classmate for the full semester. Together, each pair discussed the problem they wanted to solve, drafted blueprints, and built a prototype from open-ended materials — including a wheelchair with compartments to keep food and drinks fresh and accessible, and disability-friendly home models. Phase 3: each pair delivered a formal public speaking presentation to parents, explaining their device entirely in their own words.
How It Was Delivered
Sustained pair work was a deliberate design choice — building communication, negotiation, and shared ownership from the outset, with four and five year olds navigating the full design thinking cycle together. I scaffolded each stage through questioning, documentation, and structured reflection. The semester culminated in two events: a parent-facing public speaking showcase, and a community visit to SPD Singapore, where children performed for elderly residents and presented handmade cards as personal gifts.
Outcomes
- Every K1 child designed, built, and publicly presented an original assistive device through a formal parent showcase
- Children demonstrated sophisticated empathy — identifying real challenges faced by people with physical disabilities and generating original design responses
- Blueprint drafting and design thinking embedded as a developmentally appropriate foundation for STEM thinking
- Community visit to SPD Singapore executed, with children performing and presenting handmade cards as gifts
- Paired collaboration across a full semester built strong communication, negotiation, and shared accountability in very young children
Design & facilitation skills: multi-phase curriculum design · scaffolded design thinking · public speaking preparation · external partner coordination · concept to community impact
06
Flavours of the World: A Semester of Cultural Inquiry with Local & International Families, K1
Learning Need
With students representing eight countries — Russia, Germany, China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, and Ukraine — there was a rich but untapped cultural resource within the classroom community. Children needed an experience that went beyond surface-level awareness to build genuine cross-cultural connection, while meaningfully involving international families, many navigating life far from home, in the life of the school.
What I Designed
A semester-long cookery and cultural inquiry programme structured around country-based learning groups. Local children were randomly assigned across international country groups — ensuring every child belonged to a country team regardless of background, and that shared ownership of each country's story was built across difference rather than assumed. Within each pair, every child individually sculpted a national food item from air clay as a tactile making experience (for example, nasi lemak and roti prata for Malaysia; okonomiyaki and sushi for Japan). At least one parent from each international family was invited into the classroom to cook their country's national dish with the children — sharing the recipe, the story behind the food, and its cultural context. Each pair also collaboratively created and performed an original song about their country. The programme culminated in a whole-school International Food Showcase, where pairs presented their clay food displays, cultural artefacts such as Russian Matryoshka dolls, and performed their songs for the full school community.
How It Was Delivered
Each week centred on one country and one family, with sessions sequenced to build cumulative cultural knowledge across the semester. I designed and coordinated the full programme — forming the country pairs, sequencing sessions across the semester, briefing each parent facilitator, preparing the classroom environment for cooking and cultural display, and supporting each pair's song creation process. Throughout, I documented what children were doing with what they were given — which connections they made, which stories crossed over, which friendships formed across difference — and used that to shape the following week. The random assignment of local children into international pairs was a deliberate inclusion strategy — peer to peer, with partnerships designed so children had to think across difference to think well, building genuine cross-cultural friendships and shared ownership of each country's story. The cultural artefact showcase required weeks of careful, structured coordination: both international and local parents were approached to loan culturally significant items from their home countries, and the collection process was managed systematically across the semester to ensure a diverse, meaningful, and ample display that authentically represented each country. The final showcase was executed as a whole-school event, with children as hosts, performers, and guides of their own learning.
Outcomes
- Semester-long programme of parent-led cookery sessions delivered across Russia, Germany, China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, and Ukraine
- Every child — international and local — belonged to a country group, with shared ownership of their country's food, song, and cultural display
- Each child created a clay sculpture of a national food item, building tactile cultural knowledge through making
- Every group composed and performed an original song about their country at the whole-school showcase
- Strong parent-school partnerships built, particularly with international families who might otherwise feel peripheral to school community life
Audience & programme design: stakeholder coordination across 8 parent facilitators · intentional inclusion grouping · multi-modal learning design · cultural sensitivity · large-scale event planning
07
The Importance of Collaborating With Parents to Overcome Challenging Behaviours in Pre-schoolers: A Study in the Singaporean Curriculum
What I Researched
Long before I had the language for inquiry-based practice, I was already sitting with a quieter kind of question: what does it actually take for a child to feel held — and what needs to be true between the adults in their life for that to happen? This dissertation looked at Singapore's preschool settings through that lens, surveying seventy educators and going deeper in conversation with three of them, about how they navigated challenging behaviour in genuine partnership with families. What kept emerging wasn't about technique or behaviour management strategy. It was about relationship — the quality of trust between teachers and parents, and whether both felt like they were genuinely on the same side of something.
Why It Still Matters
The research shaped how I think about every classroom challenge I've encountered since. Challenging behaviour is rarely the whole story — it is almost always a communication, and the question is whether the adults around the child have the trust and honesty to decode it together. The findings pointed consistently toward relational conditions: transparency, non-defensiveness, shared language, and the confidence to bring families into difficulty rather than managing it privately. These aren't soft skills. They are the structural conditions under which children actually change. Spark is built from the same thinking — the belief that what educators do with their observations, their uncertainties, and their half-formed questions matters as much as what they plan.
08
Inquiry-Based Learning Unit: Identity & Belonging, PN
Learning Need
Very young children in a multicultural preschool needed an experience that built genuine identity and belonging — not surface-level cultural celebration, but deep inquiry into who they are, where they come from, and how they relate to one another. The school's Reggio Emilia approach called for child-led investigation rather than teacher-directed content, even with the youngest learners.
What I Designed
A multi-week inquiry unit built around the provocation: 'Who are you, and where do you belong?' The physical environment was the primary instructional tool — natural materials, family photographs, cultural artefacts, and open-ended loose parts arranged to invite exploration through play, dialogue, and documentation. Weekly provocations were shaped by ongoing observation of children's responses and emerging interests.
How It Was Delivered
The unit unfolded through a cycle of provocation, observation, documentation, and reflection — with the learning trajectory adapted dynamically as children's interests emerged. Documentation panels made children's thinking visible to families and to the children themselves.
Outcomes
- Very young children demonstrated growing confidence in expressing their identity and family stories through play and dialogue
- Documentation panels generated strong parent engagement and home-school dialogue
- Unit recognised by Centre Leader as a strong example of child-led inquiry in practice
- Contributed to progression from Beginning Teacher to Preschool Teacher within the same centre
Instructional design connection: needs analysis · learner-centred environment design · formative assessment · iterative curriculum development · multimodal documentation
09
Community Education Programme for Underprivileged Children
Learning Need
Children in underserved communities in Klang Valley — including high-risk youth in the Pandan squatter area and Orang Asli children on Carey Island — had limited access to structured educational experiences. Sessions were planned independently with no consistency across sites or volunteer teams.
What I Designed
A structured, replicable activity curriculum covering academic and recreational learning, built for consistent delivery by rotating volunteer teams across multiple sites. The curriculum included session guides, age-differentiated activities for the 2–15 age range, facilitation notes for non-specialist volunteers, and a post-session reflection format to inform ongoing planning.
How It Was Delivered
I led and delegated to volunteer teams of up to 20 members, training facilitators in the programme approach and supervising weekly delivery. The programme was expanded into new community locations, with the curriculum adapted to each site's specific context and learner profile.
Outcomes
- Consistent, structured programming established across multiple community sites
- Volunteer teams able to deliver sessions independently using the curriculum framework
- Programme expanded to reach new communities, including Orang Asli children on Carey Island
- Recognised by AYA Partnership Liaison as a methodical planner who evaluated and improved approaches post-delivery
Programme architecture skills: curriculum design for diverse populations · adult facilitator training · multi-site implementation · ongoing programme evaluation — sustained across three years
Parent Testimonials
These families were with me across K1 and K2 — two consecutive years. What they describe reflects the cumulative impact of sustained curriculum design, consistent relationship, and a classroom culture built around inquiry and belonging.
The following are excerpts from Google Reviews, published independently by families.
"From a timid little boy who was afraid of going down slides and broke out in tears when asked to perform in front of a small group of parents, he has blossomed into a confident, expressive child who took the stage as emcee at his graduation with poise and pride. This transformation didn't happen overnight. It was nurtured gently and patiently by incredible educators whose love, care, and belief in him helped him find his voice and his courage. We are especially grateful to C's teachers, whose warmth, dedication, and values-based guidance have left a lasting imprint."
K2 Parent · 2024–2025
"Mulberry's inquiry-based learning and project work have encouraged her to ask thoughtful questions, explore her interests, and develop a natural curiosity about the world. We've seen her flourish not only academically, but also in character and social skills. A heartfelt thank you to Teacher Sher and 老师 for going above and beyond in nurturing and guiding the children — their warmth, dedication, and strong commitment to instilling good values have made a lasting impact on our daughter."
K2 Parent · 2024–2025
"Thank you Teacher Sher and 老师 for taking good care of our daughter. She loves going to school — she would ask why school is closed during off days. We can see how much she loves the school."
K2 Parent · 2024–2025
"The teachers have been doing an excellent job not only educating out of the norm, but the effort they have put in to promote learning through projects, presentations, class discussions and sensory learning are exemplary — I can even take back a few concepts to my office. Additionally, the school is attended by students from diverse countries which promotes cross-cultural sharing and character building. The school also embraces proactive parent-teacher partnership to bring out the best in your child."
K2 Parent · 2024–2025
A note on transferability
Most projects above were delivered in an early childhood or community context; one is an applied product built from that same practice. The competencies they reflect — learner analysis, framework design, stakeholder engagement, multimodal delivery, iterative refinement, and outcome measurement — translate across curriculum development and instructional design roles in EdTech, corporate L&D, and educational publishing.
I hold a First Class Honours degree in Early Childhood Care and Education (Munster Technological University, Ireland) and a Diploma in ECE with Distinction (Dean's List, 3×) from Methodist College Kuala Lumpur.
sherlinnnnn@gmail.com · +65 8161 8072 · linkedin.com/in/sherlinlee