Highlights:

The week of April 17 – 21 is “Defense of Learning (DOL) Week” where all Sacramento New Tech High School (SNTHS) Seniors will defend what they have learned throughout their high school years.  Sophomores also participate in DOL presentations in preparation for what is required during their Senior year.  Presentations are from 1:00-4:00 each day this week.     

High quality Linked Learning pathways, like SNTHS’s Career and Technical Education Pathways (CTE) often require students to demonstrate their skills through a Defense of Learning project and presentation.  

The DOL aligns nicely with SNTHS’s Career and Technical Education Pathways (CTE).  These pathways include Computer Science and Media (Film Production) Pathway  Students select Two projects that they have completed in their courses at SNTHS.  They can select any two projects that show growth and that upon which they want to share their reflections. Currently, courses from the Computer Science pathway are articulated with college courses, meaning that Students receive HS 10 credits concurrently with 3 college units per course.  Course Description and Pathway Details

DOL has been in place at SNTHS for ~eight years and acts as a replacement for the traditional Senior Project.” Many smaller Sacramento area High Schools also use DOL. 

Components of DOL:
1.  Students select 2 projects that they have completed in their courses at New Tech.  They can select any two projects that show growth and upon which they want to share their reflections.  

2.  Service-Learning project documented and presented by students via PowerPoint presentation and videos to describe post High School goals and career aspirations.  

3. A 15-minute “defense of learning” presentation to a panel of educators, community leaders, community partners, and students after which a Q & A session is held, and panelists provide student presenters with feedback, detailed ratings, and a “Pass” or “Fail” outcome.

 

Evaluation:  Student growth throughout their High School years is an important consideration. As such, projects are evaluated by both Panelists and Students.  Panelist rubrics evaluate ~11 project elements along a growth scale that ranges from Emerging, Developing, Proficient, and Advanced*  

*See TABLE 1 Evaluation Rubric for detail

 

Students also reflect and evaluate themselves on their status and growth in two of four “learning outcomes” (Written communication, Agency, Collaboration, and Knowledge and Thinking)

 

DETAIL on Defense of Learning Process, Projects, Presentations, and Evaluation

 

SNTHS is invested heavily in Defense of Learning, such that they designate half-days to complete all DOL presentations, running several panels concurrently, each attended by local administrators, industry partners, and students.  When Sacramento Unified School District’s Superintendent Jorge A. Aguilar commended student presenters’ “great growth in skills and identifying passions,” Principal Jessica Martin’s response was “DOL is such a big part of SNT High School and culture!  Key emphasis is placed on student growth.  For example, student work is saved from Freshman year through Senior year, making self-reflection as part of DOL project reflection a critical part of this growth.”  

Additionally, Board Member & Trustee Taylor Kayatta – who also served as a panelist hearing DOL presentations – posted the following on his Facebook page,  ” I had a great time evaluating Sophomore and Senior Defense of Learning presentations at Sacramento New Technology High School. These students walked us through their projects and discussed their career plans. I was impressed by what I saw!

Preparation – Completing DOL projects can take several months to complete.  And while no dedicated DOL preparation classes exist, SNTHS does have a Public Speaking class that was created to support their seniors in producing great presentations using the skills they learn in this semester long class. DOL projects are intended to showcase how time spent learning and honing new skills from the Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathways -  Computer Science and Media (Film Production) Pathway  have prepared students for college and/or to help find their passion, and to begin to achieve career goals.    

 

Students described having no known skills prior to their project, but learned programs like Adobe Pro (video editing, video storytelling) or “Unity” (game creation software) in their media classes, which resulted in video creation, editing, and even game creations, and animation.  Importantly, students shared how their learnings evolved into the development of a passion for incorporating these skills into career/professional and educational goals.    

 

Personalization – An effective presenter understands the importance of connecting with their audience, imparting information (sometimes personal) in a way that engages and enhances audience interest by providing context.  In the case of DOL presentations, context was related to what inspired student goals, and related DOL projects.  Students effectively endeared themselves to panel members, with their real life, heartfelt experiences.  For example, Sacramento Unified School District’s Superintendent Jorge A. Aguilar related to one student’s personal story and extended an invitation to breakfast, to discuss their shared experience with parental deportation.   

 

Poise/” Grace Under Fire” – Many do not experience presenting research or a project until after High School.  Adding to the pressure of a high stakes’ presentation, some students were unable to share their project videos – the essence of their work – due to connection difficulties.  While technical difficulties would rattle the nerves of an experienced presenter, SNTHS DOL presenters didn’t skip a beat.  They were taught that “the show must go on” and moved forward with the poise and grace of a professional. Nicely done DOL presenters!   

 

For those previously unfamiliar with the Defense of Learning program, we hope the above has been useful.  DOL is what’s next for Graduating Seniors – Out with “Senior Projects” and In with New Media/High Tech that enables students to find a passion, do the research, and defend their high school learnings!   

About Sacramento New Tech High School: Sacramento New Technology High School Mission – “We commit ourselves to:

Educational excellence

Learning through collaboration with family, business, community, and other students

Using advanced learning methods, technology, and a professional environment to stimulate higher levels of learning. 

Creating relationships and opportunities to consistently provide innovative technology and high-quality work and college experiences for high school students.

 

Contact:  Office Hours: 9am – 4pm (or by appointment) Mail: support@snths.org  Call: (916) 395-5254 Visit the Sacramento City Unified School District website

Author:  Cassandra Santisteban csantisteban1204@gmail.com 916-847-7518