{"id":9118,"date":"2024-10-29T20:05:46","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T20:05:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learnercentered.org\/?p=9118"},"modified":"2025-08-15T13:04:49","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T21:04:49","slug":"defense-of-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learnercentered.org\/big-moves\/defense-of-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"Defense of Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Overview<\/h2>\n

A school or district-wide defense of learning<\/strong> (sometimes called Presentation of Learning, Showcase of Learning, Demonstration of Learning or Celebration of Learning) is a way for students, at designated milestones or grade levels, to share a body of evidence of learning and reflect on how they grew towards their own and school\/district goals, usually defined in a Portrait of a Learner<\/strong>. These events are designed for students to celebrate their strengths, identify their areas of growth, and next steps for learning. A committee of peers, teachers, family, experts, and\/or community members provide feedback and determine if the student met learning outcomes, using a clear and agreed upon set of success criteria. In some cases, students must successfully defend in order to be promoted to the next grade or graduate, and re-defend, based on feedback and with support, if they\u2019re not successful in their first attempt. In other cases, a defense of learning is simply an opportunity for learners to share their progress and receive feedback.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You can learn more about this in our course, <\/span>Design Performance-Based Assessments<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>

Bright Spots<\/h2>\n

Opportunities for Reflection & Sharing of Learning in Shelby County<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>

At the end of 5th grade, students in Shelby County present a \u201cBackpack Defense of Learning\u201d where they share artifacts and examples of their growth and demonstrate their readiness to move to Middle School. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

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Support for Preparation at SEEQS<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>
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Source: https:\/\/workforce.education.asu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Financially-Sustainable-Whitepaper-Digital-v2.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>

Clear Success Criteria in Logan County<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>
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Students in 5th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grades in <\/span>Logan County <\/span><\/a>defend their learning with the goal of demonstrating the competencies on the Learner Profile, showing self-awareness and building their presentation skills. This clear rubric for secondary students helps define the success criteria for the learners and the committee observing and reflecting on the defense of learning. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

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High School Presentations of Learning<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>