Senior Portfolio Defense
Introduction
When I taught in South Central Los Angeles, I taught at an inner city, underfunded and under-resourced public school. The vast majority of my students' teachers had spent three or fewer years in the classroom, and many were current for former Teach for America (TFA) corps members. These teachers had exposed my students to the concept of the opportunity gap frequently. However, this unfortunately had the inverse impact on students that I am sure these teachers intended. Many of my students had a general apathy towards their achievements, goals, and their education in general. Instead of looking at the opportunity gap as a systemic injustice and an inequity of opportunities that they had the tools and power to overcome, many viewed it as a roadblock that they could not navigate around. Many students used the lack of resources and funding at our school as an excuse to not to succeed. I realized this would be a potentially dangerous mindset for a student to have—especially in their chosen path after graduation.
With all of these concepts and knowledge about my students in mind, I initiated a project to show students the power of their voices and to help them to develop the skills necessary to advocate for themselves and others. My students did receive an education that helped them develop a toolkit they could use for success in their futures. However, they needed an outlet to allow them to reflect on the skills they acquired in school. The lack of self-advocacy is a severe real-world problem faced by many people. It is crucial to be able to identify what you need to be successful in any given situation and to have the skills necessary to advocate for yourself to make sure you have what you need. The senior portfolio defense—described below—was designed to allow students to use their individual assets to challenge the systemic injustice of the opportunity gap and to address the real-world problem of lack of self-advocacy by enabling them to reflect on their time at Manual Arts and defend why they deserve to graduate and elaborate on what skills they will use to succeed after graduation.
This self-advocacy project consisted of several parts, which allowed students to think, speak and write about the real-world problem of the lack of self-advocacy. We began this process with an introductory lesson about self-advocacy to ground the project in shared knowledge and terminology. Students then started to create an academic portfolio—much like the one you are currently reading. Students' portfolios contained the following evidence for evaluation: a resume—which could be used for college applications and beyond—and a cover letter—written after researching actual online job postings that students may want to apply for either now or in their future careers. Students also completed a presentation with two or more artifacts that displayed academic growth they experienced at Manual Arts; their post-graduation plan; and an argument about why they felt they deserved to graduate. These were then presented in front of myself, their peers and, in a few cases, a panel of judges.
Below you will find evidence of the senior portfolio project that I initiated with which students then engaged with and followed through on. There is also evidence of students thinking, speaking, and writing about the real-world problem of the lack of self-advocacy as well as evidence of students using their individual assets to navigate and challenge the systemic injustice of the opportunity gap.
Self-Advocacy Introduction Lesson
Students began this experience with a lesson—shown in the document on the left—about the concept of self-advocacy to become more familiar with the topic and to give them the opportunity to think, speak, and write about this real-world problem. At the start of the lesson, students were asked three questions—what are your biggest strengths; what are your biggest weaknesses; and what does being self-aware mean to you. They had time to reflect on each of these questions, and then we had a class discussion about students' responses.
Self-advocacy introduction lesson plan
Following the classroom discussion students watched Adam Galinsky’s TED Talk “How to speak up for yourself” to continue thinking about this real-world problem.
TED Talk included viewed and discussed by students during this lesson
Students, working in pairs, were then given two articles—shown in the document on the left—relating to the topic of the importance of self-advocacy. Each partner was assigned one of the two readings to read and become an "expert" on. They were then in charge of teaching their partner about the article they read. This jigsaw activity allowed students to not only think about the real-world problem but to speak about it while educating their partner about what they learned. Also, teaching someone else a concept is one of the most efficient ways to move information into long-term memory. This activity was designed to assist students in absorbing information in the most effective way possible. These articles also provided students with additional knowledge they could draw from and cite as evidence throughout the portfolio defense project.
Resources and articles provided to students for the jigsaw reading activity
After all students had the opportunity to discuss new concepts outlined in the TED Talk and the provided articles, they were presented with a "real-world" self-advocacy scenario—shown on slide four of the lesson PowerPoint on the left. Students then discussed the questions displayed on slide five. After each partner pair had enough time to consider each of the questions, students had the opportunity to share thoughts and insights with the class.
PowerPoint presentation used during this lesson
Partner pairs were then shuffled, and students were asked to create their own "real-world" scenarios where a student their age may need to use self-advocacy skills. After these stories—shown in the document on the left—were completed, students read them aloud to the class, and we discussed how each showed a student acting as a self-advocate. The lesson concluded with a discussion reflecting on the real-world problem of the lack of self-advocacy and why this is an important trait to develop in oneself.
Fictional "real-world" self-advocacy stories created by students during this lesson
Resumes
The first piece of evidence students developed for their portfolios was a resume. Many of my students not only did not have a resume but also they had never even seen a resume. Completing this document for the first time can be a stressful and daunting task. I began this process by showing students a copy of my resume—an updated version of which can be found on the About Me page of this portfolio. I also have a relatively significant amount of personal resources my students were able to use during this project. My mother is the Senior Vice President over Human Resources of one of the largest non-profit organizations in the U.S. She also sits on the undergraduate admissions board for her alma mater. She sees hundreds of resumes each year. I asked her to send me some exemplars as well as some examples that were sub par. I shared these with my students, and we analyzed and discussed the strengths and weaknesses of each sample resume. This analysis also allowed students to see that multiple formats can be used to create an effective resume and to determine which they wanted to use for their own.
Several samples of completed resumes that were included in students' portfolios are shown in the document on the left. The decision to have students complete resumes as a part of this portfolio defense project was made to serve several purposes. First, students could immediately use these documents for college applications. Also, many of my students expressed the desire to have a part-time job while in college to help them pay for school. These resumes could also help them with their job-hunt. Finally, students completed these documents in a Google Document in their email accounts—ensuring they would have access to a working copy after they graduated from Manual Arts. This Google Document could be a working document that students could update for years to come.
To effectively self-advocate, you need to be able to show what experiences and skills you possess to succeed. Students' resumes are a tool they could add to their toolkit moving forward.
Student samples of resumes included in the senior portfolios
Cover Letters
The next piece of evidence students created for their portfolios was a cover letter. From personal experience, cover letters tend to be a point of stress no matter how old you are. I believe this stress occurs because most of us were never taught how to write this document and we have not had significant practice. While many students will not need to write a cover letter for a few years, I wanted to expose them to this concept at as early of an age as possible, so the task of writing a cover letter is less daunting down the road.
Students were instructed to think about a job they would potentially want to have in their future career or a part-time job they would possibly want to have while in college. They then went online to various job boards to research real-life jobs that were currently available at the time. Students then selected an actual position and typed a mock cover letter that they would use if they would hypothetically apply. Some students "applied" to various part-time jobs—such as service or retail. Other students selected positions they would want later in life in their careers post-college—such as a job at a production studio or as a registered nurse at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Another aspect of self-advocacy is the ability to speak up for yourself, have faith in your strengths and skills, and state why you are deserving of an opportunity. A cover letter on a job application is a way to practice developing this facet of self-advocacy.
Several student-generated samples of cover letters are shown in the document on the left. These were included in students’ completed portfolios for assessment at the end of this self-advocacy project.
Student samples of "real-world" cover letters included in the senior portfolios
Portfolio and Defense Preparation
With the two artifacts described above completed, students were ready to begin working on developing their presentations for their portfolio defense. In the presentation students needed to include a post-graduation plan, two academic artifacts that demonstrated growth during their time at Manual Arts, as well as a final argument advocating for themselves and stating that they deserve to graduate. A Q&A session followed each presentation, and many students prepared answers for potential questions to alleviate stress for this part of the project. Students were also required to cite evidence during their presentations about the importance of self-advocacy and why they are ready to move on to the next stage of life after high school.
Communication with parents and families is also a crucially important aspect of a young person's education. The flyer on the left was sent home with students to inform those in their lives outside of school about the project and presentations. Last spring, presentations were scheduled for after school on April 20thand in the morning on Saturday, April 21st. These times were selected so students’ parents and families could join and watch if they desired. This entire project was designed to allow students an outlet to self-advocate that they deserved to graduate and to be proud of what they have accomplished in their educational career so far. I wanted students to potentially be able to share that moment with important people in their lives outside of school.
Parent and family outreach flyer sent home with students
Senior Portfolio Defense
On the day of the portfolio defense presentation, students came dressed in semi-formal or business casual attire ready to self-advocate and show that they are ready and prepared for life after Manual Arts. On the left, you will see my advisory students and I when we met in my classroom before the presentations began.
Students "dressed for success" before their portfolio defense presentations
The video on the left shows a student completing her portfolio defense and acting as a self-advocate. During her presentation, she cites several pieces of evidence that were developed in class. This video has been cropped to ensure student privacy. The introduction has been removed as well as the Q&A session because the student shared pictures of her younger siblings as well as a significant amount of personal information during those parts of her presentation.
Student delivering her portfolio defense
Each semester, in the Small Learning Community in which I taught, students completed a project-based learning (PBL) research project and presentation. These presentations are evaluated using a PBL presentation rubric that has been consistent since students' freshman year. They are familiar with each aspect of the rubric as well as what is expected of them to do well. This rubric assesses mastery of knowledge, application of knowledge, meta-cognition, and presentation skills. There is also a row to assess students’ performance on a question and answer session. Since this rubric is rigorous and students are familiar with it, I selected it to use for evaluation of the portfolio defenses. A sample rubric used to assess a student who scored a “4” is shown in the document on the left.
Sample portfolio defense presentation rubric
Student Reflections
The purpose of this project was to give students an outlet to demonstrate they are capable of using their individual assets to navigate and challenge the systemic injustice of the opportunity gap and tackle the real-world problem of the lack of self-advocacy. To see if this goal was accomplished—as well as to allow students an opportunity to reflect—students were asked to take a survey about the experience. A sample of student responses is included in the document on the left. Students were asked some general questions about the portfolio defense—such as what did they think went well and what would they change if they were to start the project over again. Students were also directly asked if they felt this project increased their level of self-advocacy. Several students cited information from the information provided at various stages of this project. Based on the survey answers, I am confident in saying that the goals outlined for this project were achieved.
Student reflections from the post-presentation survey
Teacher Reflection
This self-advocacy and senior portfolio defense project was one of the last major projects I initiated with my students at Manual Arts before I moved away from Los Angeles. Reflecting on this experience, I think this is one of the most impactful aspects of my instruction at that school. It was profound seeing the students I had known for several years transform into young adults who were advocating for themselves, arguing why they deserved to graduate and stating why they believed they would be successful in life after graduation. The transformation of confidence several students visibly experienced during the planning and giving of their presentations was relatively astonishing.
During the stages of this senior portfolio defense project, I initiated several experiences, which students engaged in and then followed through with. Students were able to learn about and then think, write and speak about the real-world problem of the lack of self-advocacy as well as cite evidence from provided information in this regard. They were also able to use their individual assets to navigate and challenge the systemic injustice of the opportunity gap and the inequity of opportunities caused by the lack of funding and resources in our school. Furthermore, students were able to generate mindsets and several tangible documents they could carry with them after graduation to help them be effective self-advocates and to succeed in their lives after graduation.