notes from the flight deck
CONNECTIONS April 2025 | Issue 19 First Time Defenses: Longterm Wins It’s Defense of Learning season—a time when schools across the country give students the mic to reflect on who they’re becoming as learners and people. For Maurice Bowling Middle School, this season marked a bold first in their school’s story: every single student participated in a Defense of Learning aligned to their district’s Portrait of a Learner. And it wasn’t just a checkbox event. It was a full-on celebration. Students showed up prepared—nervous, but excited to share their learning. And this wasn’t a moment reserved for a few. Every learner—non-verbal, ESL, homebound—had a platform to reflect on their growth. Families and the community showed up in force, filling the audience with pride and even a few tears. Some donated to a new “Dress for Success” closet so students could feel confident stepping into the spotlight. The school made it special, with a student-led social media blitz, photo ops, and every defense recorded. And the celebration isn’t over—a letterman jacket “coat” ceremony is on the way to honor each student’s accomplishment in style. ( Check out Principal Sarah Goodrich and student Jaden sharing more about this tradition! ) But what happened after those defenses? It’s tempting to bask in the post-defense glow—to celebrate the big day, share the photos, and move on. But the real opportunity lies in what comes next. When we pause to reflect after defenses, we unlock insights that can shape everything from daily instruction to long-term system design. That’s where the team at Maurice Bowling leaned in. Reflection Isn't a Bonus—It's the Work What often gets overlooked in Defense of Learning is what happens next. It’s easy to focus all our energy on the presentations themselves—the spotlight moments. But when schools lean into reflection after defenses, that’s where growth takes root. Maurice Bowling used the Echoes of Learning tool not just as a post-event wrap-up, but as a way to: Examine where the Portrait of a Learner was coming to life. Staff looked closely at which competencies students naturally leaned on in their defenses—like community service—and which ones were less visible, helping to identify where shifts in the student experience might be needed. Surface patterns in the stories students told. From sports and church groups to specific classroom projects, the team reflected on what types of experiences students cited as evidence of growth, offering a window into the learning opportunities students valued most. Dream up what could come next. The process inspired new ideas—like student-led conferences and ongoing reflection checkpoints—to keep student voice and celebration alive beyond the big day. A Tool for What Comes Next The Echoes of Learning tool is designed to extend the power of defenses—not just document them. It helps schools make meaning out of the moments and ensure that insights from student stories actually shape instructional next steps. If you're diving into defenses this season, don’t miss the moment to pause after and ask: What patterns are emerging in student reflections? Where do we see the Portrait of a Learner thriving? What structural shifts can we make to elevate student voice all year long? Want to Dig In? Download the Echoes of Learning reflection tool or reach out to learn how we can support your Defense of Learning season.
CONNECTIONS March 2025 | Issue 18 From Event to Habit: Reflection as Everyday Learning Defenses of Learning taking place across the state almost always ask that students reflect on themselves as learners both academically and in terms of the durable skills found in district and school graduate/learner profiles. However, we put students in a difficult situation when reflection only takes place when preparing for an event like a Defense. Years of study about the way humans learn makes it clear that reflection isn’t something to be overlooked. Probably all of us through our educator preparation programs learned about John Dewey and his theory that learning doesn’t simply happen as result of experiences but instead, as result of reflecting on those experiences. Despite Dewey’s work and the research of others who emphasize the essential role reflection plays in learning, it’s still sometimes an afterthought - something we have students do if there’s time. How might reflection become an integral and intentional part of lesson design? Rob Collins, former English teacher at Greenup County High School, now an Innovative Programs Consultant at KDE, shared an important question from one of Kentucky’s Innovative Lab Network Teacher Fellows and his response through a recent LinkedIN post. Today, we are sharing Rob’s post below with his permission. We hope it might spark some new thinking about the shape reflection can take - and if it does, please let us know! We’d love to share and learn from your ideas. Rob’s post: Important food for thought - and action Reflection is the most powerful, most enduring assessment we do in life. So why do we often overlook it as a meaningful measure in school? During a recent meeting of the teacher fellowship I facilitate, one of our excellent teacher fellows asked: "Does student reflection on their attainment of standards actually count as enough of an assessment?" She was reflecting on a classroom project that culminated in a community exhibition of learning, where students shared stories of their town’s history—how they are part of it and how they plan to contribute in the future. In previous years, she had walked around with a clipboard and rubric, scoring student projects and engagement. This year, she made a different choice: Instead of scoring projects in real time, she focused on being present—engaging in conversations, truly listening as students shared their work. The assessment? Student reflection. Instead of being graded by a rubric in real time, students completed a guided reflection—self-assessing their attainment of the project’s standards and their mastery of key skills. For me, the answer was immediate: Of course, that’s assessment! And a damn good one at that if her students’ reflections are any indication. But it raises a bigger question: Why do we so often discount reflection as a true, valid assessment of learning? 🔹 We assess ourselves through reflection all the time—at work, in relationships, in personal growth. These self-assessments shape who we are. 🔹 Tests fade. Projects get archived. But reflection endures. 🔹 When students reflect deeply, they’re not just showing what they’ve learned—they’re shaping how they learn (and who they are) in the future. How can we elevate reflection as a main course assessment, not just a formative tool or an afterthought?
CONNECTIONS January 2025 | Issue 15 Innovate, Iterate, Inspire: Revolutionizing Learning Through Prototyping Industries like healthcare and technology, which have transformed our daily lives, thrive on robust research and development (R&D). So why has education, the foundation of our future, lagged behind in embracing this transformative process? R&D systematically tests and refines ideas to solve problems and find new solutions. In healthcare, for example, decades of research enabled the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines. Imagine if education adopted this same approach—testing new ideas with urgency and intentionality. Some schools have already begun. High School Prototype: One leadership team wanted to explore new scheduling options. What they didn’t want, however, was to implement changes long-term without knowing whether or not they’d really work. What might give them the opportunity to try something in a low risk way, learn from it and continue to iterate? They decided to find space for a series of short design cycles. One of their prototypes engaged students in designing one week - five days - of personalized learning. Not only did this ultimately inform their new approach to scheduling, this prototype is still in existence as Intersession, a five day period occurring each quarter that provides time for students to explore passions and interests as well as to take important steps toward their post secondary plans. It has become a popular cornerstone of the high school experience - one that students start talking about and planning for even in middle school. Middle School Flex Period: Frustrated with poor time management, teachers introduced a student-owned “flex period.” This simple concept evolved into a full flex day where students manage their own learning. A Different Approach to Summer Learning: Knowing the dismal outcomes often resulting from the traditional approach to summer school, one district asked teachers to create proposals for “adventures” with an intentional focus on math and reading/writing and the district’s Profile of a Learner competencies. Through a series of Design Studios, the district supported teachers in designing their “adventures” aligned with the district’s goal of authentic learning as the norm for every student. Not only did this result in a much more engaging and impactful summer learning experience for students, it also allowed teachers an opportunity to try something new in a way that felt much less risky than during the school year. A special celebration of learning to conclude the summer learning program involved both students and teachers reflecting on the impact of the new design. Student-Driven Credit: After a disengaged student wished he could get credit for his passions, his school designed a program allowing students to propose personalized learning paths alongside traditional credit models. (Imagine doing some R&D around a model like this for credit recovery!) These are just a few examples showing how R&D can drive meaningful change. Interested in thinking about what’s possible in your school or district? Join us on March 7 for a special Design Studio, Beyond the Bell: Reimagining the Secondary Schedule . Together, we’ll explore entry points, prototypes, and rapid design cycles to find new ways to use and organize time so that our students are truly equipped for the world today.
Not So Secret Agency: How Students Make Mastery Their Mission
