mock oral defense

Tanya, how did the group decide to include Serenity’s perspective/lens/conclusions into the overall presentation?

Serenity’s investigation of our research question through an educational lens focused on students as the primary stakeholders in this issue, which helped us establish why student achievement and educational opportunities are what this issue is centered around.

Tanya, how did the group decide to include Elise’s perspective/lens/conclusions into the overall presentation?

Elise’s investigation of our research question through a political lens focused on providing important context when it comes to policies surrounding funding systems, which helped us evaluate potential solutions.

Tanya, how did the group decide to include Leah’s perspective/lens/conclusions into the overall presentation?

Leah’s investigation of our research question through an ethical lens focused on how inequality in school funding have historically marginalized certain communities, which helped us emphasize why the problem we are trying to solve is important.

Tanya, give one specific way that your thinking changed as a result of learning about Serenity’s findings.

Serenity’s findings shifted my perspective by helping me recognize that school funding isn’t a mostly economic issue and that it directly impacts students’ everyday lives.

Tanya, give one specific way that your thinking changed as a result of learning about Elise’s findings.

Elise’s findings shifted my perspective by helping me recognize that addressing this funding gap requires considering the federal government’s role instead of relying on state and local governments.

Tanya, give one specific way that your thinking changed as a result of learning about Leah’s findings.

Leah’s findings shifted my perspective by helping me recognize that the funding gap reflects persisting system inequalities that disproportionately affect certain communities.

Reflecting on your colleagues’ work, which one had the greatest impact on your overall understanding of the problem your group identified? 

Serenity’s research had the greatest impact on my understand because it demonstrated the direct relationship between funding and student success. Before, I mostly viewed this issue through its broader economic consequences, but her research helped me recognize that students are the most immediate stakeholders in this issue and that how we fund schools directly impacts the opportunities that are available to them.

What is an example of a compelling argument from one of your peer’s individual reports that you decided to exclude from your team presentation and why?

We chose to exclude the role of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 during the Great Recession. While it’s a valuable historical example of our solution, we felt that including it would focus our presentation more on a specific recession instead of our broader argument which was addressing educational funding gaps.

What is a way in which your team’s resolution makes you think differently about your own individual research? 

My individual research focused on the economic aspect of underfunding schools, specifically its effects on student’s future success, and our team’s resolution helped me recognize that addressing the funding gap needs more than just increasing funding overall. The way that funding’s distributed and allocated is just as important.

Describe an argument from one of your peer’s individual reports that made you think differently about your team’s solution or conclusion.

Leah’s ethical argument made me reconsider how important the distribution of the funding is. Her research highlighted how in the past, funding inequalities have disproportionately affected marginalized communities, which made me recognize that just increasing funding was insufficient and that it would address the issue unless allocated correctly, so our solution needed to emphasize directing the funding to underserved districts.

If you had another team member, what other perspectives or limitations could they have researched that would have made a useful contribution to the project?

If we had another team member, they could’ve explored the cultural lens, specifically how underfunding affects access to things like art programs, foreign language programs, and music programs since schools play such a big part in shaping students’ cultural awareness and the cultural development of our country in general.