Presentations of Learning: Students Gain Powerful Presentation Skills While Reflecting on Their Academic Learning and Growth
Presentations of Learning, known as POLs, are a tradition at Da Vinci Schools beginning in Transitional Kindergarten. All students in grades TK-12 prepare and deliver POLs at the end of each semester or academic year to “show what they know” in front of an audience of their teachers, peers, family members, and community partners.
POLs provide students the opportunity to develop their public speaking and presentation skills, reflect on their learning and growth in the project-based learning environment, demonstrate their understanding and mastery of the content using effective communication and technology skills, celebrate successes, receive feedback, and determine next steps for growth – all skills that will serve students well in college, career and life. Because these are formal presentations, students are expected to wear formal attire.
“By the time Da Vinci students graduate from high school, they have given dozens of presentations at POLs and exhibition nights, in front of industry partners, and in connection with various college and career experiential learning programs such as DECA, Robotics, and Youth and Government,” said Dr. Matthew Wunder, Da Vinci’s CEO and Superintendent. “Our students are comfortable speaking in real-world settings in public and in front of a broader audience,” he continued.
Although some students may be shy or even fearful about presenting their work in public, especially when they are new to Da Vinci, they grow more and more comfortable and confident each time they present.
Zirak Engineer, a 10th grade student at Da Vinci Science, presented his idea for a sports coaching app called SportBuddy winning the Most Ambitious Award as part of a POL project pitch competition. Using AI technology to generate personalized projects based on students’ unique interests, Zirak developed an idea for a wearable sensor device that would level the playing field for athletes who don’t have access to top tier coaching, elite schools or sports academies. SportBuddy would use AI technology to track and analyze performance data and give athletes access to advice on how to fix their technique. Zirak, whose future goal is to become a computer scientist, plans to develop a working prototype of the SportBuddy app next semester as the next phase of his project.
“Some of the best athletes have had their careers stunted before they even reached high school. That lack of accessibility and lack of equity is exactly what the SportBuddy plans on changing,” Zirak said.
Zirak shared that he practiced his pitch eight times before presenting it in front of an audience on Dec. 21. “At first, I was super nervous to go up on stage and present to the audience, but I knew that I had practiced it more than enough. Once I got on stage I just told myself that this whole week we’ve been practicing and revising our pitches and that I’m well prepared. It was pretty exciting to be able to showcase my idea to so many people.”
This year’s 11th grade English POL at Da Vinci Design was focused on helping students prepare for job interviews. To make the project more real-life, students prepared resumes and participated in mock interview panels in front of adult volunteers who included parents, Da Vinci staff, and community members. Students prepared responses in advance to five personal interest questions (PIQs), then responded to two questions during the mock interviews. The panelists provided real-world feedback to make the experience as valuable as possible for students.
Da Vinci Design junior Cameron Mitchell, who is creating his own eco-friendly organic clothing brand, shared that the interview experience was invaluable to him. “The mock interview process is preparing me for real job interviews. I’m planning to apply to work at October’s Very Own at The Grove (a lifestyle brand founded by Aubrey “Drake” Graham). Now that I have some experience, I feel a lot more comfortable about what to expect during the interview process.
One adult mock interview panelist shared: “It was incredible to witness how poised, knowledgeable, confident, and certain these students are of their gifts, their creativity, their opportunities, and how their lives have shaped them as human beings. These students are some of the most emotionally intelligent people I’ve ever met. They know who they are, what they want, and where they are ready to grow. I’ve never seen anything like it before. I was truly blown away by them.”
James Oliver, the English 11 Design teacher who designed the mock interview project said, “What we really wanted was for panelists to give students feedback in three critical categories—communication and clarity, professionalism and presence, and adaptability and problem-solving. Students are then able to take that feedback, along with my feedback, and perfect their answers and their process so that when they’re ready to do their PIQ interviews, perhaps for colleges next year or even jobs, they’re more prepared.”
The Importance of Presentation Skills in the Workplace
Good public speaking and presentation skills are also important for college and career success. Kevin Nolasco, a Da Vinci Design Class of 2013 graduate, says he uses presentation skills weekly at his job as a data scientist at TikTok.
“I give presentations to my team at TikTok on a weekly basis. Being a good presenter is critical to having your ideas heard. I’ve seen many people who have great ideas, complex ideas, but they are not able to effectively communicate them clearly and persuasively,” Kevin shared. “Da Vinci really helped me develop those skills early on.”
