Oral Defense

Once the final written task has been passed, you will be able to prepare for and schedule the oral defense of your capstone project. Please use the link "BOOK TIME WITH ME" to set up a time to discuss the requirements of the capstone project defense. Prior to that phone call, read through the task so you have an idea of what to expect. You may also seek guidance from the Course Mentor.

Preparing the Slide Show

The oral defense will include a slide show presentation that outlines your TWS portfolio. You will then present your slide show to your Course Mentor via teleconference. The slide show will provide an overview of such topics as

• the contents of your TWS portfolio
• the process you went through to develop your TWS portfolio
• methodologies and outcomes discussed in your TWS portfolio
• challenges you faced in completing your TWS portfolio
• how you determined whether you met your goals
• strengths and weaknesses of the strategies covered
• how you can apply what you learned in your professional work environment
• how you demonstrated dispositions for good teaching.

You will then present your slide show to your capstone Course Mentor via teleconference.

Oral Capstone Defense: Task 7

Review the requirements for Task 7 in Taskstream.

Before you work with your capstone Course Mentor to schedule times for a technology rehearsal and then to present your oral defense, you are required to have a web camera. Such cameras are usually included in laptop computers, or you may have already purchased one that will suffice. The dry run will determine if there are technical problems. If you do not own a web camera, you can request that a loaner camera be shipped to you by submitting the Capstone Oral Defense Webcam Loan form. For additional support with ordering, please contact the Assessment Delivery Department at assessmentdel@wgu.edu or 1/888/287-0310.

Contact your capstone Course Mentor and book 30-minute time slot for technology rehearsal. At the technology rehearsal your Course Mentor will make sure your equipment is working, conduct a recording of the Introduction, and share with you basic operations of the webinar platform for your actual defense to run smoothly.

At the technology rehearsal (or shortly thereafter) you will schedule the full Capstone Oral Defense. You should plan that the session will take from 45 minutes to one hour. It will be conducted as a webinar, using Adobe Connect. You may invite others who you would like to observe the session. For example, your mentor may want to attend; colleagues, or fellow students, may also wish to attend. These individuals will be spectators and are not expected to participate in the defense.

Now that you have the multimedia presentation ready, it can guide you in organizing your discussion of the capstone and its presentation. Rehearse the oral defense presentation, and time it to be less than 30 minutes long. This will allow time for a session introduction by the Course Mentor and for you to respond to questions afterwards. With your authorization, your oral defense will be recorded.

Being prepared will make the presentation a positive and rewarding experience. You can confidently share all aspects of your project to an appreciative audience. Expect that the capstone Course Mentor will ask questions, but mainly to probe into areas of interest and to help you demonstrate the competencies of your degree program.