Non-Linearity and Reflective Practice 1
One of the primary activities all human beings must engage in in order to survive is predicting the future behavior of our local environment and making suitable provisions in our current plan-of-action. For instance,
- for a farmer, this would include predicting whether it might rain three months from now and determining whether now is the right time to sow seeds;
- for an investor, predicting whether the price of a particular stock or asset might go up in future and determining whether this is an appropriate time to invest in that asset;
- for a student, predicting what economy and its demands at the time of their graduation might be so that they can choose courses that will help them develop relevant skills;
- for an employee, predicting what economy and its demands five years from now will be and determining what they need to do to remain relevant and up-to-date in future;
- for a family, predicting their future needs and challenges so that they determine how much they would need to save to insure their well-being.
People in pre-modern times faced a different set of needs and challenges. To address these challenges, they invested a great deal of time and resources into devising ways of predicting the future of their times. Astronomy, mathematics, political science, economics, natural sciences, philosophy, architecture, pedagogy, etc. are all inventions that emerged from such human endeavors. Each of these disciplines has its unique body of knowledge and a set of tools that allow people (or society) to predict certain aspects of the future, and determine where and how they must invest their resources to successfully address the future challenges and avert possible crises. (In fact, evolution of a discipline is determined primarily by the challenges it faces.) This is essentially the purpose of existence of all man-made institutions.
For any individual to stay relevant and survive, they must have adequate knowledge of their discipline and must be skilled enough so as to be able to use the tools of that discipline to predict and address future challenges. What is this skill that enables one to use tools in this manner? Reflection and critical thinking.
Almost all real-life events or situations are outcomes of complex interplay of a plethora of interconnected factors. This makes real-life situations complex and non-linear. To predict how a situation might unfold in future and what challenges it might lead to, we must first find out the individual factors that influence the situation and then try to understand exactly how these affect that situation. Reflection helps us do exactly this. When used properly, reflection allows us to
- discover these factors and understand their nature,
- understand how they contribute to the challenges we face or might face in near future,
- make a logical judgement/plan to address these challenges.
When the complexity and non-linearity are high, we must adopt a cyclical approach wherein we analyze the given situation at regular intervals of time and keep revising our plans and realigning our expectations according. With every revision, the plan becomes more sophisticated and its outcomes improve. This, over time, leads to definitive progress. We will consider these ideas in greater detail in the next session.
Reflection finds use in all aspects of life. Therefore, to make progress of any kind in any discipline, we must first develop the capacity and techniques to reflect. For this, I have given your resources (Resources 1 to 4) that will help you understand the purpose and methods of reflection. Resource 4 demonstrates distinction between (reasonably) reflective and non-reflective writing. Resource 5 illustrates this distinction is greater detail with the help of analysis provided toward the end.
The purpose of reflection is to analyze the difference between expectation and outcome, elicit factors that lead to these differences followed by modifying our existing strategy or approach. As our feelings, emotions and attitudes strongly influence out behaviors and actions and, therefore, the outcome of our actions. Good reflective writing analyzes these feelings, emotions and attitudes, too.
A reflective writing must lead to a set of possible changes one could make in one's approach to improve the outcome.
Based on your learning from these resources and from discussion with your mentor and colleagues, analyze the three written samples in Resource 4 and state differences in the quality of reflection therein.
You may use the analysis given toward the end of Resource 5 as a guide to inform your analysis.
Submission deadline for Primary Section -- 17th November, 2019 (Sunday).
Submission deadline for Secondary Section -- 22th November, 2019 (Friday).
Submission deadline for Secondary Section -- 22th November, 2019 (Friday).
Reflection of Resource 4 Sample 1
ReplyDeleteThis writing gives the description of the work experience of the student Barry in a pub. He has given details about the job he is doing. Also, he has made clear references to his different emotions but has not explained his reactions in detail. The ideas of the owner, the cook and the customers are not written elaborately. He has presented the events in a sequence but has not been able to analyze them thoroughly. His reflection has perceptions of others but he limits self reflection. He was experimenting after listening to suggestion In the end he states that he has learnt things ( 6 points) but there is no detail and no mention of the actions he would take to overcome the mistakes.
Sample 2
In this writing Kerry has talked about the difficulties she faced as she came to the university two days late. She has mentioned how she has tried to consider other's ideas but they have failed to understand how hard it is for her. She is trying to attempt to know everything better. There is concise description of events and difficulties as well as differences she was facing. The writer has tried to explore and reflect on her actions and emotions trying to learn from them which is not enough. One point that comes out prominently is Kerry's effort to take suggestions, work on them and try to achieve the goals she has set for herself. There is recognition of the motives of her behavior and analysis too. She has a dialogue with herself reflecting on her actions and learning from them.
Sample 3
There is description of the presentation conducted by Jackie in this writing. She has made reference to a past experience and talks about future too. Few mentions of emotions have been made but there is no self analysis or reflection except at the end. She has stated that some technical learning has happened from the sailing adventure. She has not taken any ideas or perspectives of others. At the end she reflected and analyzed the presentation, concluding that she would do the same things as it had gone well. This writing is more like a narration rather than reflection.
Who is the author of this comment?
DeletePresentation 1 of Resource 4 is about a student named Barry who talks about his experience in an work experience on a business and Management Programme.
ReplyDeleteThe presentation seems to be more descriptive than reflective. The writing style is relatively subjective which involves the first person's(Barry's) experiences, his mistakes and his feelings as well. The role of emotions in this is vivid with the words that he stated like embarrassed, shocked and upset .He seems to be in a confused state of mind and less confident initially.
The incidents that he had presented are in sequence . "I had become a little over confident by then " shows he had reflected on his behaviour and realised that. He had also realised that he had made mistakes and tried to overcome that. The way he has described things that had been going in and around him shows he is a good observer. He is also a good learner as he shows his keenness in learning new things . This writing also highlights some areas which shows that he was trying to understand other's perspective as well.
It could be a reasonably good written account of a day or of a person's personal experiences that could serve as a basis in which reflection might start. There is not much reflections done in this writing.
From surashree
Resource 4 , Sample 2.
ReplyDeleteSample 2 is about a student named Kerry who has done get reflection on study habits over the last semester in the university.
Although in the initial half of the writing, we see some evidences of descriptions where Kerry talks about her travel and her course, genetic modules and lectures but as we read further ww understand that this is reasonably a good reflective writing. Kerry seems to be aware of her shortcomings. She understands and realises that " I think I have difficulty writing essays." And what is interesting is that, she tries to find out the root cause of her short comings " I am not sure that anyonr has ever told me how to write an essay. " She has also mentioned about taking references from various books to aid her study. Here she states her confusion and talks about plagiarism. She focuses on a question that is to be asked and answered. The question that she wanted to raise is" How to put down someone else's work without it being plagiarism? " Here what she is confused at is till what extent taking reference from other's book can be just taking a reference and when does it turn into plagiarism.
There is a lot of self - analysis where Kerry constantly talks about the areas that she finds difficult to deal with but somehow she does not think much about how to find a solution to it. The question and the self analysis made by her make it more reflective than descriptive but the lack of attempt to respond To the question means that there is little analysis on the area that is questioned. However she concludes on a satisfactory note where she feels contended with her decision of staying back in the university.
From. Surashree
There are few typographical errors in sample 2.
ReplyDelete3rd line- Kerry who has done *good reflections.
10th line - As we read further
* we understand.
Resource 4 , Sample 3.
ReplyDeleteSample 3 is about Jackie's reflection on a presentation as a part of a skill module.
This is not much of a reflective writing but more of descriptive writing. Jackie talks about her journey to Scotland, her sailing experience and her adventures as well. Her description of the weather and her adventures while sailing makes it more like narrating a story.
Further more, she does not think much about the presentation rather she seems to be satisfied with it. There is not much of reflective thinking or self analysis involved in this writing. However she answers the questions that had been asked to her during the presentation which includes( How old the boat was? Where did she sail? If she and her partners had to the crew and pull ropes while sailing?). She answered well which shows she has a good knowledge about all these. Her writing doesn't involve what could have been done to better her adventure or experience or are there any shortfalls during the entire journey ?
She doesn't seem to reflect on these above mentioned points. She feels that her presentation went well which again shows that she is more subjective in her thinking. This account is written only from one's point of view - that is of Jackie's and doesn't involve any one else's perspective.
She also ends saying that she would not be doing anything differently next time which makes it clear that she is satisfied with her presentation and does not reflect much on it.
From surashree
Ms.Nital. Sorry Sir, I forgot to write my name.
ReplyDeleteThe comments are written by me, Ms.Nital.
ReplyDeleteReflection on Work experience.
ReplyDeleteIt is Barry’s first work placement. it was a new atmosphere for him. He was little worried too. He had sympathetic nature where he could understand Mr. Freddings situation and tried to help him out .Since he was insulted by Jan felt discouraged and demotivated too. But later on Barry realized his mistake and thought of taking his job as a challenge and improves on his shortcomings. He was good listener since he listened to Jan how she takes orders in shorthand to save time.Also Barry assumed that all customers are not same but are different with different mindset. I feel at times a degree alone is not enough but skills like communication patience, team work as well as problem solving is necessary too.Ability to appear self confident , to understand and have presence of mind which helps in decision making to great extent.
Study Habits
Kerry was an enthusiastic learner. Eager to learn. She was guilty conscious since she had missed her lectures. Her parent’s were unhappy with her decision to settle for her studies. Self realization made her cautious that she has to make up for her loss on which she tried her best and also she did not hesitate to consult doctor and take his advice in the same. Self study helped her to overcome her study problem. Kerry accepts challenges. She continues with same effort.
Skills Module
This descriptive type of reflection where Jackie is describing his excitement during presentation but at same time he was bit nervous since he had to face unknown audience. Also he has described his sailing experience. During question answer session where Jackie confidently answered the audience questions . overall he was satisfied with his presentation. But at same time he decided to improve on his communication skills and promised himself to do better for next time.
Sample 1 WORK EXPERIENCE.
ReplyDeleteThis is written by Barry a student who is working at the pub. This discription is succint(clearly expressed). Extraneous information is not added. It is not a story. The focus is on the attempt to reflect on the event and to learn from it. There is analysis of the situation and evident understanding that it was not a simple situation. Her recognises that there are still many things to be learnt from his experience.
Sample 2 STUDY HABITS
This has been written by student Kerry. There are some deep reflections here. It shows the evidence of looking at the views of others( parents,tutor). Here she has asked many questions but she is not been able to answer those means there is little actual analysis. At the end she has also given a conclusion.
Sample 3 SKILL MODULE
This piece tells the story. Ideas of others are not mentioned. This account is written only from one point of view-that of Jackie. Ideas are presented in a sequence. It is very descriptive. This piece doesn't show any signal of learning.
Concise and to the point. Thanks!
DeleteIn sample 2, I think it would more appropriate to say that there is SOME evidence of looking at the situation from others' point-of-view. I don't think she pauses for long enough to consider others' view of the situation. But she does try to identify the issues that are making her feel uneasy and she has come to some resolution as to how to proceed further.
By - Ms Jasmine Masani
ReplyDeleteFauzia Qureshi
ReplyDeleteReflective writing of Resource 4 - sample 1
It is about a student Barry,who is sharing her work experience in a placement.She realised that her manager was unable to organize by her statement " I think that Mr Freddings was a bit caught out....".Jan the cook,seemed to be more concerned and efficient.Jan realised to place her where it was needed and also trained her as per her experience.Though Barry was shocked,embarrassed and needed to learn,still she managed to do so which was clear to some customers.She tried to pretend well but still as it was new,she did made mistakes which was realised by her statement-"I had become a little over confident...".She was ready to learn from her mistakes.In first paragraph she states more about her feelings,emotions drawbacks and areas for improvement.The second paragraph is more descriptive about an incident.Here too Jan helped Barry by her suggestions.Barry was nervous as she felt a bit apart but not reacted in front of customers.She pretended to accept mistakes by saying sorry.She realised Mr Freddings was not a quick decision maker by her statement-"I wished they could have thought of it earlier".Barry was upset.She had learnt a lot from this descriptive incident .It ended by saying that she learned six topics which were not clearly mentioned.
Reflective writing on resource four . The subject matter is descriptive and subjective about a student Barry , who was at the placement only for a few days . The student going into work situation in order to learn about work and learns about learning to raised many questions. This piece of story sometimes reflects to the past experiences ,sometimes anticipates the future but all in the context of an event .It refers to his emotional state of mind. Ideas are presented in a sequence but all are not explored. It is an account which is written in an event .It is reference to attitudes of others behaviour and feeling. It refers to his emotional state of mind. It is during this time he shares his job experiences and encountered many e emotional feelings which he has had to face during his learning process. He was also very open minded and a reflective learner as he was ready to learn new things . He acquires new skills with practice which leads to built his confidence hence knowledge is building on learning .Learning also takes place with experience practice and facing different situations ,understanding the behaviour of different people and responding to their responses. He is also questioning to himself so thoughts process is building a network .He analyses himself and reflects on his actions. He was a fast learner and adapted quickly to the new changes that occurred. He accepted new challenges at workplace .
ReplyDeleteReflection on study habits. It is about Kerry a student who reflects on her progress in study.It is reasonably reflective writing. The subject matter is personal. It is description of some problems which Kerry faced .It refers to the attitudes of other’s comments .There is no addition of ideas from outside the event .lt is more on Kerry's thinking and thoughts and many questions which she has in her mind .So it is very descriptive and less of analysis on the problems . Kerry is very critical of her actions and so has many questions to herself . Kerry is not acknowledging that there might be other ways of perceiving the situations from others point of view. She should have gone beyond and check out the possibilities for improvement. Kerry is in a confused state of mind as if there is a big question to be asked and answer but she does not make attempts to explore them . So learning is not occurring she needs to adapt to new styles of learning or change her style of learning for better outcome .It shows on what is going on in learning . It is written about reflectional and experimental learning where assumptions are only made .
Reflection on a skill module .
It is a description of the same events .It is not very reflective writing .The
focus is on the attempt to reflect on the event and to learn from her actions and to be more effectively critical. The events were linked up in a sequence no addition of ideas from outside the event only link by the story. There is more analysis of the situation and an evident understanding that it was not a simple situation. There is also internal dialogue where she talks to herself and also reflects on it she has also been able to reflect on her own process of reflecting and recognising that the process influenced the outcome
Comments on a Business and Management Programme ( Barry )
ReplyDeleteIn the work experience placement on a Business and Management Programme the student, Barry is talking about his personal experience and feelings. He assumes and thinks about the mamager Mr Freddings that he was a bit caught out so he asked the regular lunchtime staff not to bother him and secondly about the three women that they worked at the big company that makes furniture up the road. He also learns from Jan, the cook how to take orders in her type of shorthand, as well as how to deal with the customers by being polite but firm and not to get involved in any sort of argument. He realises his mistakes that he had become little over confident and was going a little away from the track by pretending to the customers that he was familiar with the working styles and nothing was new to him. He learns to face the situation and handle it by staying calm and not reacting on any of his customers for example the three women’s behavior towards him and the pub.
Comments on Study Habits ( Kerry)
In this incident the student, Kerry shares her personal experience and emotions on her study habits. Kerry was not allowed to do what she wanted to do. She could not make her own decission related to her studies as her parents did not allow her to do so and she had no other alternative but continue in the same university where she felt unsettled as she was late by two days. Everything was meaningless for her as she thought that the other students who joined before her were known to the lectures going in the university. It was a difficult task for her and other students too to work for the first genetics module. She had lost confidence in herself. She realises that she alone cannot do it so approaches Dr.Spolan and takes his help and manages to pass the exam. At some point of time she thinks that she was unable to write essays and organize them as per the requirement of the tutors because no one had educated her of how to go about it. She develops the reading skill. She refers to the word plagiarism where she is confused and not clear about it. Though she knew the rules of it she must have written in her essay something from the book which she had referred to. She had become over confident by taking the multiple choice questions for granted and did not revise the questions and answers due to which she did not do well in the exam. She comes to the conclusion that she needs to take someone’s advise and help for the preparation of the multiple choice question exam and decides to stay at the university.
Comments on Skills Module ( Jackie)
Jackie shares her personal experience about the journey upto Scotland.Jackie is nervous to give her presentation infront of unknown people inspite of having done in the school and also on the topic of her own choice. She talks to them in a very shortcut way. She does not mention of how it was planned, where, why, when and who all travelled along with her. She just mentions some of the places she had visited over there and not the entire journey. She just focused on the time limit given to her to speak on her presentation. She had answers to the questions asked by Sam, Beckie and Dr Smythe as she knew the answers for it and they were not out of the topic. She thinks that whatever she did was right and not to try anything in an innovative way for the next time. She has no interest and does not feel like doing something creative things in future. She is under the misconcept that whatever she did was perfect and did not require any change.
***Sample 1****
ReplyDeleteBarry has shared his perspective.
He could have shared the cook's perspective at having to assign a duty to a fresher.
Barry might have wanted to reflect further on his decision of pretending to be an old hand? And that it backfired and maybe arrive at the decision to not do so in the future? Considering the obvious advantage of clientele being more patient with a newcomer waiting on them.
He reflects at the end of the first paragraph, that he has a lot to learn, which appears quite vague. Being more specific and outlining the areas of improvement and the corresponding action he would take to improve on these could have proved to be more helpful to him in the future.
The second paragraph tends to get descriptive and not really reflective. Barry could have improved his writing by dwelling on the why of the behaviour of the three women rather than the how .
Even , whilst writing about the food on offer , the reasoning behind the same could have been shared.
He writes about wishing that he had done things differently, but he does so , whilst he was in the thick of the situation. Barry could have probably shared , if he continued in that line of thought, at the time of writing this piece.
I would have liked to learn/read if he felt all the trouble was worthwhile once he received a decent tip from the group of women. Are there any decisions he took based on his reflection?
***Sample 2***
Kerry could avoid using short forms , ex university rather than uni.
Her writing communicates effortlessly that she was returning to the university half heartedly and she would rather travel around Europe.
She also seems to have vividly painted a picture of the difficulties she faced with her academics and her initial reason of wanting to flee.
Adding a perspective of the parents for being wild at her could have been appreciated.
It appears to me that if Kerry had reflected truly on all the reasons why she was having a hard time keeping up with her batch, she probably could have come up answers on how to better herself . She seems to have stressed on the difficulty rather than reflection on an analysis and the causes of the same.
Later, in the 3rd paragraph , she goes on to , so to say, nail her problem area. Writing essays. And does successfully arrive at an outcome with an air of finality to look for help in the writing essays and specifically understand how to reference and avoid plagiarism.
Kerry, also reflects , that to get clarity for her to move ahead she needs to seek external help.
She ends by coming to the conclusion through her reflection that staying on at the university seems like not such a bad proposition as it seemed initially and this could be due to with the passing of time, certain things have eased for her.
***Sample 3***
Jackie starts of writing on a descriptive note , stating events matter of factly, in a chronological manner.
It appears that she has probably written this as a last minute exercise or is rushed and not spared adequate time to reflect on the topic.
Jackie ends with the conclusion that the presentation did reasonably well and hence, probably implies, that further reflection was not necessitated and the activity would be repeated identically in future.
Sample 1
ReplyDeleteIn this account, Barry is talking about his experience waiting tables for the first time. He finds out about it quite abruptly and he writes about how he feels as he is taken out to wait tables.
He has described how he decided to deal with the situation and, then reflected on the mistakes he made along the way, such as being too over-confident.
He has also given an account of a difficult accident he got involved in where he mentioned the details quite meticulously. Though detailed, it does seem more like a narrative rather than reflective. There was no reflection on what could be improved in dealing with a similar situation in the future.
Sample 2
This is a reflective account of a Biology student, Kerry. She begins by saying that she started university two dates late and how she wasn’t ready for it. She felt unsettled and tried to get out of the situation by trying to quit uni. She did write about the actions she took but didn’t seem to reflect upon what exactly caused her to take such an extreme decision. She also hasn’t tried to find out a solution for the same.
When it came to the first genetics module, again, Kerry mentions she was behind. But she hasn’t reflected on why it was so or how it could be resolved and how she felt.
Kerry has also reflected on her difficulty writing essays and the solutions she sought. This also led to her reflecting on her difficulty to understand referencing. She finally decided to get help with it after pondering over it. Hence, reflective writing helped her get clarity on the subject.
Kerry also seemed to approach multiple choice questions with the wrong method, which she realized after not doing well for the exam. She did reflect on what to do about it but did not know how to do it and, hence, decided to ask for help. While she does decide to ask, she could also reflect upon her previous actions and find different tangible solutions.
The last sentence is quite optimistic. It could be so because the submission of the peace to the tutorial could have influenced her to write so. There could be more clarity as to why she truly does feel more settled and what could she do to make this semester better.
Sample 3
Jackie is reflecting on her experience giving a presentation. She has written the account in a very narrative and descriptive manner rather than reflecting upon her actions. She did mention that she was nervous going into the presentation, but her feelings remain unexplored further as she progresses.
The account is given in a very matter-of-fact manner with no personal observations or reflections added to it, hence, not making it very reflective in nature.
Jackie does not try to learn from the situation and improve upon it in the future. Rather, she plans to stay the same which suggests no personal growth, which is one of the important goals of reflective writing.
- Ms. Neha Britto
Sample 1:
ReplyDeleteIn this episode, Barry, the student, recounts about his eventful day at the pub.
He begins to describe his day in a sequential order however he expresses his emotional state of being distressed, self-conscious and overconfident. In the course of the day, he is being critical, to a certain extent, by realising his mistakes. He states, “I backed off and realised that I have a lot to learn even in this simple matter of taking orders and bringing out the food.” This indicates that he did a self analysis and shows a level of understanding towards the basic task of taking orders and bringing out food.
Furthermore Barry unfolds about a difficult incident where he was apologetic and upset. Perhaps for no reason? However he fails to explore this state in detail by questioning or thinking critically about it. He accepts the situation without further reflection.
At the end, the description is restricted to only Barry’s point of view. He fails to acknowledge the perspective of others: the women. He mentions about his learning from that particular day.
One can state that this sample is a descriptive account with some areas of reflection. The subject matter is personal and the writing style is subjective. Although there are some instances of learning and the episode is tidily ordered.
Sample 2
In this specimen, Kerry, the student, presents her progress report to her tutor as a part of the personal professional planning initiative in the university.
The text describes Kerry’s journey back to the university which acts as the point of reflection. Most of the instances involve the process of thinking as she mentions, “I thought “ at several occasions
She ,at each stage, tries to evaluate her position to grow better in the area of learning. She readily accepts her flaws where she mentions, ”I think I have difficulty writing essays.” or “- but I really don’t know how to do it.” She focuses on her advancements and poses questions about the areas where she is uncertain.
She mentions about others point of view however does not analyse and elaborate them in detail and moves further by stating “Anyway I seem...”
Further ahead, she evokes the pattern of her biology exam only to give her thoughts about the same she puts forth her mental state during the time of the exam.
In conclusion, she gives her personal take on her decision to stay on at the university which can lead to further areas of reflection.
One can understand that this is an example of reflective writing rather than descriptive. It is subjective and states Kerry’s thoughts, experiences, acceptance and emotional state. There is thinking and learning involved and hence it is not tidily ordered.
Sample 3
In this sample, Jackie, who has just given a presentation, writes about her experience. She has well described the events that took place mentioning the intricate details such as the number of people present during the time of presentation, the number of minutes spoken, the questions asked and the responses given. It is a sequential account of the occurred events.
Even if she refers to her emotional state ,”I was nervous...” “I think I did the presentation well...” she has presented only one point of view: herself. She has not further analysed about others perspectives.
When she recounts her sailing experience, she puts forth her experience but she fails to consider it in-depth. Furthermore, she is convinced with certain facts and provides only her perspective on the event she states, ”I think I did the presentation well and people listened. I do not think that I would do anything differently next time.” This terminates the further areas of reflection.
In conclusion, she writes in a tidily and ordered manner where she provides the reader with an introduction and a conclusion. It is written objectively as all the fine details are provided of the event. The emotional state and the given external information is not explored in detail. This text is written descriptively and has a little reflection.
Sample 1 : This is Barry's reflection on the challenges faced in businesses, he is placed at a pub and is asked to wait tables.
ReplyDeleteJan, the cook, helped him with the basics of waiting and tutors him. He is put on in a situation where he is needed to use his communication skills, taking orders quickly using shorthand writing and give a composed and appropriate reaction to customers. Some customers made out by his demeanour that he was new to this job, and one particular customer was nice to him when he made mistake. He started to become overconfident of his newly-learned skills, but quickly realized that he still had a lot to learn and he tried not to be overconfident.
He talks about one difficult situation he ended up in, where three women were rude to him even when it wasn't his fault. From this situation, he learned how to keep himself composed and use his prompt communication skills to interact with the ladies and be firm with his words. He has described how a seemingly simple job may turn out to be unpredictable and not a very smooth sail.
Sample 2 : Kerry was asked to write an essay on her study habits.
After returning from her Europe trip, she goes back to university and has trouble settling in and catching up with her studies. She wanted to give up and leave college but her parents don't approve of her decision.
She talks about her experience of writing essays for her class. She initially has trouble writing essays in the conventional way her tutors require, so she buys a guide book for the same. She becomes anxious about her ideas and thoughts resulting in plagiarism, because they might coincide with earlier written works she uses for reference.
She expresses her doubtfulness over how to prepare for an MCQ format exam. She ended up not doing so well in that exam, so she makes a decision to prepare differently from the next time. By the end of the semester, she decides to continue her studies at the university and does not give up.
We get to know how she changes her preparation technique by learning from her mistakes.
Sample 3 : Jackie talks about her experience giving a presentation in front of her class. She decides to present on her trip to Scotland. She is initially nervous about how she will perform. She gives a concise and crisp overview of her trip in the given time limit and answers questions from her listeners satisfactorily. She feels positively about her presentation skills by making observations that people listened to her and that she felt confident of the way she presented. She decides to use the same technique as she did in this presentation as she feels she performed satisfactorily.
Situation 1
ReplyDeleteReflective writing by Barry’s and his experience in The Black Bull pub in Grentown (work experience placement)
Barry in his refection stated that the pub was full today compared to the last couple of days
As he could mentioned, which day of the week it was and I assume it would be a weekday as people would be working. He is expressing his view about the work load and the new task which is assigned by Jan the cook.
The first paragraph is reflective where he has mentioned about how he felt when Jan the cook explained the task in front of the people as well as he also mention about how the customers' behavior was toward him when he made some mistake. He reflects upon the things which he has learnt during the task which was in general and could have been more specific.
The second paragraph was more informative than reflective where he mentions about the three working women who had placed the order but they were unable to deliver on time.
In this passage small segment was also reflective as well where he has mentioned about his view about the scenario he faced and how to handle’s critical situation along with patience.
Emotional status of the cook and the manager was not mentioned as even they had the equivalent amount of workload and difficult situations to handle.
Situation 2
This is more of the reflecting type of passage where Kerry has mentioned about missing of his classes due to his absence which lead to difficulty in coping up with the topics taught.This has made Kerry realize and learn that missing classes due to any specific reason can bring about difficulty in learning
According to we teachers this is a common problem we face, while any student is absent for a day the topic which was taught is missing and in the next lecture when he is present and if there is a connecting link with the previous learning he/she finds it difficult to understand.
Kerry mentions about she finding it difficult the first module of genetics for which she has approached Dr Spolan who was helpful and has arranged postgraduate student for troubleshooting
She knows her weakness and strength which is utmost important while reflecting upon certain content.She knew it would be difficult for her writing an essay so she purchase a study book which consist of example where she could learn.
Kerry’s approach to multiple choice questions was dependent on guess work which generated poor grades in exam for which she realize to use an alternative way.(Trial and error)
Situation 3
This part of the passage was narrative where Jackie is stating the events which took place in a sequential manner where he had to give a presentation for a student group. He has mentioned about the emotional status of being nervous, considering this statement which is a reflective type of comment and he feel safe while writing this that he is nervous along with which the emotional state is highlighted while writing this reflection.
In another paragraph the content which was written was in straightforward description, which lack many of descriptive elements, in his reflective writing it displayed a lack of purpose of learning.
Sample 1:
ReplyDeleteIn this sample Barry is reflecting about a placement on a business manager programme. He has written quite a lot about his expectations and feelings but he has not focused much on why was there so much of difference between the expectations and the outcome. He could have tried to find out the reason or factors which were influencing the situation and how can he modify his existing approach towards his work. He could have learned more from the circumstances and build on for personal growth. He needs to have more of critical thinking and logical judgements.
Sample 2:
Through this Kerry has tried to reflect on her study habits and made conclusion at the end but she could have worked on making better analysis of various situations, individual factors that affect the situation she faced. She should have considered point of view of other people too. She has also stressed herself for things rather than analysing and finding the causes for the same, what needs to be done and how can she do that the next time to keep herself more calm and make things better for the next time.
Sample 3:
Jackie has written more of a descriptive text rather than reflective. She has just mentioned the facts instead of analysing and realigning her expectations. She was quite satisfied with the presentation hence not made any strategy to improve the outcome which means she has probably not reflected well.
- Asra Ansari
Reflection 1: The first sample of reflection is all about Mr Barry as a student who was placed to service at the lunch table. He was here to work and learn for few days. He mainly emphasized here all about his experiences which he gained there while working. It is understood at he was not in his proper working circumstances as it is already mentioned in the introduction of this reflection as he is a student. He detailed here his job as a waiter and what all he followed around at this work place. He described himself as busy bee because he was very much involved with the work to do as a part of his assignmened activity.And he captioned this activity very similar to saying as like he was pretty sure to fire way to have strange work experiences here. As it was his door knocked and so called opportunity to learn, so he could not wait to work in this comfortable, laid back environment which he had never been accustomed too. All sudden to his surprise he had really no idea to what he was getting into when he was assigned with new responsibilities. He was strongly astonished. But anyhow he found his way and tried to follow around the few working patterns of his experienced colleagues. But still he came to the conclusion that any job is best learned through most of the trials and errors. He acknowledged his experience as ople skills which he fetched through dealing with the customers and also his fellow colleagues. He lately stated that for doing any sort of work or task one should be well organized so that he can quickly and efficiently provide his service.
ReplyDeleteReflection 2: Sample 2 is all about Kerry who is on level 2 of a biological programme. As per reflection study we can make out that she is willing to justify that study begins on the first day of class. Successful students always read and review notes before each class to recall information from the previous class to warm up for learning. If this process any how disturbed so the learning process will be hindered. Because she experienced this herself as she stated that if we miss on this study, learning pattern henceforth one will be stuck hard to refresh and promote better recall of the material. When she herself was experiencing all these emotions she began to question her own capabilities and clearly stated her intentions to one of her trusted guide that she is about to give up. Than, light was seen illuminating at the end of the tunnel of her this suffering journey. All thanks to her trusted guide. With his words of wisdom she began to gain her confidence on this journey. She very obviously notioned that plagiarism has no origin in that way of individual personality and uniqueness to flourish. Which varies from person to person.She ended her reflection concluding that if, to create, to build, to maintain constant learning and studying pattern one should always organize, plan and prioritize their time accordingly with long term assignments. It will definitely fetch us desired results.
Reflection 3: Sample 3 is all about Jackie where she presented her travel experience as reflective writing. Though it is not very reflective as reflection is all about to think and write about what is being said, read, thought, and how it has affected out thoughts generating process. Which is all. Missing in this reflection writing and is all about experiences. As reflection is believed to involvement of two aspects reflective and critical thinking. Though they are different but are connected. but
Resource 4 (1)
ReplyDeleteBarry reflects on the challenges he faces in his job placement.
When he was asked to serve the clients , his initial reaction is embarrassment which he needs to recover from.
The writer has clearly outlined how his confidence grew with passing time and with better experiences that he had for example the lady who was patient with him and the group of people that were happy after having a satisfactory meal and gave him a handsome tip.
The writer has shown in his essay that regardless of the stature of the job training is a must. And comes to the understanding that in every field we face tricky situations , and what we learn from these and how we deal with them henceforth in a better manner. It is a reasonably reflective writing.
Resource 4 (2)
Kerry reflects that she was late in joining the university, that lead to lack of understanding and she feels like taking the easy approach to quit.
She also reflects that she has not been able to write essays because nobody has taught her to do the same. She realises the problem and takes steps to improve it by buying study skill books and intends to take help to under plagiarism better.
She does not know the extent to which she can use reference books.
She does not know how to get ready for exam but she questions herself and discusses it with her co- students and gets prepared for the exam. But towards the end she reflects that she needs to change her study habit for this and ask for help.
I can see her reflective approach in this.
Her arrival at the correct decision to stay on in the university indicates good use of the reflective approach .
Resource 4 (3)
It appears that Jackie is confident that she has done a good job and does not need improvement in any area concerning her presentation and hence has not reflected much on the matter. This is not a very reflective writing.
The essay is descriptive in nature and talks about the various difficulties she faced , for example, missing the train, not finding the boat, facing the rough sea, encountering the adders , also feeling nervous addressing a new set of people. But inspite of this she is not looking for solutions and hence does not reflect on the same .
Resource 4 (1)
ReplyDeleteBarry reflects on the challenges he faces in his job placement.
When he was asked to serve the clients , his initial reaction is embarrassment which he needs to recover from.
The writer has clearly outlined how his confidence grew with passing time and with better experiences that he had for example the lady who was patient with him and the group of people that were happy after having a satisfactory meal and gave him a handsome tip.
The writer has shown in his essay that regardless of the stature of the job training is a must. And comes to the understanding that in every field we face tricky situations , and what we learn from these and how we deal with them henceforth in a better manner. It is a reasonably reflective writing.
Resource 4 (2)
Kerry reflects that she was late in joining the university, that lead to lack of understanding and she feels like taking the easy approach to quit.
She also reflects that she has not been able to write essays because nobody has taught her to do the same. She realises the problem and takes steps to improve it by buying study skill books and intends to take help to under plagiarism better.
She does not know the extent to which she can use reference books.
She does not know how to get ready for exam but she questions herself and discusses it with her co- students and gets prepared for the exam. But towards the end she reflects that she needs to change her study habit for this and ask for help.
I can see her reflective approach in this.
Her arrival at the correct decision to stay on in the university indicates good use of the reflective approach .
Resource 4 (3)
It appears that Jackie is confident that she has done a good job and does not need improvement in any area concerning her presentation and hence has not reflected much on the matter. This is not a very reflective writing.
The essay is descriptive in nature and talks about the various difficulties she faced , for example, missing the train, not finding the boat, facing the rough sea, encountering the adders , also feeling nervous addressing a new set of people. But inspite of this she is not looking for solutions and hence does not reflect on the same .