Reflective essay about your personal development of two core competencies that you are expected to have developed throughout the Practicum: Participant Reflections Essay, UCC, Ireland

Individual Reflection Assessment Overview

This is a reflective essay about your personal development of two core competencies that you are expected to have developed throughout the Practicum Project module; 1. Ethical Practice. 2. Critical Thinking. This assessment is a reflective essay that encapsulates your experience of your personal development of these 2 competencies throughout the Practicum Project.

• Word Count As with all written assignments, the main consideration is that the length is appropriate for evidencing learning, answering the question, and meeting the criteria (Ibid, unknown date)

What is a reflective personal essay?

• A reflective essay is about presenting reflections to an audience in a systematic and formalized manner.
• Generally, all good academic practice for assignments still applies when posing and presenting reflective essays as part of your assessment (the University of Edinburgh,n.d)
• Please reflect on your personal development across experiences with regards to the skills of critical thinking and ethical practice.
• This reflective essay may draw on theoretical literature that is new to you or literature that you have deemed appropriate for this subject matter. Drawing on theoretical literature is a sound way to strengthen the argument of your understanding of the development of these 2 competencies, however, this is not essential to reflect well.
• The typical language and structure of this reflective essay are formal.

Criteria:

1. Analysis: (description from Steven Jones) The reflection goes beyond the description of experience to an analysis of how the experience informs the reflectors’ self-understanding, others, and/or course concepts.
2. Self-Criticism: (description from Steven Jones) The reflection highlights the reflector’s ability to question their own biases, stereotypes, and assumptions, and uses these questions to form new approaches/learning.
3. Appropriate description of context/critical incident/experience/conflict: To set the stage for the assessor. Are there enough details for you to understand the experience that is the foundation for the reflection? You also want to ensure that too much of the reflection is not spent on the description.
4. Demonstration of interconnections with the wider course and program outcomes: (description from Steven Jones) The reflection demonstrates connections between current experience and material from courses, previous experiences, and/or existing knowledge.