Assessment - Reflective Essay
Cover page: The essay must include a cover page that contains your name, student number, resident campus, assessment title, and lecturer.
Both on-campus students and Distance students must write this reflective essay and submit online via Moodle by the due date.
Format: Text should be word-processed, with appropriate layout and use of headings/sub-headings. Times New Roman, 12 size font and line spacing (1.5).
Referencing: A minimum of 10 academic references are required. The list of references should form the last page or two, at the end of the assessment. Referencing should be in a consistent APA style.
Task Description: The objectives of this reflective essay are for students to (1) summarize, critically review and reinforce key concepts and theories learned from week 1 to week 9 of this unit. (2) reflect on these concepts/theories' potential impact on students' decision making, and how these learnings are being applied and could be applied in their current jobs, development of future career and/or their life generally. (3) reflect on new insights gained about oneself as a result of learning the unit, and propose a plan for self-development.
Students ought to start the reflective essay in week 4 after the submission of their first assignment. From week 4 to week 9 (a total of 6 weeks), students are expected to reflect on the topics (week 1-week 9) this unit has covered and evaluate which concepts or theories have inspired their thinking or influenced their decision making. This assignment still requires an essay format with introduction section outlining the scope, purpose and structure information. The body paragraphs need to contain at least six themes over the course of six weeks, and each theme needs to contain a CONVINCING and PERSONAL justification of why these concepts/theories are chosen and how the mentioned concepts/theories have changed/might change the students' thinking or the students' decisions. For example, students could identify the concepts of "automatic versus critical thinking" as a theme for one week's reflection, and illustrate with personal examples how having learned about the differences has enabled him/her to be more effective in making a certain decision at work. Close to the end, the essay needs to reflect on self-knowledge and highlight implications for future self-development.
To successfully complete this assessment task, students should answer the following reflective essay questions:
- Which concepts/theories from which week's learning activities are significant or important to you?
- Why are these concepts/theories you have identified important or significant to you? (Theoretical review)
- How are the concepts/theories you have learned influencing/impacting your decision-making in relation to your current interpersonal relationships, professional workplaces and/or personal life? (Practical Application)
- What have you learned about yourself through the unit activities? What skills do you possess and what skills are you lacking? How are you going to improve your decision-making in the future? (Self-knowledge and self-development)
- You should tie all your arguments/insights together at the end of your paper, highlighting how you think you will be able to use your learning in your future career and in life generally.