Reflective Report
Download of copy of the Team Project Reflective Writing document from this link.
You will be undertaking a series of tasks to help you with your reflective writing .
The reflective report is in 2 parts Part1- Team Reflection (300 words) Part2- Individual reflection (1000 words) |
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Activities to develop understanding of reflective writing
Below are a series of sentences taken from past Team Project evaluation write ups. Read through them and then complete the tasks below.
Past Reflection Statements |
Our group struggled as we were unable to stick to our timeline that we set ourselves at the start. I don’t feel this was my fault rather is was James and John as they were the leaders. |
As a team we set out clear and measurable objectives that looked to reduce the use of plastic straws in local food establishments. While we went armed with evidence to demonstrate to the restaurant owners around the damage that plastic does to the environment, I became frustrated that while they valued our arguments they were still unwilling to change. Going forward I feel that we should have worked on researching possible substitutes for plastic straws and approaching businesses from this angle. |
One of the strengths of my group was that we bonded well from the start. We immediately settled into our roles and spent as much time engaging in the project outside of the classroom as we did inside. We hope to continue driving forward with our initiative for the foreseeable future so that we can truly make a change. |
I found working in a group very challenging. I am quite shy and felt it was hard to express my opinions as some members in the group were very bossy. |
I really feel that my skills as a leader developed greatly through this project and I am now able to lead a team comfortably. At the start of the process it was very difficult, however, as a Year 11, I know that other students were looking to me for advice. |
The research we undertook just wasn’t good enough. We spent a lot of time just searching the internet. I think we should have spoken to some other people. |
I feel that I have learnt a great deal about other cultures through my research. I did much more than anyone else and I even interviewed my Dad to get his opinion. I think this has made my project a great success. |
While we did not manage to achieve our desired outcome that we set ourselves at the start we can be proud of our efforts as a group. On reflection we simply just tried to do too much and therefore spread ourselves to thinly. Next time we will just focus on one achievable target in order that we can succeed. |
Keeping in contact was difficult beyond the classroom as despite setting up various forms of communication such as email and a WhatsApp group, people did not respond. As a leader I feel I should have resolved these issues at the start and not let them continue. An approach might possibly have been to ask my teacher for support me in mediating these issues early on. |
Our group set out some clear aims and objectives from the start and this really helped us focus on reviewing different perspectives on the topic. We each allocated a different person to contact ranging from NGOs to businesses and ordinary people on the streets. It was a real challenge getting people to respond and I think that we should have been more diligent with our approach as after four weeks we had on managed to obtain one response. I feel we should have called people and even visited people directly to try and get the answers that we needed. |
Activity 1
Choose the best 3 sentences from above that you feel are most reflective and copy them in order in our workbook.
Activity 2
Justify your choice of the best sentence
The reason that have chosen this sentence as being the most reflective is because...
Choose the best 3 sentences from above that you feel are most reflective and copy them in order in our workbook.
Activity 2
Justify your choice of the best sentence
The reason that have chosen this sentence as being the most reflective is because...
Reflective Thinking |
Reflective Writing |
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Description (What?) |
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Interpretation (So what?) |
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Outcomes (What next?) |
Creating a piece of reflective writing is different from other academic writing as it is more personal and you are writing about your experiences.
The table below lists the differences between reflective and academic writing.
The table below lists the differences between reflective and academic writing.
Reflective Writing |
Academic Writing |
Personal account |
Impersonal account |
Consider your personal views |
Consider the views of others |
First Person |
Third Person |
Contemplates |
Argues and justifies |
Finds solutions to problems |
Compares and contrasts |
Activity 3
Review the three written accounts below. In pairs you are now examiners assessing the reflective writing skills of each individual who has written this account. You must identify positive areas within the writing based on your understanding now of reflective writing and offer suggestions of how each account could be improved.
Account 1: As part of our outcome I had to talk about my Global Perspectives team project that I am working on to a group of parents. I practiced my talk during my class in front of all of the students and the teacher. I was confident but I did spend quite a bit of time preparing. During the presentation I became nervous when I realised they were all waiting for me to speak and my nerves made my voice wobble. Afterwards I was disappointed that my presentation did not seem to have gone well. My teacher suggested that I practice my presentation a few times with a small group of students or family before I presented to parents.
Account 2: I was scared about not saying the right things and not being able to answer questions properly. I did a presentation in my class during an English lesson and had felt the same about it initially. During the presentation I realise that I was desperately trying to prove that I could present as well the team I had watched last week. I wanted to impress everyone. Early on it went wrong and I began to panic. Trying to pretend I was confident made the situation worse because I did not admit I needed help. The more I spoke, the more my voice wobbled. Following on from the presentation, my confidence has become lower in class. However, partly through talking over the presentation and the things that went wrong, I can see several areas that I could get better. I am hoping that if I practice with some friends or family members then it will get better.
Account 3: As part of our outcome I had to talk about my Global Perspectives team project that I am working on to a group of parents. I spent quite a bit of time preparing for it and had worked on my presentation skills in class, particularly focusing on my expressive language skills, tone and body language.
We had the opportunity to practice our presentation in class before delivering it to the parents. I really wanted to do it well – as well as the other teams presentations I had seen the week before. They spoke with confidence and in doing so it was very clear they knew their subject matter well and connected with their audience. Maybe I wanted too much to do well? My efforts to be calm failed and my voice went wobbly – that’s how it felt to me anyway. My teacher said afterwards that I looked quite calm despite what I was feeling.
Personally I felt that the presentation had not gone well and it left me feeling uncomfortable and under confident not only in my Global Perspectives class but in other classes at school also. I have spent some time thinking about why a simple presentation could have such an effect on me and feel that this relates back to an assembly that I spoke in a few years ago where I did not know my lines.
After some time to reflect I started to feel more positive and began to analyse what I could do better in the presentation. It was interesting to see the change in my attitude after a week. I realise now that I need to think from the beginning about the process of giving a good presentation and return the skills we developed in class.
Review the three written accounts below. In pairs you are now examiners assessing the reflective writing skills of each individual who has written this account. You must identify positive areas within the writing based on your understanding now of reflective writing and offer suggestions of how each account could be improved.
Account 1: As part of our outcome I had to talk about my Global Perspectives team project that I am working on to a group of parents. I practiced my talk during my class in front of all of the students and the teacher. I was confident but I did spend quite a bit of time preparing. During the presentation I became nervous when I realised they were all waiting for me to speak and my nerves made my voice wobble. Afterwards I was disappointed that my presentation did not seem to have gone well. My teacher suggested that I practice my presentation a few times with a small group of students or family before I presented to parents.
Account 2: I was scared about not saying the right things and not being able to answer questions properly. I did a presentation in my class during an English lesson and had felt the same about it initially. During the presentation I realise that I was desperately trying to prove that I could present as well the team I had watched last week. I wanted to impress everyone. Early on it went wrong and I began to panic. Trying to pretend I was confident made the situation worse because I did not admit I needed help. The more I spoke, the more my voice wobbled. Following on from the presentation, my confidence has become lower in class. However, partly through talking over the presentation and the things that went wrong, I can see several areas that I could get better. I am hoping that if I practice with some friends or family members then it will get better.
Account 3: As part of our outcome I had to talk about my Global Perspectives team project that I am working on to a group of parents. I spent quite a bit of time preparing for it and had worked on my presentation skills in class, particularly focusing on my expressive language skills, tone and body language.
We had the opportunity to practice our presentation in class before delivering it to the parents. I really wanted to do it well – as well as the other teams presentations I had seen the week before. They spoke with confidence and in doing so it was very clear they knew their subject matter well and connected with their audience. Maybe I wanted too much to do well? My efforts to be calm failed and my voice went wobbly – that’s how it felt to me anyway. My teacher said afterwards that I looked quite calm despite what I was feeling.
Personally I felt that the presentation had not gone well and it left me feeling uncomfortable and under confident not only in my Global Perspectives class but in other classes at school also. I have spent some time thinking about why a simple presentation could have such an effect on me and feel that this relates back to an assembly that I spoke in a few years ago where I did not know my lines.
After some time to reflect I started to feel more positive and began to analyse what I could do better in the presentation. It was interesting to see the change in my attitude after a week. I realise now that I need to think from the beginning about the process of giving a good presentation and return the skills we developed in class.
Have a look at this link to support you here.