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Examples of Reflective Writing UNSW Current Students

Examples of Reflective Writing UNSW Current Students

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749 views

Examples of Reflective Writing UNSW Current Students

Examples of Reflective Writing UNSW Current Students

Uploaded by

DennisWarren
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
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Examples of Reflective Writing | UNSW Current Students

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Examples of Reflective Writing


Types of reflective writing assignments
Journal: requires you to write weekly entries throughout a semester. May require you to base your reflection on course
content.
Learning diary: similar to a journal, but may require group participation. The diary then becomes a place for you to
communicate in writing with other group members.
Log book: often used in disciplines based on experimental work, such as science. You note down or log what you have
done. A log gives you an accurate record of a process and helps you reflect on past actions and make better decisions for
future actions.
Reflective note: often used in law. A reflective note encourages you to think about your personal reaction to a legal issue
raised in a course.
Essay diary: can take the form of an annotated bibliography (where you examine sources of evidence you might include in
your essay) and a critique (where you reflect on your own writing and research processes).
Peer review: usually involves students showing their work to their peers for feedback.
Self-assessment: requires you to to comment on your own work.

Some examples of reflective writing


Social Science fieldwork report (methods section)
The field notes were written by hand on lined paper. They consisted of jotted notes and mental
triggers (personal notes that would remind me of specific things when it came to writing the notes
up). I took some direct observational notes recording what I saw where this was relevant to the
research questions and, as I was aiming to get a sense of the culture and working environment, I
also made researcher inference notes [1] [2].
[3] I found the notetaking process itself helpful, as it ensured that I listened carefully and decoded
information. Not all the information I recorded was relevant, but noting what I found informative
contributed to my ability to form an overview on re-reading. However, the reliability of jotted notes
alone can be questionable. For example, the notes were not a direct transcription of what the
subjects said but consisted of pertinent or interesting information.

1.Description/
explanation of method.

2. Includes disciplinespecific language

3. Critical evaluation of
method

Rarely did I have time to transcribe a direct quotation, so relied on my own fairly rapid
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Examples of Reflective Writing | UNSW Current Students

paraphrasing, which risks changing the meaning. Some technical information was difficult to note
down accurately [3]. A tape recorder would have been a better, more accurate method. However,
one student brought a tape recorder and was asked to switch it off by a participant who was uneasy
about her comments being directly recorded. It seems that subjects feel differently about being
recorded or photographed (as opposed to observers taking notes), so specific consent should be
sought before using these technologies [4].

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4.Conclusion and
recommendation based
on the writers
experience

Engineering Design Report


Question: Discuss at least two things you learnt or discovered for example about design, or
working in groups or the physical world through participating in the Impromptu Design activities.
Firstly, the most obvious thing that I discovered was the advantage of working as part of a
group [1]. I learned that good teamwork is the key to success in design activities when time and
resources are limited. As everyone had their own point of view, many different ideas could be
produced and I found the energy of group participation made me feel more energetic about
contributing something [2].
Secondly I discovered that even the simplest things on earth could be turned into something
amazing if we put enough creativity and effort into working on them [1]. With the Impromptu Design
activities [3] we used some simple materials such as straws, string, and balloons, but were still able
to create some 'cool stuff' [4]. I learned that every design has its weaknesses and strengths and
working with a group can help discover what they are. We challenged each others preconceptions
about what would and would not work. We could also see the reality of the way changing a design
actually affected its performance [5].

1. Addresses the
assignment question
2. Reflects on direct
experiences
3. Direct reference to
the course activity
4.The style is relatively
informal, yet still uses
full sentences.
5. Relating what was
learnt.

Learning Journal (weekly reflection)


Last weeks lecture presented the idea that science is the most powerful form of evidence [1]. My
position as a student studying both physics and law makes this an important issue for me [2] and
1. Description of topic
one I was thinking about while watching the The New Inventors television program last Tuesday
encountered in the
[3]. The two inventors (an odd name considering that, as Smith (2002) says, nobody thinks of
course
things in a vacuum) were accompanied by their marketing people. The conversations were quite
contrived, but also funny and enlightening. I realised that the marketing people used a certain form 2. The authors voice is
of evidence to persuade the viewers (us?) of the value of the inventions [4]. To them, this value was clear
determined solely by whether something could be bought or soldin other words, whether
something was marketable. In contrast, the inventors seemed quite shy and reluctant to use
3. Introduces everyday
anything more than technical language, almost as if this was the only evidence required as if no life experience
further explanation was needed.
4. The style is relatively
informal, yet still uses

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Examples of Reflective Writing | UNSW Current Students

This difference forced me to reflect on the aims of this coursehow communication skills are not
generic, but differ according to time and place. Like in the Research Methodology textbook
discussed in the first lecture, these communication skills are the result of a form of triangulation,
[5] which I have made into the following diagram:

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full sentences
5. Makes an explicit link
between everyday life
and the topic

...

References
Brookfield, S 1987, Developing critical thinkers: challenging adults to explore alternative ways of thinking and acting, Open
University Press, Milton Keynes.
Mezirow, J 1990, Fostering critical reflection in adulthood: a guide to transformative and emancipatory learning, Jossey-Bass,
San Francisco.
Schn, DA 1987, Educating the reflective practitioner, Jossey-Bass. San Francisco.
The Learning Centre thanks the students who permitted us to feature examples of their writing.
Prepared by The Learning Centre, The University of New South Wales 2008. This guide may be distributed or adapted for
educational purposes. Full and proper acknowledgement is required. Email: [email protected]

UNSW Sydney NSW 2052 Australia Telephone +61 2 93851000


Authorised by Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Students)
UNSW CRICOS Provider Code: 00098G ABN: 57 195 873 179

Page last updated: Monday 25 August 2014

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