Reflect on a key concept (either provided through the lecture or one of their own choosing) and reflect on its capacity to help them understand the problems/solutions that policies aim to address. The essay is a self-reflective one rather than an argumentative essay and requires students to narrate their own critical processes in thinking about these issues.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Some of the material we will cover may be personal, lived as an experience and embodied, you can if you wish discuss whatever parts of your background/ identity/orientation that are important to you and that you feel matter in the discussion. But, please also note that you should write about what you are comfortable with. There is no obligation to bring up your identity and parts of you that you wish not to write about in self reflecting on the course’s content.

You can self-reflect merely on the level of ideas and keep much of yourself to yourself if you wish. The important feature is that you and we as a group learn the praxis of self-reflection.

Potential Questions to ask yourself.

(Please keep in mind the following questions are guidelines to help you start self-reflecting; they are not questions that you are obliged to answer. They are here to help you brainstorm)

• Did your assumptions about a certain concept/experience shift after engaging with the course material and students and, if so, how?
• Did your own experience play a role in helping you to understand the concepts/challenges that shape debates around policy making? How and why? Or why not?
• Was this an easy or a difficult course to undertake and to read up on certain concepts? Why?
• How do you think your education of a concept will help you contribute to understanding the diversity of the people with whom you shall work with?
• Do any of these concepts help you understand others and how?

• Any approach to reflection needs to take into account the following key issues:

• Most marks will be awarded for your reflective insights rather than a detailed description of theories or your personal beliefs or experiences. So, make sure you keep your descriptions brief and to the point. Focus on interpretation of your experience or beliefs rather than description.

• Word limit restrictions will require you to be selective and focus on the most significant parts of the event, belief or idea on which you’re reflecting. It may be useful to focus on what best relates to a particular theory/concept and ways to facilitate your own learning.

• The focus of your writing should be on depth rather than breadth of response. Identify and reflect on a few significant aspects of your experience or beliefs (e.g. the most challenging, positive or negative) and learning outcomes.

• Unlike other forms of academic writing, you are encouraged to focus on areas of success, weakness, mistakes, accomplishments, etc. It may seem difficult or challenging at first, but remember that the focus of reflective writing is you (e.g. personal experience) and your learning experience.

• Two sources of evidence need to be used in reflective writing- your reflections and academic evidence from the course theories to show how your ideas and practices have developed in the context of the relevant academic literature. Due to word limit restrictions, there is no need to present an in-depth overview or explanation of the theory, just a brief statement to support, challenge or base your response.

For example:

            “I agree with X (2013), because I have found that………”,

 “Even though I can understand X, I disagree with this as in my experience……..”,

 “I have never really considered the importance of X, which highlighted ….”

• Reflective writing allows you the opportunity to agree, disagree or challenge previous theories or other forms of academic evidence by simply expressing your own point of view with or without “scientific’ backing. However, the focus must be on your person reflection, not the theories per se.

• Reflecting on any areas of weakness or perceived failures will not result in a lower mark. If you show some understanding of possible causes and explain how you plan to improve then you have clearly demonstrated reflective thinking.

• You can reflect back on the past as well as reflect on the future.