INF1-CRISP: Assessment

Reflective Portfolio Instructions

You will be assessed on a portfolio of 5 individual reflections, one for each learning outcome.

Anatomy of a reflection

Part 1) Evidence

For each reflection, you’ll need to provide evidence of an experience or activity related to that learning outcome. This course is designed to give you plenty of opportunities to engage with each of the learning objectives, but you are welcome to reflect on activities outside of class, so long as they are relevant to the topic. You might choose to reflect on:

• A lab or tutorial session
• Work you did on your course project
• Engagement with a lecture or panel topic
• An extracurricular activity, like a volunteer role or participation in a student society

Whatever the experience was, make sure it is documented in one of your weekly blog posts. These blog posts are a way to capture reflection in action: to record your thoughts, feelings, experiences, and decisions as they happened. The writing in your blog post will not be assessed, but we will check to make sure that it exists and that the activity it describes is reasonable evidence for your response. If the post is missing or is not relevant to your written response, you will be marked down on your reflection.

OpenCourse Blogs Instructions

Part 2) Response

Your written response for each learning outcome will take the form of three reflective mini-essays (200 words each), each responding to a question outlined in the instructions for that learning outcome.

These mini-essays are a form of reflection on action, where you look back at something that has happened in the past in order to learn from it. Each mini-essay should:

1. Introduce a relevant learning experience (your evidence)
2. Highlight why it was important
3. Address the question by critically reflecting on that knowledge and experience

If you’re unsure what “critical reflection” should look like, you can read the guide at the end of this document, revisit the lectures on “Reflection and Critical Practice,” or look at the model answers (coming soon). 

Submission

You will submit reflections for two learning outcomes in Week 7. In week 11, you will submit your reflections for the remaining three learning outcomes. You will also have the option to resubmit one of your reflections from your week 7 submission, if you'd like to improve upon it. The order in which you write and submit them is up to you, but you may find that some (like LO3: Reflect on your own learning...) are much easier to write at the end of the semester, when you’ve experienced more of the course.

All submissions should be made through Gradescope, which you can access from the Assessment folders on the course Learn page. The reflection for each learning outcome is a separate document. To complete a learning outcome, download the template document, read through the instructions, and type your answers into the document where instructed. Then, save it as a PDF and upload your completed PDF to the Gradescope submission box for that learning outcome.
 
Reflection templates (also available in Gradescope):
LO1 Reflection Template

LO2 Reflection Template 

LO3 Reflection Template 

LO4 Reflection Template 

LO5 Reflection Template  

Week 7

Submit ONLY 2 learning outcomes to the Gradescope submission boxes for CW1. (You will see deadlines listed for all five learning outcomes, but you are not expected to submit them all. You will only receive marks and feedback for a maximum of two submissions for CW1.)

Week 11

Submit the other 3 learning outcomes in the Gradescope submission boxes for CW2. Optionally, you may also submit a revised version of one of your Week 7 learning outcomes (for a total of 4 CW2 submissions). Again, all five learning outcome submission boxes will appear with the week 11 deadline, but you are not expected to submit to all five.

Re-submission

As described above, you will have the opportunity to resubmit one of your reflections that has already been marked as part of the final (CW2) submission. This gives you the chance to improve your mark for CW1: if your score is higher for the second (CW2) version, we will use that score in place of your CW1 mark for that learning outcome.

Marking Criteria

Markers will be looking for:

• Evidence (working blog links) that is introduced well in your response, relates to the learning outcome, and forms the basis of your reflection
• Reflective writing that goes beyond description, reconsidering your experience in order to learn from it
• Strong analysis: your insights and conclusions are meaningful, and the argumentation for them is sound
• Responses that address the question. These questions are not designed to have a single correct or complete answer, but good responses consider multiple facets of a question with nuance and depth.
• Writing that is coherent, meets length requirements, and represents an appropriate style and level for a reflective essay

Guide to Critical Reflections

While the mini-essay questions are different for each learning outcome, you might notice that they use similar language. This is because they all involve at least one critical movement, a way to gain new perspective or insights from your learning experience. These include:

• Comparing: noticing similarities between two separate objects or experiences. Consider what those similarities suggest about the relationship between the two, or what knowledge about one might be relevant to the other.
• Contrasting: noticing the differences between things. Consider where those differences come from (different contexts, backgrounds, or values?) and whether the actions, assumptions, and decisions you make about one might be inappropriate for the other.
• Extending: taking what you’ve learned one step further. What else might it imply? How might you apply it in the future?
• Translating: applying knowledge or experience from one domain to another. Is there a skill or insight from another area that might be helpful? If so, how might you apply it, and what will you need
• Situating: locating your own position and perspective as it relates to a specific topic or context. How do you relate to other people, groups, and ideas in that area? Which perspectives and skills might you bring, and which blind spots and biases should you look out for?
• Self-critiquing: carefully evaluating your tendencies and decisions to become more aware of your biases, blind spots, and areas where you might improve. What happened, and how did you act or react? What do you wish you had done differently—and how can you set yourself up for success in that area in the future?
• Challenging: considering where an argument, claim, or decision might be flawed or incomplete. Which assumptions are being made, and are they are appropriate for the context? What might the claim overlook or dismiss?

If your response uses at least one of these movements to uncover something new and insightful about your learning experience, then congratulations! You’ve engaged in meaningful critical reflection. The questions are designed to help you do this naturally—but if you find yourself worrying whether you’ve reflected enough, you can always come back to this list to see if there’s another critical movement that might address the question more meaningfully.