Graduate Certificate in University Teaching and Learning unit: ELT502 Enhancing Professional Practice: reflective essay
Developed by Dr Sharon Thomas and Moira Cordiner
Synopsis of the task and its context
This is the first task in the unit. It is a 3000 word reflective essay, written in the first person and weighted 50%. Students are required to engage in a process of peer
observation with one or two of their peers, and document their personal experiences in a descriptive and reflective journal. These experiences are as a peer observer
and as someone being observed. This journal forms a database of evidence that is used first to describe the process they undertook, and then to analyse and evaluate
it to draw out themes and relationships between these themes. The journal is not submitted for assessment. Once the description and the analysis have been
completed, students use these to critically reflect on the impact of the process on their thinking about teaching and learning. The purpose of this is to make them
aware of their strengths and limitations, their openness (or otherwise) to having convictions challenged and hence help them devise a course of action for future
teaching and learning practice. Research literature as well as the journal is to inform and be used as evidence to justify analyses, evaluations and reflections.
Match between learning outcomes/objectives and criteria for the task
Learning outcomes
new task-specific criteria
On completion of this unit, you should be able to:
To complete this task, you are to:
2. engage in a process of peer observation to enhance your
professional practice
1. engage in a process of peer observation by:
 designing and implementing the process of peer observation from the perspectives of the:
 observer
 person being observed
 analysing and evaluating the data from your journal
2. demonstrate the qualities of a reflective practitioner by:
 critically reflecting on the impact of the peer observation process on your thinking about teaching and
learning
 supporting your reflection with evidence (experiential and literature based)
 communicate in academic writing:
 expression and English conventions (spelling, punctuation, grammar)
 use of literature
 APA referencing of literature sources
3. design, implement and evaluate different assessment strategies
1. demonstrate the qualities of a reflective practitioner by critically
reflecting on the assumptions that underpin professional practice
Student name
Task: A personal account of the peer observation process
criteria
1. engage in a process of peer
observation by:
 designing and implementing the
process of peer observation from
the perspectives of the:
 observer
 person being observed
 analysing and evaluating the
data from your journal
HD
weighting 50 %
DN
In your personal account, you:
 provided a detailed, and systematic
description of the design process
that:
CR
In your personal account, you:
 provided a detailed description of
the design process that:
 included all the stages
 focussed on your context and perspective as well as being sensitive to and
respectful of your peer’s context and perspective
 included most of the stages
 was primarily focussed on your
context and perspective
 thoroughly and insightfully analysed
and evaluated a balanced selection
of ‘raw data’ from your journal to:
 thoroughly analysed and evaluated
a mostly balanced selection of ‘raw
data’ from your journal to:
 identify emerging personal and professional themes
Weighting 30%
 explain the relationships between these themes
 support these themes and
relationships with relevant and
convincing evidence
2. demonstrate the qualities of a
reflective practitioner by:
 critically reflecting on the impact
of the peer observation process
on your thinking about teaching
and learning
 supporting your reflection with
evidence (experiential and
literature- based)
Weighting 60%
PP
In your personal account, you:
 provided a detailed description of
the design process that:
 support these themes and
relationships with relevant
evidence
 analysed and evaluated a selection
of ‘raw data’ from your journal to:
 identify emerging professional and
some personal themes
 explain some of the relationships
between these themes
 support these themes and
relationships with mostly relevant
evidence
 critically reflected on the impact of the peer observation process by:
In your personal account, you:
 provided a brief description of the
design process that:
 included some of the stages
 was focussed only on your context
and perspective
 partially analysed and evaluated a
selection of ‘raw data’ from your
journal to:
 identify some emerging
professional themes
 make general statements about
relationships between these
themes
 support these themes with some
relevant evidence
 reflected on the impact of the peer
observation process by:
 recognising the strengths and limitations of your and others’ understanding of
teaching and learning
 recognising the strengths and
limitations of your understanding
of teaching and learning
 stating whether it affirmed or
challenged your current practice in
teaching and learning
 questioning your convictions with
integrity and open-mindedness by:
 questioning your convictions by:
 confirming your convictions by:
 questioning your convictions with
open-mindedness by:
 revealing how receptive you are
to feedback or criticism and
suggesting why this may be the
case
 using relevant and convincing
evidence to challenge your
practice, habits, and beliefs
 revealing how receptive you are
to feedback or criticism
 revealing how reactive you are
to feedback or criticism
 justifying your reaction to your
peer’s feedback or criticism
 using relevant evidence to
challenge your practice, habits,
and beliefs
 using relevant evidence to
challenge your practice, habits,
and beliefs
 reiterating why your practice,
habits, and beliefs do not need
to be challenged
 comprehensively explaining and
illustrating how personal histories
and institutional environment can
affect professional practice
 explaining and illustrating how
personal histories and institutional
requirements can affect
professional practice
 explaining how personal histories
and institutional requirements can
affect professional practice
 implying how personal histories
and institutional requirements can
affect professional practice by
describing your context
Task: A personal account of the peer observation process
criteria
HD
weighting 50 %
DN
In your personal account, you:
 proposing a realistic course of
action for your future practice, by
perceptively applying what you
have learned from the peer
observation process
CR
In your personal account, you:
 proposing a realistic course of
action for your future practice, by
applying what you have learned
from the peer observation process
PP
In your personal account, you:
 making some suggestions about
your future practice by applying
aspects of what you have learned
from the peer observation process
In your personal account, you:
 outlining what you had learned
from the peer observation process
so that the reader had to infer your
intentions for future practice
 justifying a position on the peer
observation process in general by:
 implying a position on the peer
observation process in general by:
 supported your reflection with evidence by:
 stating and justifying a position on the peer observation process in general by:
3. communicate in academic writing:
 expression and
English conventions (spelling,
punctuation, grammar)
 use of literature
 APA referencing of literature
sources
Weighting 10%
 referring in detail to the benefits,
limitations and complexities of
the peer observation process
 referring to the benefits,
limitations and some of the
complexities of the peer
observation process
 referring to the benefits and
limitations of the peer
observation process
 comparing your experience to
the research literature (including
discipline-specific)
 comparing your experience to
the research literature
 comparing your experience to
the research literature
 consistently communicated in fluent
academic writing by:
 predominantly communicated in
fluent academic writing by:
 using coherent, concise and cohesive expression by adhering to English conventions
 integrating a range of relevant,
scholarly literature (generic and
discipline-specific) to support
justification of your views
 integrating a range of relevant,
scholarly literature to support
justification of your views
 accurately referencing all sources using the APA convention
Comments:
 communicated in fluent academic
writing by:
 mentioning either the benefits or
the limitations of the peer
observation process
 communicated in academic writing
by:
 using coherent and partly
cohesive expression by adhering
to English conventions
 integrating relevant scholarly
literature to support justification of
your views
 used some scholarly literature to
support justification of your views
 accurately referencing most sources using the APA convention
Grade: