Recent Question/Assignment
REFLECTIVE ESSAY GUIDELINES (also see pp. 13-18 in the EDUB3724 module guide)
The situation
In the near future, you may be employed as a teacher. A fundamental aspect of your professional identity will be your philosophy of education that will inform your practice. Your philosophy of education should enable you to respond to contemporary challenges that you will face daily. These challenges will range from responding to cultural diversity and practices that facilitate cognitive and epistemic injustice, to considering the impact of climate change and ecological precarity on society and what it means for you as a teacher. In EDUB3724, we provided you with different tools (module content) that you can draw on to create your philosophy of education and to inform your professional identity as a future teacher (see module content of Week 1 on Blackboard). These tools include:
• responding to diversity in an affirmative manner (inclusive pedagogical approach, collaborative teacher agency, and culturally responsive education)
• making learning more relevant and authentic to the lived experiences of the learners (decolonising education, African philosophy of education, humanising pedagogy)
• understanding education in a time of climate change and ecological precarity (ecojustice perspective, ecojustice education, intergenerational justice).
Task
For your summative assessment, you must write an essay in which you reflect on how the module tools (content) could enable you to refine your sense of purpose and philosophy of education as a future teacher. In your reflection, you should include ideas from each learning unit and can draw on the worksheets, assigned readings, PPTs, online activities, and tutorial discussions.
For the duration of the module, you will receive at the end of every week, reflective questions based on the week’s content to guide you in writing your reflective essay. Since these questions will guide you in writing your reflective essay, you must respond to them every week.
Your reflective essay should consist of the following
• An introduction in which you
i) introduce the background to your reflective essay,
ii) provide a thesis statement that clearly indicates your position as it relates to the assessment task
iii) provide an overview of what will be discussed in your essay.
• Body paragraphs in which you reflect on:
i) why you want to become a teacher and what were your initial expectations of the teaching profession
ii) how the EDUB3724 module content in all three learning units helped you refine your sense of purpose and philosophy of education
• A conclusion in which you
i) clearly describe what you have learnt and how it facilitates your development as a future teacher in terms of your philosophy of education.
To find out more about what makes a good reflective essay visit: https://www.oxbridgeessays.com/blog/complete-guide-to-writing-a-reflective-essay/ https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/as/libraryservices/library/asc/documents/public/Short-Guide-Reflective-Writing.pdf
In writing your reflective essay, you must support your writing with relevant ideas and evidence from academic sources. You are expected to use the articles discussed in the module and included in the EDUB3724 module reader. You are also encouraged to find additional academic sources to support your reflection. Please follow the Harvard referencing conventions as presented in the referencing documentation available in the Reflective Essay folder on Blackboard.
Format and submission
Essay length: 1200 – 1500 words
Your essay should be typed with 1.5 spacing. Use Arial, Calibri or Times New Roman font with a size of 11 or 12.
Your essay must be submitted through the submission link that is available in the Reflective Essay folder on the EDUB3724 Blackboard page.
Submission date: Friday 27 November at 23:59.
Additional support offered
Please make use of the tutor support that will be offered on a weekly basis to assist you with writing your reflective essay.
• Weekly tutorial sessions on Blackboard collaborate
• Weekly discussion board forum exchange
Criteria for evaluation
Please complete and include the Cover page and Checklist (available as Word documents in the Reflective essay folder on Blackboard) at the beginning of your essay.