Instructions for Writing Reflection Assignments
Purpose of Reflection Assignments
“The test of learning psychology is whether your understanding of situations you encounter has changed, not whether you have learned a new fact.” Prof. Daniel Kahneman “Thinking Fast and Slow” (2011) – Nobel Prize Winner in Economic Sciences
As you see in the quote above, the ultimate goal of Psychology is to help its students understand situations they encounter in everyday life based on what they have learned in Psychology. The Reflection Assignments are designed to achieve this goal.
Instructions of Reflection Assignments
There will be 6 reflection assignments during the semester: 5 unit reflections and 1 final reflection. These reflection assignments will be submitted to the link in the appropriate module unit under the “Assignments” menu.
Each Reflection assignment earns you up to 100 points, and it will be scored based on the rubric.
Each unit reflection assignment comes with a list of topics that address a variety of concepts/theories/research, and the students choose ONE topic from the list per unit reflection assignment, except for Unit 1, which has only 1 topic.
Each reflection response should address the prompt. The prompt has multiple parts, and ALL parts of the prompt must be addressed in the response. Read the prompt very carefully, as each reflection assignment has different set of prompt.
Each Reflection has its own due date which is listed in the course schedule. These deadlines are the last day/time that the response can be submitted, but students should not wait until that date to turn them in. Any response submitted after the posted 11:59 pm deadline will not be graded until the student is granted an extension from the instructor . Assignments submitted in the wrong format will not be scored. Submit the response in either .docx or .rtf. NOT pdf or Google Doc.
It is the student’s responsibility to check that each reflection response has been properly submitted as instructed. Thus, asking the instructor if the assignment has been posted is considered inappropriate. In the event a reflection assignment is not properly submitted, it will be penalized for lateness up until the point that it is submitted properly. Check on “My Gradebook” to confirm if the assignment has been deposited to the appropriate place.
Responses should be written in complete sentences and presented in paragraph form, with a well-defined introduction paragraph, body paragraphs (at least 2 body paragraphs are needed), and a conclusion paragraph. Responses should be doubled-spaced and typed in Arial or Times New Roman, 12 pt., black font. Each reflection response should have at least 600 words, but no more than 800 words. A submitted response that does NOT contain at least 600 words will automatically be graded “Poor” on all categories on the rubric, earning a very poor grade.
Any response that uses a copy/quotes of material (including the textbook) will earn 0 point. Use your own words to define, explain, and describe what you want to say.
You are NOT permitted to research any sources other than the textbook and the learning materials provided to you in each Reflection folder when writing your responses. You MUST use information from them in support of your statements (they should address the prompts). Any information that you use from the learning materials should be paraphrased and referenced by section heading. Do NOT take direct quotes from the text, because if you do, you will lose a lot of points. Make sure to paraphrase the content of the learning materials, as it demonstrates your understanding of the material rather than your ability to simply copy it.
Be sure to use information from the texts, videos, articles, and/or other provided learning materials to support your statements and to provide the section heading from the text to indicate where the information was found. When finished writing your responses, save your paper as a word (doc or docx) or rich text (rtf) document. Any response that is submitted in a different format, such as PDF or Google Doc will not be graded. You should also keep it throughout the semester for reference on subsequent assignments.
Scoring: Responses will be scored based on the rubric.
Responses will be scored on their content quality, relevance, and integration of information from the text and other provided learning materials in each Reflection folder. You should be able to provide an informed and well-developed response that addresses the reflection topic of your choice.
In completing assignments, your reflection response should:
Demonstrate understanding of one topic of your choice by providing definitions of concepts/theories/terms.
Explain the topic in detail and address all parts of the prompt.
Incorporate the relevant information in addressing each part of the prompt..
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