PGCEi

Module Guide
&
Assignment Brief
2021/22

7501EDUI Critical Reflection and Developing

Practice
Contents

Welcome ....................................................................................................................................... 3

Course Summary ........................................................................................................................... 4

What you will study.......................................................................................................................... 5

Timeline ........................................................................................................................................... 6

Assessment....................................................................................................................................... 7

Grading Rubric……………………………………………………………………………………………….10

References/Book List..........................................................................................................................11

“We may ask ourselves ‘What is education for?’ ‘What should education
prepare people to do?’ In fact, teachers are often challenged to justify
their aims on a deeper level than just stating a learning outcome for a
particular lesson. For example, when a pupil asks ‘What is the point of all
this studying?’ if you ask yourself what above all you are trying to achieve
as a teacher, if the staff in your school collectively consider whether they
are offering anything distinctive that other schools are not, if politicians
complain that schools are not getting good enough exam grades or not
doing as well as schools in some other countries, then the question of the
aims of education is implicitly being raised.”

(Haydon and Heilbronn, p. 489, in Capel, Leask and Younie, 2016)

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Welcome

Welcome to the module 1 Critical Reflection and Developing Practice (7501 EDUI) on your
Post Graduate Certificate in Education International programme. This module is worth 20 Level 7
Credits towards the 60 Credits for a Postgraduate Certificate in Education International (PGCEi).

The teaching for this programme deepens your knowledge and critical understanding of reflective
practice and your own role as a practitioner. Reflective practice is a term strongly associated with
learning in professional contexts such as teaching and educational leadership. It can be described
as a learning tool, something that is going to help you to synthesise, explain, make sense of and
ultimately develop meaning from, your experiences.

Reflective Practice is considered to be a professional competence. It might also be thought of as a

type of dialogue or prose, a particular type of conversation or a writing style that captures your
personal views and relates them to evidence you have collected from your professional practice
and observation.

Through this module you will be considering the nature of reflection and the theoretical ideas that
underpin it, and why reflective practice is considered so important both within teaching practice
and within career long learning in education.

In this module, you will critically examine different perspectives, models and theories of reflective
practice and reflexivity, and consider implications for your own professional practice. You will also
explore how to support growth of personal and professional development through critical
evaluation of learning and reflection on experience in your teaching and promoting a leadership
stance in your practice. Refer to your Programme Guide for an overview of the assessment
requirements across the modules on your programme.

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Course Summary

Module 1
Title Critical Reflection and Developing Practice
Duration of the 2 months
course
Aim To critically examine different perspectives, models and theories of reflective
practice and reflexivity, and consider implications for your own professional
practice
To support growth of personal and professional development through critical
evaluation of learning and reflection on experience in your teaching and
promoting a leadership stance in your practice

Level Level 7
Credit Value 20
Total Delivered 20
Hours

Total Learning 200

Hours
Private Study 180
Hours
Grading Basis 50%
Assessment Assignment based on Professional Portfolio will draw on theories and
frameworks of critical reflection to enable critique of practice and planning for
continuous development (4,500 words)

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What you will study

Module 7501EDUI Ref

Module Aim of the module Time Duration

7501EDUI 2 months
To critically examine different perspectives, models and theories
of reflective practice and reflexivity, and consider implications for
your own professional practice
To support growth of personal and professional development
through critical evaluation of learning and reflection on experience
in your teaching and promoting a leadership stance in your
practice

Learning Outcomes
After completing this module, you should be able to:
1. Critically explore theories and concepts relevant to reflection, reflexivity and personal and
professional development in the context of educational practice

2. Review, analyse and critically evaluate your own role(s) as an educational professional and
plan appropriate strategies to develop in this area

3. Evidence your ability to support and promote learner experience through mentoring and/or
leading others

Syllabus Outline
Theories, concepts and models of reflective practice and reflexivity

Application and critique of theories and models in educational contexts

The impact of personal and cultural values in educational contexts

Identity and Self as an education professional

Responsibilities, leadership stances and mentoring in teaching/education

Professional development review and effective portfolio building

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Timeline

DATE ACTIVITIES

Week 1 • Welcome, Induction and Overview

• Sharing of module guide and learning outcomes
• Schedule, Assessment Method and Assignment Brief
• Academic Writing Resources
• Tutorial: LMS access
• What is Education for? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HndV87XpkWg
• Required Reading

Week 2 • Models of Reflection

Week 3 • Required Reading
• Formative Tasks
Week 4
• Learning to Teach: Becoming a Reflective Practitioner

Week 5 • Required Reading

• Formative Tasks
Week 6 • Complete Formative Assessment Task- Professional Portfolio Part 1 *
• Collect evidence

Week 7 • Complete Summative Assessment Task – Assignment (4500 words supported

by portfolio as appendix) *
• To be submitted by 11.59pm on submission day as per the schedule

Emails:
The PGCEi team makes every effort to respond to emails within 48 hours (i.e. 2 working days). If a
member of the module team has an ‘out of office’ message, please contact another member of the
team, as indicated in the message.

Assignment Guidance:
In the first instance, refer to this Module Guide to answer general questions about module
assessments. Should you have specific queries, contact the Module Leader for specific queries
relating to the assessments for this module. e.g. technical queries regarding the formative tasks
and summative assessments for this module. If you have questions about another module, check
the relevant module guide for details; or for questions relating to your placement experience,
contact your Tutor.

Tutorials:
In addition to the lecture schedule for this module, which includes assignment support, ad hoc tutor
support for is available on request through email.

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Extensions:
You are expected to plan and organise your time to complete and submit module assignments
(formative tasks and summative assessments) on the scheduled date. Your Programme Guide
outlines the module assessments across the PGCEi (60 credits, Level 7). Your Module Leader can
offer an extension, requested 24 hours prior to the submission of assessments (at the very latest)
with appropriate supporting evidence; and you are encouraged to do so earlier. Technical issues
(e.g. corrupted hard drive or USB flash drive, etc.) are not valid reasons for requesting an
extension – you are advised to use your personal and secure storage area on the LMS system for
all assessments.

The Academic Study Skills link also offers a range of support for students with academic writing,
online guidance and one-to-one support. To find out more:

• Academic Reading and Note Taking – read the pdf. attached

• Critical thinking and analysis – watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dItUGF8GdTw
read the pdf attached

Mitigating Circumstances:
Should you miss a deadline or require an extension beyond 15 working days or know in advance
that you will be unable to meet a deadline, an application for Extenuating Circumstance (EC) can
be made online. An EC application will normally require documentary evidence (e.g. Statement of
Fitness to Work) and are normally submitted within 5 working days of a module assessment
deadline.

Assessment:
Category Short Description Weightage
Description (%)
Assignment Assignment A Professional Portfolio 100
drawn upon will draw on theories and
professional frameworks of critical
portfolio reflection to enable
critique of practice and
planning for continuous
development (4,500
words)

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Suggested Structure for Summative Assessment (Assignment supported with
Professional Portfolio)
Note: Use the assignment template provided

Use following outline for guidance in writing the assignment.

Section 1 Introduction and Context (approx. 400 words)

Think about an event / problem/ activity concerned with teaching and learning in context with your
own professional practice.

Looking back at the event / problem/ activity write about:

• Your expectations before embarking on the particular activity

• How you approached the activity

• Which parts of the activity you found easy and hard / difficult

Section 2 Outline of unit (approx. 500 words)

Write about the importance of critical reflective practice using professional portfolio showing how
you identified the problem in your professional practice, what steps you took to address the
problem, what changes you brought, and what was the impact of the change

Think about what you learned as a result:

• How did your knowledge and understanding change

Section 3 Defining reflective practice (approx. 1000 words)

Using examples from your practice:

• Write about five factors that might affect your ability to reflect in action
• Write five factors which might affect how you reflect on action.

(example - evidence of student learning -showcase accomplishments and work -valued as an assessment tool -curating
students: work process, production, thought process)

Section 4 Benefits of critical analysis (approx. 300 words)

Looking at the evidence, analyse:

• Why was it taught in a particular way

• What theoretical principles promote or challenge the way it is taught
• Are there any alternative views or methods?

Evaluate critical thinking / questioning approach to knowledge in context with your professional
practice.

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Section 5 Features of reflection (approx. 500 words)

Considering teaching is a complex process:

• Describe how reflective practice is an active and cyclical process

• Analyse its importance for your professional development, how it results in changing ideas
and your understanding of the situation.

Section 6 Reflecting effectively and ensuring it leads to learning (approx. 800 words)

Using evidence / samples, exploring options and by setting goals write how reflecting effectively
improves your practice.

Section 7 Tools for reflection (approx. 800 words)

Models of reflection what works best for you

Section 8 Conclusions and next steps (approx. 200 words)

Summarize the key learning points from your research, renewed perspectives and its implications
on your future professional practice.

References

An alphabetical-by-author list of all titles referred to in your essay, including books, journals and

websites. Refer to and use the Harvard Referencing guidance at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RVrhlMUaS8

Appendices
This may include samples of resources used in the unit of work, example of pupil’s work
(anonymised to protect the confidentiality) that are referred to in the report.

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Level 7 Grading Criteria

Note: The assessment criteria for the summative assignment are based on the LJMU Level 7 Grading Criteria

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Reading List:

Bassott, B. (2016) The Reflective Practice Guide: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Critical Reflection.
Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge

Bolton, G. & Delderfield, R. (2018) Reflective Practice: Writing and Professional Development. London:
Sage Publications Ltd

Bush, T., Bell, L. & Middlewood, D. (2019) Principles of Educational Leadership and Management. London:
Sage Publications Ltd

Moon, J. (2013) Reflection in Learning and Professional Development: Theory and Practice. Abingdon,
Oxon: Routledge

Schon, D. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Practice. London: Ashgate
Publishing

Sullivan, B., Glenn, M., Roche, M. & McDonagh, C. (2017) Introduction to Critical Reflection and Action for
Teacher Researchers. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

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