Understanding the Reflection Process A reflective report is different from traditional assignments because it allows students to explore their own experiences and viewpoints. In these assignments you will not be expected to maintain impersonal objectivity; instead, you are expected to highlight your own actions, emotions, and opinions. To be successful, students should critically evaluate their own actions and progress, and demonstrate an ability to link their personal experience with theoretical knowledge. Reflections do a lot! Like a debrief, they give us a sense of completion and satisfaction. They can also work as a self-evaluation wherein they create space for students to communicate personal and professional areas where they want to see growth, all while they assess how theyre working toward these. When we reflect, we take a close look at the effort weve put in, what weve experienced, and what weve gotten out of what weve done. This may sound like a simple or subconscious part of moving around in the world, but the point of reflection is that it is intentional. It only takes a few minutes of looking back and focusing on the experience to get insights that will guide us as we move forward! The information we get out of the reflection process tells us what we can do in the future to improve our results. We can identify some areas of improvement and sharpen our goals to better situate us so we can achieve what it is we want. This process is one that will result in a noticeable change in the development of ourselves, our work, and our processes.

Key Guidelines for your Portfolio Development Be critical. Although the content of a reflective portfolio will be more personalized than other assignments, you should use the same level of critical analysis as you do for any essay or exam. Be thorough. Make sure that you write about all the stages of your learning experience, from the beginning phases through to completion. You also need to include a comprehensive post-course analysis. Dont be afraid to state what went wrong! Writing about the least successful aspects of your learning allows you to demonstrate a capacity for true critical analysis. It also lets examiners see that you are self-aware and capable of independent professional development. Dont be afraid to state what went right! Some students find it difficult to write confidently about the most successful parts of their work. Scholars are normally expected to be highly objective, and they are often discouraged from celebrating an individual achievement or personal contributions. However, in the Reflective Report you should be sure to state clearly and concisely how your own actions contributed to a successful outcome. Analyze outcomes and suggest future improvements. To earn the highest possible marks your Reflective Report should include a detailed critique of the learning outcomes. Part of this should include a few wellthought- out suggestions for improving similar learnings in the future. The most common mistake in Reflective Writing is to be either too objective and scholarly, or too emotional and non-critical. Either mistake is equally wrong. Students should aim for a middle ground in their writing, in which they highlight their own personal feelings and reflections but analyze these with reference to theoretical course material. Avoid blaming others for things that went wrong. Try to maintain some level of objectivity regarding both failures and successes. To avoid being overly personal, emphasize the way that theories from your field could address any weaknesses that you encountered. Finally, be professional. It is true that Reflective Reports require a less formal style of writing, but students sometimes believe that this allows for unprofessional writing and poor grammar. Remember that this is still an academic assignment, and all the normal standards of presentation apply.

Questions to answer through the reflection process 1. What are you sure you understand about consultancy / consulting? 2. What do you think you might understand about consultancy / consulting? 3. What are you sure you misunderstand about consultancy / consulting? What is the most likely source of the confusion? 4. How does what you learned relate to what you already knew? 5. What should / could you do with what you learned and know? 6. Did you disagree about any points or topics covered in class, and if so, how did you resolve these issues? 7. What have you learned about your own professional development from this class? 8. What skill areas do you still need to develop? 9. What would you do differently next time? 10. How did your involvement and participation in this fit into your broader goals for developing yourself?