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Spring 2022 Reflection Assignments

PSY 241 Developmental Psychology

Instructions for Writing Reflection Assignments

  1. 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

  1. As you see in the quote above, the ultimate goal of Psychology (any sub-fields of Psychology, including Developmental 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.

 

  1. Instructions of Reflection Assignments
    1. 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.
    2. Each Reflection assignment earns you up to 100 points, and it will be scored based on the rubric.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. 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 (see “Stuff Happens” policy in the syllabus). Assignments submitted in the wrong format will not be scored. Submit the response in either .docx or .rtf. NOT pdf or Google Doc.
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. 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.
    9. 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 (textbook, videos, articles, etc., that are in the Reflection folders) should be paraphrased (described in your own words) 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.
    10. 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.
    1. 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.
    2. In completing assignments, your reflection response should:
      1. Demonstrate understanding of one topic of your choice by providing definitions of concepts/theories/terms.
      2. Explain the topic in detail and address all parts of the prompt.
  • Incorporate the relevant information in addressing each part of the prompt.
  1. Remember that this is a reflection assignment. Do not write a response that describes ONLY your own personal opinions or experiences. OR do NOT write a response that describes ONLY the concept/theory/research. You must address the prompt.
  2. These assignments are intended to be integrative; thus, you will need to tie information together from the textbook as well as other learning materials provided in each Reflection folder, rather than searching for isolated sentences that you find interesting.
  3. Assignments will be scored on the criteria listed on the rubric, including description of the topic, application of the topic to each part of the prompt, spelling, grammar, structure/organization, content, and originality. The entire written assignment must be the student’s original work, and no part of it should be directly copied from any source, including papers previously written by the student and/or the textbook.
  4. Students are expected to write their own responses, in their entirety, in this course. Students are strongly recommended to seek assistance with their writing through the Gaston College Writing Center, and full documentation of such support must be provided to the instructor (proof will be provided by the writing coach to your instructor upon completion of each of your meeting with the coach). No other writing support is acceptable. A meeting with the writing coach will be rewarded with 5 extra points per visit. You may earn extra points up to 2 visits (10 points/reflection). Even if you use the service more than 2 visits, you are qualified for only 10 extra points.
  5. In addition, the instructor is available to anyone who wishes to have their draft reviewed. Send the draft via Messages function under “Collaboration” menu to the instructor by 11:59pm Thursday before the due date. The instructor will review on Friday and return it back to the student.  Make sure to start working on reflection assignments well ahead of time (possibly while working on Module Quizzes).
    1. Spelling, grammar, and other writing errors will also be considered in your grade, especially in cases where the errors interfere with comprehension and fluidity of your response. Make sure to use college level academic writing:
      1. have clearly defined introduction paragraph, body paragraphs and conclusion paragraph.
      2. free of major convention errors
      3. see the rubric for more details for the grading scheme for each reflection paper.
      4. avoid “I” statement.
      5. To make sure that your writing is at college level and is of high quality (earning high score), you are strongly recommended to use the Writing Center for these assignments. The writing coaches are available for virtual tutoring Monday through Thursday between 8am and 4pm; Friday between 8am and 11am.
      6. OR use the virtual coaching session between 8 am and 11pm.
      7. Use of the Writing Center service is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED. Here is the link https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScTXwG0G8gIdNjYREq3obXBbb6bb3xuQDOkNrFFTK3Z0GDeCg/viewform to request their service.

 

  1. Due dates
    1. Each written response must be submitted by the due date listed on the Course Schedule.

NOTE:

The instructor reserves the right to request a meeting with any student to discuss a submitted reflection assignment. In the event such a meeting is requested, the assignment will not be scored until after the discussion. During the meeting with the instructor, the student must be prepared to fully explain any/all terms, concepts, or content provided in the reflection assignment.

Note:

If a student has taken the course previously, they MAY NOT earn credit for responses/paper that were already submitted during a previous semester, even if they were the original author of them. Instead, they must write a new response.

  1. To complete ONE reflection response, follow these guidelines
    1. Request a writing center appointment.
      1. The appointment could be used at ANY stage of construction of the answer: brainstorming, outlining, development of the content, review of draft, and/or final proof reading
    2. Choose a topic on which to write a reflection response.
    3. Write a draft in a word document (.doc; .docx or .rtf format)

 

  1. Example Outline of a reflection response
    1. Title – Reflection topic
    2. Introduction paragraph
      1. Thesis – addressing the topic
  • Body paragraphs (have at least 2 paragraphs)
    1. Description/discussion of the topic
    2. Address all parts of the prompt
  1. Conclusion paragraph
    1. Closing statement