eflection – Discipline specific knowledge and skills and graduate capabilities

Linked learning outcomes:

1. Integrate discipline-specific knowledge and skills and apply subject knowledge critically, analytically and creatively to different bodies of knowledge or practice.

2. Demonstrate professional written and interpersonal competencies, including critical reflection on personal, social and practical issues in a team environment.

Linked graduate capabilities:

3. Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking

4. Effective Communication

Task overview: You are required to critically examine your learning experience and in the Master of Commerce thus far, to define your professional identity. This involves reflecting on the development of the strengths and weaknesses of your discipline specific knowledge and graduate capabilities, and, ethical stance, to describe and provide evidence to support your professional identity. In addition, you are required to consider the extent to which your professional identity meets the needs of your targeted employer and/or industry and formulate professional development strategies to further meet these needs and/or differentiate yourself from other potential employees.

Marking criteria:
Analysis and synthesis of information/knowledge/learning/situation from a range of experiences/sources
Critical self-reflection to formulate professional development strategies
Completeness and relevance – original thought and personal voice
Overall clarity – logical development of ideas and sentence skills

Additional requirements:
Referencing: All sources (ie the work and ideas of others) cited and referenced using a standard referencing system.

Additional information/preparation:
‘It is not sufficient simply to have an experience in order to learn. Without reflecting upon this experience it may quickly be forgotten, or its learning potential lost. It is from the feelings and thoughts emerging from this reflection that generalisations or concepts can be generated. And it is generalisations that allow new situations to be tackled effectively.’ (Gibbs 1988)

In reflective writing, you will be required to convey your personal voice and personal response to experiences, situations, events or information. Therefore reflections are your own work and written in your own words. The reflection needs to be honest and describe what you see as strengths and what you see as weaknesses. Students may use the following web link when writing the above assessment to explore further what a “professional identity” or “brand” actually means:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2013/04/08/personal-branding-is-a-leadership-requirement-not-a-self-promotion-campaign/

For details on program learning outcomes for your degree/specialization and the Macquarie University graduate capabilities go to the Macquarie University handbook entry for your degree/specialization, scroll down and select additional information. For example, the handbook entry for the Master of Commerce is here.

Standards: Refer Reflection marking rubric

Reflective Writing: Description
https://www.brookes.ac.uk/students/upgrade/study-skills/reflective-writing/