English Practicum Assignments

English Practicum Assignments

English Practicum Assignments. On-going, “structured reflection is essential to high-quality [service-] learning. Reflection activities guide students toward discovering, exploring, and evaluating relationships between” their academic program “and their experiences in the community. Reflection thus ensures [that service-] learning is a dynamic, integrative process that develops students’ knowledge, skills, and judgment.”*

WRITE THIS ESSAY FOR ME

Tell us about your assignment and we will find the best writer for your paper.

Get Help Now!

“Reflection IS…

• critical thinking that supports learning… by expecting students to make astute observations, to demonstrate inductive or deductive reasoning skills, and to consider multiple viewpoints….
• intellectual work that differs from the dominant academic culture by intentionally engaging the whole person… and cultivating students’ awareness of themselves as active participants in public [and professional] life.

“Reflection IS NOT…

• a [mere] retelling of the events at a service site…
• simply an emotional outlet for feeling good about doing service, or for feeling guilty about not doing more…
• a time for soap-boxing…
• a tidy exercise that closes an experience; reflection is ongoing, often messy, and provides more openings than closings.”

For students to gain the most from their Practicum course or other experiential learning opportunity, they should engage in on-going reflection about the nature of what they are doing and learning.  We recommend that students keep a journal, recording

1. what work they complete as a part of their placement
2. how they feel about their experiences
3. what they have learned about the profession, themselves, the world of work…
4. how their present/past coursework relates to what their placement activities
5. how their career goals are being influenced by their experience.

Students will submit two formal assignments based on these reflections.

Mid-Semester Progress Report (week 7)

Students will submit a business letter to the instructor in which they offer a progress report.  Students should include the following in a block-style format business letter (NOT limited to one-page; use as much space as needed to cover the following):

1. General description of Practicum work undertaken so far.  Is the work you are actually doing the same as or comparable to the work proposed in the Practicum application form?  If it is different, explain why the change took place and why the work is still acceptable.  If you are not sure if the new work is acceptable, you should contact the instructor right away.

1. Outline of what you think you have gained from the experience so far (not only the obvious–learning how to do x but also learning about the profession, about yourself, etc.) Include a list of questions that the experience has raised for you.

1. State your goals for the remaining time in the Practicum. Is there something you want to learn that you haven’t yet been able to try or to master?  Are you having trouble making the most of the experience and want to try a different approach? What do you want to gain from this experience?  What do you want to give?

Block-format business letters should be left-justified, single-spaced within paragraphs but extra space between paragraphs, etc.  If you wish to see an example, please go to the Purdue Online Writing Lab for an explantion of the format for block style business letters: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/653/01/

* Discussion of “reflection” here and in the following paragraphs taken from: Learn and Serve America’s National Service-Learning Clearinghouse website, “Reflection in Higher Education Service-Learning” page

English Practicum Assignments

English Practicum Assignments