Reflection

Reflection on experience underpins the process of successful learning and is essential to the success of education. The major problem here lies in the process being well removed from the technical content on which students fixate, and the fact that it is its own reward - allocating "marks" for reflective activity is likely only to divert attention from its true purpose.

While supervisors may be well aware of this, all to often students are not; reflection is an activity that does not carry explicit credit and it can be hard to convince students that the benefits of it will accrue, not least, ultimately, in raw grades. Since, to the inexperienced, the merits of reflection are not evident, there is sense in devising activities surrounding project conduct that will cause it to happen, perhaps covertly. It is common to see groups looking inwards, or for individual students to become over-absorbed, and coaxing them out of this is a supervisory duty that can have beneficial side-effects in changing long-term practice. Another, lesser, problem is that students may well engage in reflective activity without realising it, and hence not learning the merits of this approach to learning. This lends purpose to activities that involve the articulation of reflection.

It is probable that the project is the first truly large-scale piece of work a student has undertaken, and the adjustment to this mode of working can be difficult, or at least not obvious. Developing the skills to handle intermediate deliverables that may or may not be cumulative and to work in activities where interaction is positively beneficial is not easy or obvious. This is particularly true if all assessed work hitherto has been strictly individual, with penalties for plagiarism, and smaller scale, operating over no more than a few weeks. The transition can be significantly eased by a reflection on one's own knowledge, skills and working practices, followed by a suitable adjustment based on what is said.

The other aspect of scale is the longevity of the work. Quite unlike course-work, project work may well contribute to larger developments that have a longer and altogether more important existence. Where this is not the case, however, it is very useful to suggest to students that project deliverables can have a visible longer lifetime. If, at completion, the work is not mentally shelved it can be used as the basis of a reflective experience long after assessment and departure from the university.

Projects are conducted in a wide range of environments, some of which provide more support to encouraging reflection (and other desirable skills) than others. In particular, the active support of a university library can be a great spur to making the activity "serious" [see, for example, 7.7 Cherish it], but staff taking matters "seriously" at a departmental level can suffice. This requires broad agreement on what the project exercise is for (not just in written aims and objectives!), and can be encouraged by a visible administrative and support structure that stands independent of, for example, course-work management.

There are many ideas that can be used in this area; a popular one is the logbook, which can, if properly implemented, have the full reflective effect of a personal diary, especially when there is a requirement to revisit it from time to time. Many formats are possible (paper, HTML, etc.), but a written journal provides discipline in expression and permits portability, especially as raw material is likely to be electronically available somewhere else. If this is used, it is a good idea, especially at the outset, to require a specific format since this will assist those inexperienced in this kind of activity; this is particularly true if students have difficulty focusing on processes. Displaying a good example from earlier years is also useful, although there is often a problem with re-use of formats and words that are perceived by students to be "successful".

Logbooks can fail if students see them merely as an overhead on the project?a distraction from the "real" work of software production, and will not work effectively without adequate motivation and reward for the student. The reflection can be little more than superficial, particularly if the log does not hold much information. There is also a danger that it becomes literally a log ?i.e., simply a history of what happened with no analysis or conclusions for the future. Without this analysis the log does not provide the full value for any reflective reports based on it. Significant events can occur in projects that no tutors are aware of; consequently the log may not include events which produce significant outcomes. It should not be expected that the log will contain everything of significance.

The general idea is applicable to group-based work as well; a team based log may suffer particularly from incompleteness due to reluctance of students to report problems associated with peers. The inverse problem may also appear, i.e., that one student's experience dominates the log [ See 8.5 Red card/yellow card and 8.6 Moderation using student input.]

Projects frequently require a range or number of deliverables; the "report" and/or a software product are common, but the specifics can vary and other options are available. The possibility of phasing deliverables provides an excellent opportunity for reflection and adjustment of practice where necessary. For example, students may be required to produce a progress report, a literature survey, a draft chapter of the final report, or a proposed future schedule. Any or all of these can be used as the basis of supervisory meetings and have great value in spurring reflection since they require an examination of achievement to date. Going one step further, such submissions may be made the subject of formal assessment (preferably by more than just the supervisor)?upon return, invaluable advice can be provided on how things are going. The return of the assessors' comments, while the project is still underway, can provoke self-examination and adjustment, and provide a handle for future reflection on progress.

The project experience is usually long, and provides many opportunities for reflection of various kinds;

• Before: At project outset, it is likely that there will be some experience on which to build. Constructing explicit reflection before the "real" work has commenced can be illustrative and good experience of the general practice.
• During: Projects may well run for some months, a major difference to coursework. There is therefore the opportunity for reflection on progress and adjustment of practice.
• After: Most of a project's life is after completion, but it is all too common for it to be put on a shelf and forgotten. There are many opportunities to use the project experience, both for the author and other students, and maximising these aids reflection on the whole process.