Coimisiún na Scrúduithe Stáit State Examinations Commission

LEAVING CERTIFICATE APPLIED 2005

PERSONAL REFLECTION TASK

CHIEF EXAMINER’S REPORT

CONTENTS 1. Introduction 3

2. Performance of Candidates 5

3. Analysis of Candidate Performance 7

4. Examples of Good Practice 14 5. Common Areas of Weakness 16 6. Conclusions 18 7. Recommendations 19 8. Appendices: 23 Appendix 1 Exemplar Material

Appendix 2 Circular-Consequences of submitting invalid Student Tasks Appendix 3 Marking Scheme

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1. INTRODUCTION

“Reflection is an important human activity in which people recapture their experience, think about it, mull over and evaluate it.”

(Boud, Keogh and Walker, 1985)

“Reflection is not merely the remembering of information but the ability to draw inferences from one’s past experiences to create possible action plans for the future.”

(Ertmer and Newby, 1996)

“Reflection helps the individual learn from experience because of the meaningful nature of enquiry into that experience”

(Loughran, 1996)

The purpose of this report is to inform teachers of the performance of candidates in the

Personal Reflection Student Task, 2005.

The purpose of the Personal Reflection Task (PRT) is to provide students with an

opportunity to reflect on and evaluate their personal experiences of the LCA

programme on an ongoing and progressive basis, to draw meaningful conclusions

from these experiences and to apply their learning and understanding to future

learning and career planning.

The PRT requires each candidate to complete two Reflective Statements. The

Reflective Statements may be presented in written, video or audio form. The written

statement should be approximately 400 words in length, while the maximum duration

of a statement in audio or video form should be four minutes. The candidate may

choose a different format for each Reflective Statement. One Reflective Statement is

required to be completed at the end of each year of the two-year LCA programme.

The two Reflective Statements are submitted to the State Examinations Commission

for assessment at the end of year two of the LCA programme.

The PRT is examined by examiners appointed by the State Examinations

Commission. It has a total credit allocation of 10 credits and unlike the other Student

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Tasks, the assessment does not involve an interview with the candidate. The PRT is

an individual student task, group tasks are not acceptable.

The specification for this student task in outlined in Programme Statement & Outline of

Student Tasks p. 55-59, available from the Government Publication Sales Office. All

teachers guiding/mentoring students for this task should have a copy of this publication.

This is the sixth year of assessment of the Personal Reflection Task. In that time two

Chief Examiner Reports have issued to schools and candidate exemplars were issued

as part of the Chief Examiner Report in 2002. The exemplars were re-issued to

schools by the Senior Level Support Service in 2004 and are included in this report

(Appendix 1). These exemplars, which may not be submitted by candidates for

assessment purposes (Appendix 2), should be read in conjunction with the Marking

Criteria (Appendix 3).

This report is based upon the assessment of the Personal Reflection Task presented by

LCA candidates in 2005.

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2. PERFORMANCE OF CANDIDATES

The total candidature for 2005 was 3,307. This represents a decrease of 262 on the

previous year.

The table below outlines the number and percentage of candidates achieving each credit

from 2002 to 2005

Total 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

2002 2956 17 87 202 452 665 637 435 229 100 101 31

% .6 2.8 6.8 15.2 22.5 21.5 14.8 7.8 3.4 3.4 1.2

2003 3321 1 48 177 467 821 779 466 228 137 135 62

% 0 1.4 5.3 14.1 24.7 23.5 14 6.9 4.1 4.1 1.9

2004 3569 22 91 250 497 770 752 560 275 144 156 52

% .6 2.5 7 13.9 21.6 21.1 15.7 7.7 4 4.4 1.5

2005 3307 3 34 165 445 764 745 524 225 173 177 52

% .1 1 5 13.5 23.1 22.5 15.8 6.8 5.2 5.4 1.6

Examiners reported something of a decline in the general standard of answering by

candidates in 2005 and the results reflect the quality of the statements submitted.

Many candidates failed to grasp the central thrust of the PRT task and simply wrote a

narrative of experiences with little or no element of reflection in the task.

The percentage of candidates being awarded the lower credits (3, 2, 1, 0 Credits) have

continued to rise, from 15.8% in 2002 to 19% in 2005. In the majority of these cases

the requirement for candidates to submit two Reflective Statements was not fulfilled.

309 candidates (9.3% of the total cohort) submitted only one Reflective Statement in

2005 and in many cases it was the Year 1 Statement, which represents only 40% of

the total mark allocation for the task.

The decline in the percentage of candidates being awarded 8/9/10 credits also

continued, from 10.2% in 2002 to 6.1% in 2005.

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Examiners continue to express concerns about the fact that standards of performance

in this task have declined somewhat. A specific timetabled class period, with a

designated teacher, the provision of opportunities for candidates to reflect on aspects

of the LCA programme, and the provision of dialogue and feedback to candidates are

recommended in order to help to reverse this decline.

Evidence would suggest that the original concept for personal reflection is not

working as well as was originally envisaged and that candidates, in general, are not

achieving the objectives of the Personal Reflection Task.

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3. ANALYSIS OF CANDIDATE PERFORMANCE

General observations

The majority of statements were typed and well presented. Some examiners praised the

high standard of writing evident in many statements. However, concern was raised in

relation to the fact that a significant number of typewritten statements contained spelling

errors and that, in a few cases, the font type chosen made it very difficult to read the

statements.

Candidates who performed well in Year 1 statements often did not perform similarly

well in Year 2. Examiners stated that greater effort seemed to be made with the Year

1 statements as compared to the Year 2 statements. A significant number of

reflective statements did not have any future career plan in Year 2, as required.

The majority of candidates scored in the 5, 6, 7 Credit range (59.1%). Many

potentially good tasks remained in this credit range because of a lack of review of the

draft statements, which would seem to suggest a lack of guidance for candidates.

Examiners noted that many tasks within this bracket failed to include key elements of

reflection or that the content lacked sufficient depth.

While a minority of tasks are submitted in audio or video form, the audio continues to

have poor sound quality. The majority of the videos use a very rigid interview

format, which provides limited opportunity for the candidate to make meaningful

personal statements.

Examiners commented that the credits awarded in centres seem to be ‘bunched’ in

many cases (i.e. a very limited range of credits). Consequently, while some centres

perform exceptionally well, other centres continue to perform very poorly.

Examiners are of the view that the standard of tasks presented related to the time and

effort invested in the task by candidates and schools rather than on the ability of

candidates to reflect. Many less able candidates produced high quality tasks, due to

appropriate teacher guidance and mentoring.

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Performance of Candidates under each Assessment Criterion

This part of the report should be read in conjunction with the marking scheme which

is appended in Appendix 3:

Candidates are assessed under three criteria as follows

Focus of reflection;

Ability to Reflect;

Media of Reflection.

(a) Focus of reflection:

This section has a maximum of 20 marks assigned for each year.

The section is assessed under two headings as follows: Focus and Personalisation.

In general, candidates identified two foci, in both Year 1 and Year 2 statements.

However, in Year 2, some candidates did not choose foci from the vocational aspects

of the course, as required. A number of Practical Achievement tasks and

Contemporary Issues Tasks were chosen as foci but as they were not linked to any

vocational aspect they were not suitable foci in Year 2. Some candidates identified

three or four foci but did not develop any of them in detail. In some centres all the

candidates chose the same foci and this impacted on the marks awarded for

Personalisation. Many candidates chose a visit to the career guidance teacher as a

focus in Year 2 and did not score as highly for description as they would have if they

had chosen a second work experience instead.

The second aspect, Personalisation, was fair to good in most cases. In Year 1 many

candidates tended to describe group activities such as outings or tournaments. They

tended to narrate the activities of the group and failed to make the descriptions

personally meaningful.

When the candidates chose a group activity as a focus they sometimes failed to use

the ' I ' statements and stayed with 'we did' etc statements throughout. Many

candidates gave narrative accounts so the individual failed to shine through and as a

result these statements lacked any sense of ownership.

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Some candidates are still confusing 'private and 'personal' and continue to focus on

private experiences which are unconnected to the LCA programme.

In Year 2, as both foci relate to the individual's future career, it is easier for the

candidate to speak in a more personal manner. Some candidates, however, used ' I '

statements, but failed to actually make the reflective statement personal to themselves

and kept the statement narrative in nature. In both years, the mentioning of too many

experiences diluted the quality of personalising.

(b) Ability to Reflect:

This section is assessed out of 40 marks in Year 1 and out of 80 marks in Year 2 as it

is expected that candidates’ ability to reflect will improve with practice and

experience.

It is evident from the marks awarded under this criterion that the overall standard of

reflection remains underdeveloped. Many potentially excellent tasks did not reach the

9 or 10 credit standard due to the lack of development of reflective abilities

throughout the LCA programme.

The section is divided into four sub-sections all carrying equal marks.

(i) Starting Point/Initial position:

The Starting Point or Initial Position launches the reflective process and is extremely

important as the reference point with which to compare and contrast the experiences

that follow. The candidate is required to outline what and how past experiences have

influenced his/her decisions.

This sub-section was generally very well done particularly in Year 1, with most

candidates identifying their reasons for choosing the LCA programme as their starting

point. They described their experiences in the Junior Certificate and how this

experience led them to choosing the LCA programme. Many candidates outlined

their expectations, thus giving a good launch to the reflective process. However, many

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statements did not give enough detail with regard to how previous experiences had

affected them.

In Year 2, starting points varied. Some candidates repeated the reasons for choosing

the LCA programme but did not make any link with their chosen careers. Few

candidates reflected on what they had actually learned in Year 1 or any other past

experiences. A minority of candidates linked their starting point, present position

and future very well.

(ii) Description of experiences and effect on initial position:

The candidate is required to describe a minimum of two experiences in each

statement, with some basic analysis of each experience. While many candidates

described events/experiences related to the LCA programme, there was generally very

little sense of engagement or reasoning demonstrated. Many statements contained

some description and elaboration of experiences but very few statements

demonstrated any reasoning, analysis or explanation. Many Personal Reflection

Statements could be said to be objective articles rather then statements of personally

meaningful experiences. Some statements were completely narrative, while others

described feelings and expressed opinions, without any evidence.

The most common experiences described in Year 1 were enterprise, class trips and

work experience. Most candidates received good marks in Year 1, as only basic

analysis is required.

In Year 2 the most common experiences described included, work experience and

visits to the career guidance teacher. In a small number of Year 2 statements only one

vocational element was described. This was due to candidates describing

contemporary issues, practical achievement tasks and/or key assignments. Generally,

little attempt was made by candidates to link what was learned from these experiences

with their future careers. The very small number of candidates who did make these

connections, i.e. between their experiences and future career plans, achieved very

high marks.

Some candidates tended to concentrate on one focus instead of giving the two foci

equal treatment. In some instances candidates gave too many foci and as a result

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descriptions were scant with insufficient information given on any one focus and,

therefore, low marks were awarded. Only some candidates discussed how a change

in their initial thinking came about or did not come about, as a result of the

experiences described. In many cases questions were left unanswered. The better

tasks focused on limited experiences. Some tasks compared and contrasted two

different work placements in Year 2, exploring the strengths and weaknesses of both,

which was very effective. Some very good tasks highlighted the value of experiences

such as the Enterprise task, their Practical Achievement task and/or their work

experience, in helping them to choose a possible future career. However, most

examiners agree that there is a need for additional teacher guidance for candidates in

relation to this area.

(iii) Present Position:

This was the weakest sub-section in 2005, as has been the case in previous years.

Under this sub-section candidates are required to draw conclusions and to

demonstrate self-awareness, based on their analysis of their chosen key learning

experiences/descriptions.

Statements such as 'I enjoyed' or 'I think I would like this career' were given but were

often not supported by any valid reason. 'Because' or 'I now know' statements were

difficult to find. Many candidates made some effort to draw conclusions in Year 2

but, in many instances, no justification was given for the conclusions drawn. In other

instances, the conclusions drawn were not linked to the candidate’s starting point

and/or the descriptions. In some cases, where good present positions were evident, the

candidates linked their change in attitudes to the experiences and gave good

supporting statements to justify the conclusions reached. Many candidates did not

address the Present Position in their reflective statements at all.

Candidates need to draw conclusions based on their analysis of the experiences

chosen. These conclusions, to be valid, must be supported by evidence.

Unfortunately some candidates continue to be unable to link their starting point and

foci satisfactorily.

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(iv) Future:

Candidates must use the conclusions drawn about themselves to plan effectively for

the short to medium term future. Candidates must integrate what they have learned

into forward planning and future goals. While this is more difficult to do in Year 1,

rather than Year 2, any reference to choice of suitable work experience in relation to a

chosen career, or the continuation of good practices developed, is acceptable at the

end of Year 1. Regrettably, many candidates made little or no reference to any future

aspirations in their Year 1 statements. Most candidates in Year 2 made some

reference to the future. Nearly all candidates identified a possible future career but

failed to follow through with a plan, or the plan was aspirational in tone, in many

cases. For example, many candidates mentioned college courses or apprenticeships

but failed to elaborate on them. Some otherwise excellent Year 2 statements lost

marks as future career plans were not developed.

Examiners stated that candidates should be able to produce a future career plan, as

drawing up a career plan is part of a mandatory Key Assignment in the Guidance

module, within the Vocational Preparation element of the LCA programme.

(c) Media of Reflection:

This section is divided into 2 parts – Communicative Effectiveness and Organisation

of Thoughts. As in previous years, this section was well answered. The majority of

tasks were typewritten and this greatly enhanced clarity, neatness and legibility.

Candidates should be advised to 'keep it simple' when using ICT- the choice of font in

a few cases, made it difficult to read the statements. In many cases if the Year 1

statement was hand written, the Year 2 statement was typed and generally well

presented. Examiners noted, however, that some typewritten statements had several

spelling errors and no efforts were made to run spell-checks. In a minority of

instances work was very poorly presented, with creased pages, very poor handwriting

and a minimal amount of material included.

Most tasks were well organised, structured and logically sequenced.

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Statements on audio tapes tend to be awarded lower marks in this section because of

poor recording or lack of fluency due to the tape being stopped suddenly several times

during the recording session. In some cases, where the candidate used an audiotape,

examiners reported evidence of prompting by a third party. If candidates are using

audiotapes to present their statements they need practice on how to present on tape.

The format used in some recordings such as question-and-answer type presentations

greatly inhibits candidates’ opportunity to choose meaningful personal experiences.

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4. EXAMPLES OF GOOD PRACTICE

Mentoring greatly influenced the standard of work presented. Edited and re-worked

tasks had much less repetition and were more focused on all the elements required in

this task.

Tasks from centres where candidates were encouraged to present truly personal and

individual work, providing unique and personal insights directly relevant to their

experiences and learning within the LCA programme, were awarded high marks.

Greater levels of creative and critical thinking emerged from statements where

reflection was guided but not prescribed by teachers. Teachers who facilitated the

development of reflection through guidance and on-going discussion, without

imposing stringent controls or templates, greatly enhanced the reflective capabilities

of the candidates.

Creative use of ICT skills enhanced many Personal Reflection statements.

Candidates who confined themselves to describing and reflecting on only two

learning experiences in great detail in each statement, generally, produced high

quality tasks.

Candidates who applied critical thinking to their experiences in order to learn more

about their own attitudes, skills and weaknesses achieved a higher standard of

reflection than those candidates who merely described experiences and did not focus

on how these experiences affected them personally.

A number of candidates mentioned an interest in some career in the Year 1 statement

and then followed it up by finding work experience in that area in Year 2, thus

developing good linkages between the Year 1 and Year 2 statements.

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Some candidates had very detailed career plans in Year 2, based on their discussions

with the guidance teacher and on their research of the chosen career. These

candidates performed very well in their Year 2 statements.

While most statements focused on work experience and career guidance in Year 2

some of the better tasks applied critical thinking to other areas of the LCA programme

such as Art, Media Studies, Leisure Studies or the Vocational Specialisms and linked

these experiences to a possible future career.

The better tasks presented on video/audiotape were those in which the candidates,

without the assistance of a third party, reflected upon meaningful learning experiences

in a clear, organised and logical manner, featuring key elements of the LCA

programme.

The best tasks were focused, followed a logical sequence and adhered to the required

length.

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5. COMMON AREAS OF WEAKNESS Many candidates submitted first or early drafts of statements which were of a poor

quality. Some statements were unfinished and presented in loose pages, without any

numbering or headings.

Some typewritten statements contained a large number of grammar, punctuation and

spelling errors. According to examiners, a number of tasks presented were

unstructured and would appear to have been completed without sufficient mentoring.

Mentoring in the form of dialogue and feedback would facilitate candidates in

developing critical thinking and self-awareness.

Some statements appeared to be based on a formula i.e. a list of questions, with no

reference to the specific task criteria. Too much prescription in the form of handouts,

templates, questionnaires etc. inhibited personal expression in many statements and

limited candidates’ ability to reflect on meaningful experiences.

Some candidates continue to include ‘private’ rather than 'personal' experiences in

their reflective statements. Some Year 2 statements continue to include ‘trips and

outings' as a focus, which do not have a vocational dimension and therefore cannot be

awarded any marks.

Some candidates submitted only one statement, often the Year 1 statement, and

achieved at best only three credits. In a small number of cases, the Year 2 statement

was an exact copy of the Year 1 statement, with some minor additions.

There was a tendency for some candidates to reflect on many experiences and

describe none in any great detail, especially in Year 1. In many cases the descriptions

tended to consist largely of narrative and were not related to any personal growth.

Many descriptions involved group activities with a failure by candidates to

personalise the experiences.

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In some centres the use of the same experiences for all candidates was evident. This

led to a lack of individuality and minimum reflection of a personal or individual

nature.

Future plans, especially in Year 2 were often too vague and the career plan did not

contain enough detail about course length, qualifications to be acquired, alternatives

considered etc. Many potentially good tasks did not achieve high credits because this

section was under-developed.

Some candidates failed to draw any conclusions. In other instances conclusions drawn

were unconnected to the learning experiences described.

While a number of statements exceeded the required length and generally lacked any

focus, conversely many tasks were much too short and lacked any reflection.

Some examiners were of the view that in a small number of cases, both Year 1 and

Year 2 statements had been completed at the end of Year 2. This practice negates the

overall purpose of this task, which is to enable candidates to evaluate key learning

experiences over the course of the two years, in order to create plans for the future.

In some instances, candidates submitted identical copies of reflective statements.

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6. CONCLUSIONS

• Despite efforts made to improve performance in this student task, by means of

issuing detailed Chief Examiner Reports and issuing exemplar materials, the

standard of work presented for examination has declined somewhat.

• While many schools endeavour to produce tasks of high quality, evidence

would suggest that the concept of personal reflection is not working as well as

was originally envisaged. Many candidates, it would appear, are not fully

achieving the objectives of the Personal Reflection Task and experienced

examiners continue to express concern in relation to the quality of many of the

tasks presented for assessment.

• It would appear that there may not be sufficient supports in place in some

schools to facilitate the reflective process central to this student task. Such

supports include timetabled class periods, on-going critical feedback to

students and focussed instruction on the strategies required for reflection.

Reflection should be presented as an integral component of the LCA

programme in general, and of this student task in particular.

• According to examiners, a number of tasks presented were unstructured and

would appear to have been completed without sufficient mentoring.

Mentoring in the form of dialogue and feedback would facilitate candidates in

developing critical thinking and self-awareness.

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7. RECOMMENDATIONS For Schools/Centres:

• Structures and supports should be considered to facilitate the reflective process

in schools.

• Teachers of the Personal Reflection Task should have opportunities to

participate in relevant in-service training.

• Every teacher involved with the LCA programme should facilitate the process

of student reflection.

• Candidates should have reflective space built into every course at significant

times throughout the LCA programme. Students should be given time to share

their learning experiences.

• Specific timetabled class periods should be allocated to the Personal

Reflection Task.

• A teacher/mentor should be appointed with overall responsibility for this task

so as guide candidates in the reflective process. This person should be

appointed over a two- year period to facilitate on-going progressive reflection.

• While other teachers may assist, one teacher/mentor should assume overall

control for the development of this task, as this task is not anchored in any

particular LCA course.

• Form P2, signed by candidates and co-signed by the teacher and school

management to verify authenticity of the work, should be completed annually

and forwarded to the SEC at the agreed time each year. All tasks should be

date- stamped by the school at the time of completion.

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• Form P20 should be completed by school management and forwarded to the

SEC if the school is unable to verify the work as the candidates’ own

individual work.

For Teachers:

• Candidates should be encouraged to type the reflective statements, as ICT is a

compulsory module for all LCA students.

• Candidates should be advised to keep an on-going journal of experiences,

which can be reviewed periodically by the teacher/mentor. Candidates can

then select the most meaningful personal experiences from this journal and use

them to complete draft reflective statements.

• While leading questions from the teacher can be helpful for candidates, a pre-

determined list of questions should not be provided, as this does not allow for

meaningful personal experiences to be chosen and analysed.

• Candidates should be taught how to make connections between experiences

and how to personalise these experiences.

• All candidates should be able to produce a realistic career plan for the future in

Year 2 since drawing up a career plan is part of a mandatory Key Assignment

in the Guidance module within the Vocational Preparation and Guidance

element of the course.

• Candidates should be encouraged to refine and redraft reflective statements,

under supervision of the teacher/mentor, before submitting their final

statements.

• Reflective Statements should be presented in A4 format only and plastic

folders should be discouraged.

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• In the case of video/audio presentations, candidates should have the

opportunity to practice the communication skills necessary for these media

before recording the final presentations.

• Good reflection statements should include the following:

o “I” statements as opposed to “We” statements

o Meaningful personal experiences of the LCA programme

o Evidence to support the conclusions made

o elf-awareness

o Linkages between experiences

o Clear plans at the end of the statements and a specific career plan in

Year 2.

For Candidates:

• Keep a journal of LCA programme experiences throughout the two years of

the programme.

• Look at every experience from a personal perspective using the following

reflection framework, and record the experiences in the journal:

o Look back- What was I like before the experience?

o Look in- Examine the experience and determine if your initial position

has changed

o Look out-What kind of a person are you now as a result of the

experience?

o Look forward- Based on the conclusions drawn about yourself, what

specific plan have you prepared for the future.

• Choose any two experiences, within the LCA programme, for your Year 1

Reflective Statement. By choosing the experiences, which are most

meaningful for you, you will be able to explain those experiences in detail,

draw conclusions about yourself and develop specific plans for the future.

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• The two experiences chosen in Year 2 must be vocational in nature, therefore

must be linked to the world of work and your future career plans.

• Reflective statements submitted must be your own work.

• Try to limit your statements to 400 words per statement or four minutes for an

audio/video presentation. By focusing on the requirements of the task you can

avoid preparing statements that are repetitive and, thereby, too extensive.

• Your statements should present an account that resembles a story rather than a

history of different activities engaged in. When explaining experiences focus

on “I did” rather than “We did”.

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8. APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1

Exemplar Material

Personal Reflection Task A Both Year 1 and Year 2 statements are examples of a very good Personal Reflection task. A brief commentary on the marking appears after each statement. Year 1 Statement (May 2001) When I decided to do Leaving Certificate Applied I was very unsure about my decision. Some people felt that I would get a lot more out of the traditional Leaving Certificate. The more I learned about LCA from teachers and students the more comfortable I became with my decision. I was interested in childcare as a future career and I learned that I could do work experience in a crèche. This would help me decide for certain if I really wanted childcare for my career. The two experiences that meant the most to me this year were the Enterprise task and the work experience. Our class ran a Mini-company for the enterprise task. We decorated mugs and filled them with sweets for Easter. I got the job as manager but I was very nervous and I wasn’t sure how I would cope with being in charge. I found the job very tough. I had to make sure everyone was doing the work they were given and try and sort out any problems. One problem was that some people could not agree about how many sweets to put into the mugs or what design to paint on the front. Then there was a row about how much to charge for the mugs. I managed to persuade them to vote on what percentage to add on for profit. We decided on 15%. We sold all the mugs and made a profit of £43 and we gave the money to Concern. I learned from this task that it is very hard to get people to work together and that some people will always let others do the work. Running a business is much harder than I thought. I also learned that I’m good at getting people to agree and I’m not afraid to make decisions. I am not so worried now about what people will think of me if I don’t agree with them. I felt great when the task went well and the hard work was worth it. I did my work experience in a Montessori school and it was brilliant. I was a bit worried in case I couldn’t control the children or I wouldn’t like the work. I had to read them stories, play with them and help them make jigsaws. I really loved it and I looked forward to going to work every morning. I learned how to be patient and caring with the children and I felt so happy that they really liked me and rushed to me every morning when I arrived. From work experience and being manager I learned that I can get along with people and I can cope with problems and not panic. This has given me more confidence in

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myself. I feel that I would be suited to working with children because my work experience went so well. I am really looking forward to next year. I would like to get more work experience in childcare or maybe try a completely different type of work for a change. I really want to work hard and get a distinction in LCA. I’m glad that I chose LCA after third year. Comment This is a very good reflective statement because the candidate

• Concentrates on two learning experiences, both related to the LCA programme and describes them in detail.

• Explains, analyses and evaluates each experience in a personally meaningful way.

• Shows a high level of self-awareness in drawing conclusions based on the evaluation of the experiences.

• Has formulated a plan for the future related to the initial position and the experiences described.

• Has produced a statement that is clear, logical, well expressed and well organised in circa 400 words, which is the required length.

Marks Awarded – 76/80

Focus 2 experiences, related to LCA 10/10 Personalising Very meaningful and effective use of ‘I’ statements. 10/10 Starting point Excellent. Feelings, expectations clearly outlined 10/10 Description Very good. Well analysed; good use of value judgements 9/10 Present Position Excellent. Good self-awareness supported by evidence 10/10 Future Good but rather vague. Could be more specific. 7/10 Communication Excellent. Clear, legible, well laid out. 10/10 Organisation Excellent. Logical, easy to follow, no repetition 10/10

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Year 2 Statement (May 2002) When I started LCA the career that really interested me was childcare. I did my work experience in a Montessori school in year 1 and I was happy that I still wanted childcare as my future career. But my parents thought I should try other work experiences before I finally made up my mind because minding children is a very responsible, tiring job. My career guidance teacher also suggested this. Another career came into my head, which was to work as a receptionist. I was doing Office Skills and Customer Care and Information Technology and I liked them both. I knew that you had to have a nice manner for this job. I also knew that knowing something about computers would be useful. I felt that I got on well with people so I might be suited to this kind of work. I got work experience in a vet’s office for two weeks. I had to answer the phone, take bookings for tests and appointments and type some letters. I could not believe how busy the office was and how much pressure everyone was under all day. I found it very difficult to try and deal with people in the office when the phone was ringing all the time. Some people were very rude and wanted to see the vet straight away. It was hard trying to spell people’s names right and taking down details quickly. The best part was typing letters because I could take my time and I didn’t have to deal with callers. I felt under pressure all the time because if I got a message wrong it could be very serious. I realise that I could not cope with having to keep so many things going at the same time and it’s too much effort being nice to people if they are being horrible. This type of work is definitely not for me. Our class did the 8-week course in babysitting run by the ISPCC. This was the part of Leaving Certificate Applied that I enjoyed the most. I learned about the babysitter’s, child’s and family’s rights, skills in infant and childcare, what to do in accidents and emergencies, first aid, child protection and how to interact with children. I looked forward to each class because it was so interesting and we got a certificate at the end. It was this course along with the work experience in the playschool that finally made up my mind about childcare as my future career. I feel now that I am definitely suited to childcare because I really loved working with children and learning about them. I didn’t feel under pressure like I did in the office. I had to be patient in both places but I coped much better with the children when they were difficult. I felt I could control the children but the adults and the pressure of work stressed me out. It was so rewarding teaching things to small children and I know now that I am more confident dealing with children than with adults. My career guidance teacher helped me to research different courses in childcare and I’m going to do the 1-year full time NCVA level 2 course in childcare in my local community school. If I get a distinction I can then enrol in a Montessori teaching course. If I don’t I can still get a job working in a playschool with the certificate in childcare. I’m so glad I chose to do LCA. It gave me the chance to try out different types of work and know for definite what I am suited to. I can now look forward to the future with confidence.

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Comment This is also an excellent statement because

• Both experiences described are related to a possible future career, which is required in year 2.

• There is a clear link all through between the initial position, the experiences described, conclusions drawn and future plans.

• There is a definite starting point – childcare as a career- and this helps the candidate to describe experiences that reinforce or reject this initial position.

• The effects of the experiences on the candidate are well explained and every conclusion about self is supported by evidence. The prevalence of ‘I’ statements and ‘because’ greatly enhances this reflective statement.

• The conclusions drawn about the future career are directly linked to the experiences described.

• There is a specific short to medium term plan for the future, which is connected to the knowledge learned about self from the chosen experiences.

• The reasoning of the candidate is easy to follow and very logical. • The statement is personal because the candidate describes how the experiences

helped to discover strengths and weaknesses in skills and abilities. It does not however, contain any details of a private nature, but concentrates entirely in interpreting events in LCA in a personal way, which is what is required.

Marks Awarded – 116/120Focus Chooses 2 vocational aspects-Childcare/Receptionist 10/10 Personalising Excellent. Candidate’s own personal interpretation of events 10/10 Starting Point Excellent. Initial position clearly outlined, giving reasons 20/20 Description Very good. Office work better described than babysitting 18/20 Present Position Excellent. Conclusions drawn are relevant and well explained 20/20 Future Very good. Related to experiences and conclusions. 18/20 Communication Excellent. Clear, fluent, neat and legible. 10/10 Organisation Excellent. Organised, logical pattern of thinking, well presented 10/10 Overall mark 76 + 116 = 192/200. This reflective task is awarded a 10 credit. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Personal Reflection Task B

This example is typical of many statements submitted for examination. It has potential but has not been edited or reworked. Year 1 statement (May 2001) At the start of Leaving Cert. Applied I thought the course was going to be hard, but after the first couple of weeks I got into the swing of things. I gradually got used to the subjects and found them all interesting. I also liked the idea of work experience, I chose carpentry as my experience and after the first year I feel this was a good choice. During the year we had a lot of talks, interviews and outing days. One of the talks was about Alcohol. Two people came in from the Youth Service and they spoke to us about drinking too much. I found this talk very interesting. There were games with the talk and the class found it good fun which made it easier to understand the talk. There was another talk about the environment, I felt the class was not interested in this subject. During the first couple of months I had a task for my Social Education on Drugs. I did well with that task and I found I was relaxed at the interview. I had a practice interview with someone from FAS; this interview was a great help towards my task interviews. During the year we set up a company called Munch Break. There were 12 in the company, each person gave £10. We purchased goods for our tuck shop. The first day was a great success. We sold all our purchases and made £12 profit. So far the company is doing well and I feel it will be a great achievement for all concerned. As the year went on I found the assignments easier to do. I have been interviewed for my two tasks. One was Career guidance and the other was Hotel, Catering and Tourism (a meal for foreign students) As the year comes to an end I am really looking forward to next year my final year in school. Comment This is not a very good reflective statement because

• The candidate focuses on too many experiences without exploring any of them in any depth

• The candidate does not get personally involved in any of the experiences. The impression is that the candidate is a bystander who merely records a journal of what the class did throughout the year.

• There is no explanation, elaboration or analysis of any of the experiences mentioned.

• There is no continuity in the statement: there is little or no starting point so the experiences described can have no effect on initial thinking.

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• Because the candidate does not interpret the value of the experiences, no self-awareness emerges.

• No conclusions are drawn about self because of the lack of personal interpretation of the experiences.

• No plan for the future emerges because the candidate has failed to reflect on the value of the experiences, merely providing an objective account of what has happened during the year.

Marks Awarded –33/80 Focus Has required number of experiences in LCA 10/10 Personalising Poor effort at personal involvement 3/10 Starting Point One sentence. No identification of initial thinking 3/10 Description Examples given but no analysis or evaluation. No depth 3/10 Present Position Absolutely no self-awareness at all, no conclusions drawn 0/10 Future Again, just one vague reference to next year 1/10 Communication Well laid out. Clear and legible but no development 7/10 Organisation Logical but repetitive and could be better organised 6/10

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Year 2 Statement (May 2002) After hearing about the Leaving Cert Applied course and on the advice of my tutor in 3rd year I decided to do the Leaving Cert Applied. I found the course was suitable for me because I enjoy doing projects and learning about the world of work. In Leaving Cert Applied I chose carpentry as my work experience and I felt at the time that was the career I would probably choose when I finished the course. The reason I chose this was I like working with my hands and carpentry gave me plenty of opportunity to do this. For the last two years I worked with a qualified carpenter. The type of work I did was making wardrobes, fitting kitchens, assembling staircases and converting attics. I really enjoyed the work and learned quite a lot of skills. Over the years working alongside a qualified carpenter I realised the experience and confidence I was gaining. I also got to know the people I worked with on site and in the houses where we converted attics and fitted kitchens. I liked converting attics best because the work is very interesting. In the beginning I was very nervous. I was afraid of doing things incorrectly. I was given more responsibility and this helped my confidence. There was also the experience of travelling to different towns to jobs. Over the two years the work I learned and the confidence I gained will stand to me in my future career. LCA has helped me in many ways. I suppose the work experience would have been the most beneficial and also the career guidance teacher who was very helpful and encouraged me. For my career task I learned how long an apprenticeship takes. It lasts four years and you follow a course of training and undergo assessments. Apprenticeship consists of 7 phases of training both on the job and in a FAS training centre or educational college. At the end you will receive a National Craft certificate. I feel on doing the apprenticeship the site work would be interesting. I would probably find College difficult but I would work hard to succeed. Over the next four years I hope to work as an apprentice and learn the trade. After my apprenticeship my ambition is to set up my own business. The challenges of having my own business are making my own decisions and knowing the harder I work the more successful I will be. Comment This is a better effort than the Year 1 statement but there are still a number of deficiencies, which prevent the statement from getting a high mark.

• The candidate concentrates on two experiences and describes them in more detail

• There is more personal involvement in the second statement • Some effort is made to evaluate the experiences described but little or no

evidence is offered to support conclusions drawn • The starting point is better and the experiences described are both relevant to

the initial idea of becoming a carpenter • The candidate fails to explain exactly what skills were learned and why, for

instance, attic conversions were most interesting.

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• There is a definite plan for the future linked to the experiences described but it is short on specifics such as where, when and how the ambition of becoming a carpenter is actually going to be realised.

Marks Awarded 79/120 Focus Two vocational aspects chosen 10/10 Personalising First experience described is more personal than second 7/10 Starting Point Better than year 1; more elaboration of possible career 12/20 Description Work experience good. Career research mainly narrative 14/20 Present Position Has made some connections but little or no evidence offered 7/20 Future Plan is more aspirational than specific but is relevant 11/20 Communication Clear, legible, neat, fluent. 10/10 Organisation Logical but thoughts could be better organised. Some repetition 8/10 Overall mark 33 + 79 = 112. This task was awarded 5 credits.

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APPENDIX 2

Coimisíun na Scrúdaithe Stáit State Examinations Commission

Cor na Madadh, Baile Átha Luain, Co. na hIarmhí Cornamaddy, Athlone, Co. Westmeath.

To: Authorities of Post-Primary Schools/Centres facilitating the LCA Programme.

LEAVING CERTIFICATE APPLIED 2005 Circular S 20/05

CONSEQUENCES OF SUBMITTING INVALID STUDENT TASKS FOR ASSESSMENT

This circular refers to Circular S68/04, regarding Practical Coursework, submitted by candidates for assessment. Circular S68/04, states that practical work (including Student Tasks), submitted for assessment must be the candidate’s own individual work authenticated by the class teacher and school principal. Candidates are reminded that this requirement precludes the submission of material which has been reproduced, in whole or in part, (from text books, chief examiners reports, exemplars etc) as the candidate’s own individual work. Section 5 of the circular outlines the consequence of submitting invalid practical coursework as follows:

Practical Coursework is deemed invalid where:

(i) Requirements for the completion of the Practical Coursework have not been

met i.e. where it is not carried out in accordance with the conditions as set out for the individual subject. The penalty is to discount any marks awarded for the Practical Coursework.

(ii) There is evidence to suggest that a candidate made efforts to gain an unfair

advantage over other candidates e.g. incidences of suspected copying, plagiarism or inappropriate help from a third party. Penalties in such cases are set out in the Rules and Programme for Secondary Schools and range from

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loss of the subject, to loss of the entire examination in all subjects or being barred from the Certificate Examinations in subsequent years. There may be serious consequences for any other party involved in improperly assisting candidates as the Education Act 1998 provides for certain criminal offences in relation to the conduct of the examinations.

For both instances (i) and (ii) marks will be withheld and the evidence will be presented to the candidates for their observations. On receipt of the evidence, a decision about the award will be made.

Please bring this circular to the attention of relevant teachers and candidates.

Thank you for your co-operation and if you have any queries regarding the contents of this circular, please contact LCA Section, Cornamaddy, Athlone, Co. Westmeath, telephone 090 644 2725.

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APPENDIX 3

Marking Scheme 1. 1 The Total Mark Allocation for the Personal Reflection Task is 200 marks

The year 1 Personal Reflective Statement is marked out of 80 marks The year 2 Personal Reflective Statement is marked out of 120 marks

1.2 Marks/Credits Weightings

Credits Marks 0 0 – 39 1 40 – 55 2 56 – 71 3 72 – 87 4 88 – 103 5 104 – 119 6 120 – 135 7 136 – 151 8 152 – 167 9 168 – 183 10 184 - 200

1.3 The Marking Criteria for this Task are as follows: Focus of Reflection Ability to Reflect Media of Reflection 1.4 The breakdown of marks is as follows:

Year 1 Year 2 Focus of Reflection 20m 20m Ability to Reflect 40m 80m Media of Reflection 20m 20m

1.5 The Weighting of Marks is as follows:

Key out of 10 out of 20 Excellent 10 19 – 20 Very Good 8 – 9 16 – 18 Good 6 – 7 12 – 15 Fair 4 – 5 8 – 11 Poor 2 – 3 4 – 7 Unacceptable 0 - 1 0 - 3

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2. Explanation of Marking Scheme

2.1 FOCUS OF REFLECTION (20 marks)

(a) Learning Experiences – The candidate must identify and define TWO significant concrete learning experiences in relation to the L.C.A. programme for each statement.

In year 1 s/he can focus on any aspects of L.C.A (student tasks, attendance, modules, outings, assignments etc) but in year 2 s/he must focus on the vocational aspects (anything relevant to her/his future career) - work experience, career

guidance, open days at Colleges, vocational specialisms, enterprise etc.

10 marks (b) Personalisation – The candidate must personalise her/his learning experiences and relate these experiences to herself/himself. The following questions are considered:

How personal is the reflective statement? How well does the writer come through in the statement? How much is learned about the candidate from the statement? Is the candidate telling her/his own story or just writing an objective historical

account?

A good statement will contain mainly ‘I’ statements as opposed to ‘we’ or ‘the class’.

10 marks

2.2. ABILITY TO REFLECT (N.B. 40 MARKS YEAR 1 / 80 MARKS YEAR 2)

(a) Candidate describes the initial position or starting point:

Each statement must have an initial position. The initial position launches the reflective process. The candidate must be able to describe, recall, define and review his or her past experiences. The candidate cannot reflect on how the key learning experiences have affected her/him if s/he has no previous beliefs with which to compare.

10 marks/20 marks

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(b) Candidate describes the experiences and the effect(s) on the initial position:

The candidate must describe, by means of examples, two specific concrete learning experiences/foci in each statement, which are personally meaningful to her/him. The experiences described must have some particular importance for the candidate and must be in some way be connected to the LCA programme.

The candidate must break down the experiences by examining, questioning, comparing and criticising. S/he should be able to link the various learning experiences mentioned and make judgements about the effects of these experiences on her/him. The candidate must write in some depth about the experiences and not just make a series of vague general unconnected statements.

S/he must analyse these experiences by explaining: -how the experiences affected her/him -in what way did her/his initial thinking change or not as a result of these experiences Candidate should explain how the chosen experiences have affected her/him and should evaluate these experiences in simple terms in order to interpret and make sense of the experiences. The following questions are considered:

How meaningful were the chosen foci for him/her? How well has the candidate described and analysed the experience? How well has s/he painted the picture? Can the reasoning of the candidate be clearly followed? What has s/he learnt from the experiences? What interpretations has s/he taken from the experiences? Is the reader left with more questions than answers?

10 marks/20 marks

(c) Candidate summarises the present position: The candidate must be able to apply critical thinking and self-awareness to draw conclusions based on the analysis of the key learning experiences. The conclusions must be justified by means of well-supported statements i.e. what has s/he now decided as a result of her/his analysis of the learning experiences and why has s/he made these decisions? Candidates are required to make connections between experiences and self in order to draw conclusions about their strengths and weaknesses, choice of career etc.

If a candidate draws a conclusion s/he must justify the statement by saying why s/he has reached that conclusion.

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The following questions are considered: How are the foci linked? What level of self-awareness has been demonstrated? Are the conclusions explained? How well? Is there evidence supporting

conclusions? In reaching the conclusions how well linked are the descriptions of the

experiences to the degree of self-awareness shown?

10 marks/20 marks

(d) Candidate outlines how the experiences have influenced her/his outlook for the future: The candidate is required to think creatively in order to integrate what has been learned into forward planning and future goals. The candidate must be able to make connections i.e. to combine what has been learned from the different experiences into a plan for the future. The plan for the future should be based on what the candidates have learned about themselves as a result of reflection on the experiences. Candidates should have a specific plan in mind, at least in the short-term.

The following questions are considered: How specific is the plan? Are alternatives considered? How well is the plan linked to the experiences described and the

conclusions about self? How viable is the plan?

10 marks/20 marks

2.3. MEDIA OF REFLECTION (20 MARKS)

(a) Communicative effectiveness: How well does the candidate express her/his ideas? (Clarity/Fluency/Neatness/Legibility) How precise, appropriate is the word choice? What kind of rhythm and flow is there in the writing? Consideration given to; grammar, spelling, capitals, paragraphing.

10 marks (b) Organisation of thoughts: How organised are the candidate’s reflections? How logical is the task? Is it easy to follow the pattern of thinking? Does it have a beginning, middle and end? Is it mixed up or repetitive in places? How well is the statement presented? 10 marks

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