Reflection is a process which allows a learners to evaluate their work and improve what they have been doing. The video provided on Blackboard defines reflection as a process which allows us to challenge our existing beliefs in order to learn from a situation, and a process which allows us to take control of our learning. It can be simply talking with someone, perhaps a tutor, and discussing what you have done and how you could have done it better; or it could be writing a blog post in which you assess your progress and spend some time considering what you can do to move on and be more successful. It should be done in a professional way and should not be a string of complaints about other people or the situation you are in. This is a way for you acknowledge your own successes and faults and therefore you must be honest and critical of yourself without being churlish or offensive, especially when reflecting on feedback from peers or tutors. The purpose of reflection is to improve on your work so you can not refuse to accept that you have faults or treat any issues as someone else’s fault. You also can not be purely negative as you have to acknowledge what you have done right so that you can ensure you do that again. Without effective reflection it is almost impossible to be an effective learner and you will not be able to improve your standard of work to a good level.

Active learning and cooperative working are two very important skills to have both as a university student and as a member of the teaching profession.

Active learning is important as it stops you from being complacent during lectures and will help to improve your ability and achievements. Active learning is a process which allows you to engage with your study and get much more out of lectures and reading. It can come in many forms; taking notes as you listen or read, taking part in discussions, going away and re-writing the lecture slides in your own words. By doing this you engage with the topic and consolidate your learning, it also helps you to identify which areas you are struggling with allowing you to go away and work on these areas which will result in you coming away with a higher mark and a better understanding of the subject. It will also save you time in the long run as you will be learning and revising through out the year meaning when you come to exam time you will have been preparing for months, this means instead of a rapid session of panicked revision which will result in a lower grade and higher stress levels, you will be aware of which topics need more focus and you will be able to give yourself much more time resulting in a calmer and easier process.

Cooperative working is also vitally important as it applies both to student life and your later life as a primary teacher where almost all work will be done cooperatively between you and your pupils. It has many benefits as it allows you to come together with your peers and share ideas and thoughts, this is useful as it will allow you to build upon your original thoughts and develop a stronger knowledge base. As we all have different strengths it will also improve the quality of work being produced as instead of having to only use the skills you have you can use the wide variety of skills the people around you have giving the work a depth you could not attain with just one persons input. However cooperative working can have some negative points, for it to be a truly successful activity all the members of the group must be providing the same level of input, as if one person is overpowering the group it is unfair on everyone else as they do not get a chance to provide their own ideas and input. However on the other hand if one member of the group is not providing their own ideas or taking part in the discussions then this is also unfair as they are benefiting from the hard work of the people around them without helping them. On a whole the idea of cooperative working is a positive one as it allows a group of people to improve their knowledge and produces a higher quality of work, while teaching people how to work as a team effectively which is a hugely important skill for teachers to have.