Reflective journal assessment

Students have two tasks to complete. One is to complete and upload their CVs on a CV builder platform as part of formative assessment. The second task requires that they make a video presentation in which they discuss their personal career development goals.

We assess each student on their ability to to put together a compelling CV that speaks not only to their skills and interests but also to the potential employers’ needs as well as the students’ readiness for the job market.

Students are also challenged to reflect on their career goals and accessed on how they package and communicate them in their presentations. Specific skills and abilities considered include:

•  Public speaking
• Research
• Engagement with the law job market 
• Selfawareness

The assessment is;

• Authentic

• Reflective, therefore allows students to think through their career goals at an early stage in their studies

• Practical in that it equips students with practical skills relevant to the job market

• Relatable because students get an opportunity to complete exercises that directly relate to their individual skills and experiences

• Thought provoking in that students get to carefully interrogate and consider the career paths they would like to take and how they plan to make use of their academic qualifications

• Fun and engaging, unlike traditional essay assessments, students find it fun to create content in video format

• It is fairly quick to mark presentations

• The assessment relies highly on the use of technology therefore students may face technical challenges during the creation process
• Video creation may be a little frustrating in the beginning for students who have never tried it before

• QMPlus (for the video presentation submissions
• CV builder platform (for the uploading and automatic reviewing of CVs)

The CV builder platform provides automated feedback. Students also constantly receive feedback during classes. Feedback on presentations is accessible on QMPlus.

Can it be used face to face and/or online?

Online platforms are used for assessment but it can also be adapted face-to-face

Do you use it summatively or formatively?

The CV task is a formative assessment while the video presentation is summative

Assessment is based on content that is unique to each student which makes it almost impossible to outsource or plagiarise.