Giving students an empty space and saying, “reflect” can be really challenging. This is why I like to give a few possible ideas of what they could write about. These are explained below.
The RPPF (Reflections on Planning and Progress Form) is where EE students write their three reflections: First, Interim and Final (after the viva voce). The maximum word count for all three reflections combined is 500 words and should be recorded on the most recent version of the RPPF Form.
Your school’s IB Coordinator can help you with the RPPF if you need it.
The RPPF is a chance for EE students to show one or more of the following:
- Intellectual, creative, personal, and/or developmental growth,
- How actively engaged they are in the learning process ,
- What they have learned about how to learn and research and/or how they have grown as a learner,
- The skills that they have learned, including:
- critical thinking,
- decision-making,
- general research,
- planning,
- referencing and citations,
- specific research methodology,
- time management.
Read more:
- EE Supervisor Tips: The Viva Voce
- How to write the perfect EE question
- 3 Examples of how to write excellent EE questions
The following suggestions have been created using information from the EE guide (pg. 55) to help students write their reflections.
First Reflection
This should be completed after your initial reflection session with your supervisor.
Possible topics to discuss in this section of the RPPF include (but are not limited to) your thoughts on:
- Your initial topic exploration,
- The topic you have chosen and why,
- Possible sources and methods,
- What you might hope to learn or achieve from studying this topic,
- Possible ideas of how you might answer your question and/or research the answer,
- Questions or challenges faced so far,
- Anything else you feel could show your engagement, learning, growth or initiative.
Remember that the total word count for all three reflections is 500 words. This means about 140-170 words is perfect for each reflection.
Interim Reflection
This should be completed after your interim reflection session with your supervisor.
Possible topics to discuss in this section of the RPPF include (but are not limited to) your thoughts on:
- The research so far, including reactions to specific things you’ve learned or discovered,
- How your research (including your research question) changed or developed,
- Things you’ve learned about the topic and/or research process,
- Progress in the timeline for completing the essay,
- Possible outlines of arguments being made in response to your RQ,
- Challenges encountered and strategies used to overcome them,
- Anything else you feel could show your engagement, learning, growth or initiative.
Final Reflection
This should be completed after your viva voce (final) reflection session with your supervisor.
Possible topics to discuss in this section of the RPPF include (but are not limited to) your thoughts on:
- The personal significance of the work to you as a student,
- What you have learned about the topic,
- What you have learned about learning and/or how you have “grown” as a learner,
- New questions you have about your topic,
- Anything else you feel could show your engagement, learning, growth or initiative.
If you have questions post them to our Facebook group for IB Psych Students or our Facebook group for IB Psych Teachers.
Travis Dixon is an IB Psychology teacher, author, workshop leader, examiner and IA moderator.