Enhancing student engagement while on work placement: Resources and implementation of a workshop on reflective blogging for peer learning.

Students on work placement will have very different experiences from each other. However they are generally not connected to their peers, and cannot learn from the diverse range of activities their peers will experience. Over several years we have implemented an online reflective blog assessment through which experiences can be shared with the whole class. We will outline how the recent assessment and feedback strategy actively promoted more meaningful student engagement with their peers, along with improved quality of reflective writing. This was achieved through a comprehensive assessment rubric, and a series of activities carried out in a pre-placement workshop. This ensured that all students had the potential to learn: from their own reflections, from each other’s experiences, from tutor feedback on peer blogs, from the process of peer review and through broadening the curriculum by connecting the ‘class room’ setting to ‘real life working environment’. Overall this assessment allows more efficient achievement of learning outcomes that all work placement modules share. For example, blogs can help to develop further their personal and employability skills such as critical thinking and analysis through reflection, writing skills, communication, professionalism, listening, and giving/accepting constructive criticism through the discussions with each other. In addition, all of these important student graduate attributes can be further enhanced and developed through directed discussions with the lecturer using blogs. The focus of the presentation will be on the resources and activities used in implementing a pre-placement workshop, and tips and recommendations we can make to practitioners based on personal reflection, experience over several years, and student evaluations.