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Assignment 2: Critical Reflection Assignment

Assignment Information

Students will complete an assignment critically reflecting on notions of help. Using the lecture, readings assigned in class, tutorials, and class discussions, students will critically reflect on helping, the social work profession and its role in helping - both what it appears to be, and whether and how it could be re-imagined - and their understanding of themselves as helpers.

Students are required to reference a minimum of 4 course readings in their assignment (this can include any assigned videos, newspaper articles, academic articles, etc.). No sources from outside the course readings are required but can be used at the student’s discretion. Supplemental readings can also be used at the student’s discretion, but do not count towards the 4 course readings minimum.

Students are invited to complete this assignment in a format that best helps them express their thoughts. Formats can include written academic paper, PowerPoint/Prezi presentation, podcast, creative writing assignment, blog post, visual art. If students wish to complete the assignment in a format not detailed here, please connect directly with your TA to discuss options. More details about specific format requirements can be found below.

 

Requirements:

· Type: Individual

· Weight: 25%

· Delivery: Avenue to Learn Assignment Folder

· Due Date: Friday, March 27^th 2026, by 11:59pm

Expectations

You are expected to complete this assignment individually.

Respect for academic integrity is crucial to your success. Make sure you understand what constitutes acts of academic dishonesty in the page: What is Academic Dishonesty?

Instructions

Begin by critically reflecting on notions of help. Students are asked to consider the following questions and incorporate some (not all) to guide the creation of their assignment. Pick whichever questions speak to you.

· Who am I? How does this impact my perspective on help?

· What are my motivations to help and expectations around helping?

· What is intersectionality? What intersections do I occupy?

· How does my identity intersect with my ability/willingness to help?

· How has my understanding of help shifted throughout the course?

· How can I be helpful, both in a social work sense and in everyday life?

· In what ways can social work be helpful?

· What are the limitations to the helpfulness of social work?

· How should social work interact with marginalized identities/groups?

· What is the relationship between social work and social justice? (How) Is this different from reality?

· What are the ethical obligations of social work and how does this impact helping?

· How are ethics navigated in social work?

 

Students will then draw together their reflections, critical analysis, and supporting references into an assignment that communicates their thoughts effectively using one of the identified formats, or using a format discussed and agreed to by their TA.

Learning Objectives

While completing this assignment, students should be able to:

· gain and demonstrate an improved understanding of the processes of critical reflection (as it pertains to self, outside sources, and course content)

· challenge and unpack their initial/previous perceptions of the role of social work in helping

· examine their own biases, ways of knowing, and assumptions they held or continue to hold about social work’s role in helping

· deploy critical thinking skills, which includes seeking out sources of information to inform their own thoughts, ideas, opinions, and questions about social work, help, intersectionality, marginalization, and/or ethics, etc. (e.g., academic articles, news articles, videos, their own lived experiences, etc.)

· effectively apply course content (concepts, themes, discussions, readings, videos, etc.) to their discussion

Structure/Format of Assignment

All assignments must include a written submission in .doc or .docx format. This submission must be in APA format, including a title page and a reference page. This written submission must meet all requirements of APA formatting, including page numbering, use of a recommended APA font (see recommended styles here: https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/paper-format/font).

The title page should include:

· the title of your work

· student name

· student ID #

· date of submission

· TA’s name

· and indication if you want feedback by writing “feedback yes”, or “feedback no”. Where no preference is indicated, feedback will not be provided.

· Subheadings to organize your work and first-person language are allowed.

 

Written academic paper:

Students will write a 4-5 page paper including in-text citations. The title page and reference page do not count towards the page count. The title and reference page must be included in line with the details above.

PowerPoint/Prezi presentation:

Students will prepare a 4-5 slide presentation with an accompanying 5-6 minute oral presentation. Students can record their oral presentation as voiceover using the presentation software (PowerPoint, Google Slides, etc.) or students can record a video of their voiceover and slides (similar to the lecture format). If students choose the video format, students must also hand in a copy of their slides (in pptx or pdf format). Presentation slides should include in-text citations. The title page and reference page can be included as slides in the presentation or can be submitted as a separate .doc or .docx written submission. If included as slides, the title page and reference page do not count towards slide count.

Podcast/Oral Reflection:

Students will prepare a 10-11 minute oral presentation. Students can record their oral presentations in mp3 or m4a formats (to use a different format, please discuss with your TA). Students will also need to include a written submission in line with the details above in the first paragraph of this section. Students are also requested (but not required) to include any talking notes/guides used in their written submission to assist their TA with grading and providing requested feedback.

Creative writing:

Students will prepare a piece of creative writing of their choice (story, poem, etc.) no longer than 3 pages (no minimum page count for creative writing). Students can submit this piece of writing as .doc, .docx, or .pdf format. Students will then also prepare a 2-3 page written submission in line with the details above (title and references pages not included in length requirement). Their written submission must explain how their creative writing interpretation represents the reflection, course concepts, and sources required for the assignment. In-text citations should be used for the written submission.

Visual art:

Students will prepare artwork of their choice. They will then take photos or video of their art to submit for grading. Students can hand in the photos or videos directly, or they can format their pictures or videos into a word doc, PowerPoint presentation, or any other format that effectively communicates their visual art piece. Students will then also prepare a 2-3 page written submission in line with the details above (title and references pages not included in length requirement). Their written submission must explain how their art interpretation represents the reflection, course concepts, and sources required for the assignment. In-text citations should be used for the written submission.

If students wish to complete the assignment in a format not detailed here, please connect directly with your TA to discuss options.

 

Resources

You are encouraged to use the resources provided including the Purdue OWL: APA Formatting and Style Guide and Grammarly.

Before you begin your assignment, review the rubric at the end of this document to understand the assignment expectations. Also, use the rubric to ensure inclusion of all marking criteria before submitting your assignment.

How to Submit Your Assignment

To submit your assignment:

1. Click Assessments (top navigation bar)

2. Select Assignments

3. Click the Assignment: Critical Reflection Assignment

Be sure to include all necessary files with your submission.

You may submit to the assignment folder multiple times if needed; however, your TA will mark only the final document uploaded, so make sure your final document is the correct one.

General Guidelines

· Unless otherwise instructed, please submit only ONE file per assignment (i.e., combine all documents into one file).

· Do not zip your files; combine them into one file.

· Ensure that the name of your file does not include spaces as it can be challenging to link to them.

· Ensure that the name of your file does not include special characters such as symbols or punctuation. Such characters may cause problems when uploading your file.

· Keep a copy of your assignment in case of technical problems.

· If your submission is successful, you will receive an Email Confirmation Receipt sent to your @mcmaster.ca email address. If you do not receive an Email Confirmation Receipt, please double-check your submission, and re-submit if necessary.

· Keep all Email Confirmation Receipts until the course is over as proof of submission.

Extension/Late Submission Policy

Students requesting an extension must request the extension from their assigned TA prior to the assignment due date. Students may be asked to submit supporting documentation for an extension request.

Late assignments with no extension will be subject to a 2% per day late penalty (includes weekends and holidays) for up to two weeks (April 10 at 11:59pm). After this date, no assignment will be accepted and a grade of zero will be applied. Extensions past this date can only be granted by the professor and will only be granted in exceptional circumstances.

Checklist for Success

Before I submit my critical reflection assignment, did I:

· use course content (e.g., assigned readings, lectures, videos, newspaper articles, etc.) to inform my discussions and reflections?

· select, unpack, discuss, and/or answer some of the questions provided as prompts under the “Instructions” heading?

· challenge my thoughts or assumptions about social work’s role in helping?

· consider my role, identities, and motivations to help, and how this course has shaped these emerging perspectives?

· successfully apply and integrate my understandings of the central themes of the course around (re)imagining social work’s role in helping?

· make meaningful connections between course sources, additional outside sources, my experiences/ideas/thoughts, and/or the world/social context?

· proofread to correct/check my spelling, grammar, sentence structure, etc.?

· organize my thoughts to ensure my assignment flowed logically and clearly?

· cite any outside sources that I drew upon, using APA citation style?

 

(Rubric next page)

 

Criteria	Meets All Expectations	Meets Most of the Expectations	Meets Some of the Expectations	Approaching Expectations	Does Not Meet Expectations
Critical Engagement   /9	9 – 7.2 (80-100%)	7.1 – 6.3 (70-79%)	6.2 – 5.4 (60%-69%)	5.3 – 4.5 (50-59%)	4.4 – 0 (0-49%)
	Your assignment challenges assumptions and initial thoughts about helping with a high degree of effectiveness by: (a) Your work engaged with or responded to an appropriate number of questions or prompts outlined in the instructions, and your points were well-explained and fully developed. (b) Statements, reflections, and ideas presented in the work were well-informed by course materials and demonstrated a thoughtful and strong engagement with course themes and central concepts (e.g., motivations and expectations for helping, intersectionality, marginalization, etc.).	Your assignment challenges assumptions and initial thoughts about helping with a considerable degree of effectiveness by: (a) Your work engaged with or responded to an appropriate number of questions or prompts outlined in the instructions. (b) Statements, reflections, and ideas presented in the paper were informed by course materials and demonstrated considerable engagement with course themes and central concepts (e.g., motivations and expectations for helping, intersectionality, marginalization, etc.).	Your assignment challenges assumptions and initial thoughts about helping with some degree of effectiveness by: (a) Your work engaged with or responded to a sufficient number of questions or prompts outlined in the instructions, but your discussion could have been further developed to fully explain and reflect on your points (beyond mere summary or opinion). (b) Statements, reflections, and ideas presented in the work were informed by some course materials and demonstrated some engagement with course themes and central concepts (e.g., motivations and expectations for helping, intersectionality, marginalization, etc.).	The assignment challenges assumptions and initial thoughts about helping with a limited degree of effectiveness by: (a) The work engaged with or responded to an insufficient or inappropriate number of questions or prompts outlined in the instructions. (b) Statements, reflections, and ideas presented in the work were somewhat informed by course materials and demonstrated a limited engagement with course themes and central concepts (e.g., motivations and expectations for helping, intersectionality, marginalization, etc.). (c) The work focused too heavily on summary or too heavily on opinion rather than reflection.	Assignment was not submitted or was incomplete/did not meet expectations outlined.   If assignment was submitted, it did not engage with course material or course themes to support reflections. The analysis and reflection presented were not informed by course or additional outside sources and did not extend beyond summary or personal opinion. Insufficient material submitted, thus making it difficult to assess learning.
Analysis   /9	9 – 7.2 (80-100%)	7.1 – 6.3 (70-79%)	6.2 – 5.4 (60%-69%)	5.3 – 4.5 (50-59%)	4.4 – 0 (0-49%)
	Your analysis integrates and applies a clear and full understanding of the central themes and concepts of the course with a high degree of effectiveness by: (a) Your analysis creatively and uniquely (re)imagines helping, with a successful and thoughtful examination of and reflection on the definitions and scope of helping as discussed in the course materials. (b) Your analysis makes meaningful connections between course sources, your own thoughts and experiences, and any additional outside sources (if applicable) with a high degree of effectiveness.	Your analysis integrates and applies an understanding of the central themes and concepts of the course with a considerable degree of effectiveness by: (a) Your analysis creatively (re)imagines helping, with an effective examination of and reflection on the definitions and scope of helping as discussed in the course materials. (b) Your analysis makes good connections between course sources, your own thoughts and experiences, and any additional outside sources (if applicable) with a considerable degree of effectiveness.	Your analysis integrates and applies an understanding of the central themes and concepts of the course with some degree of effectiveness by: (a) Your analysis (re)imagines helping, with some examination of and reflection on the definitions and scope of helping as discussed in the course materials. (b) Your analysis makes some connections between course sources, your own thoughts and experiences, and any additional outside sources (if applicable) with some degree of effectiveness. (c) Some of your points are not fully explained or developed.	Your analysis integrates and applies an understanding of the central themes and concepts of the course with a limited degree of effectiveness by: (a) Your analysis does not adequately (re)imagine helping, with a limited examination of and reflection on the definitions and scope of helping as discussed in the course materials. (b) Your analysis makes few clear connections between course sources, your own thoughts and experiences, and any additional outside sources (if applicable). (c) Several points are insufficiently explained and developed (e.g., does not go beyond summary or opinion).	Assignment was not submitted or was incomplete/did not meet expectations outlined.   If submitted, your analysis does not integrate and apply a clear and full understanding of the central themes and concepts of the course. Your analysis does not (re)imagine helping as there is no reflection on the definitions and scope of helping as discussed in the course materials. Your analysis does not make connections between course sources, your own thoughts and experiences, and any additional outside sources (if applicable).
Format Style   /4.5	4.5 – 3.6 (80-100%)	3.5 – 3.2 (70-79%)	3.1 – 2.7 (60-69%)	2.6 – 2.3 (50-59%)	2.2 – 0 (0-49%)
	Your formatting style demonstrates a communication style appropriate for the audience with a high degree of effectiveness by: (a) The style of assignment format (writing, visual, audio etc.) that you chose supports the meaning/narrative of the analysis and evokes the audience to engage critically with helping.   (b)  Your writing/speaking/ aesthetic designs doesn’t distract from the meaning being articulated to your audience.   (c) Your ideas are clear, articulate, and flow naturally. Your assignment uses conventions and terminology of the discipline with a high degree of effectiveness.	The style of assignment format (writing, visual, audio etc.) that you chose demonstrates a communication style appropriate for the audience with a considerable degree of effectiveness by: (a)  Supporting the meaning/ narrative of the analysis. (b) Having a few instances where your writing/speaking/ aesthetic designs slightly distract from the meaning being articulated to your audience. For instance, few errors in your writing/recording style (e.g., sentence structure) slightly impact the clarity and quality of your assignment. (c) Your discussion uses conventions and terminology of the discipline with a considerable degree of effectiveness and few errors.	The style of assignment format (writing, visual, audio etc.) that you chose demonstrates a communication style appropriate for the audience with some degree of effectiveness by: (a)  having some instances where your writing/speaking/ aesthetic designs distract from the meaning being articulated to your audience. For instance, some errors in your writing/recording style (e.g., sentence structure) impact the clarity and quality of your discussed ideas.   (b) Your assignment uses conventions and terminology of the discipline with some degree of effectiveness; there is occasional confusion or incorrect use of terms.	The style of assignment format (writing, visual, audio etc.) that you chose demonstrates a communication style appropriate for the audience with a limited degree of effectiveness by: (a) There are several instances where your writing/speaking/aesthetic designs distract from the meaning being articulated to your audience. For instance, several errors in your writing/recording style (e.g., sentence structure) impact the flow and clarity of your discussion.   (b) Your assignment uses conventions and terminology of the discipline with a limited degree of effectiveness; there is frequent confusion or incorrect use of terms.	Your writing/speaking/ aesthetic designs distract from the meaning being articulated to your audience. For instance, your writing/recording contains errors that make your ideas difficult to understand or follow. Your assignment incorrectly uses conventions or terminology of the discipline. Please contact the TA to discuss areas for improvement.
APA Formatting   /2.5	2.5 – 2 (80-100%)	1.9 – 1.8 (70-79%)	1.7 – 1.5 (60-69%)	1.4 – 1.3 (50-59%)	1.2 – 0 (0-49%)
	With consideration of the format style of your assignment, it effectively applies proper APA General formatting, in-text citation, and referencing. Very strong use of sources, with no or very few errors in citation style.	With consideration of the format style of your assignment, the APA General formatting, intext citation, and referencing is applied with some errors. Strong use of sources, with few mistakes in citation style.	With consideration of the format style of your assignment, the APA General formatting, in-text citations, and referencing is applied with some effectiveness. Some sources were used, with some errors in citation style.	With consideration of the format style of your assignment, the APA General formatting, in-text citations and referencing is applied with limited effectiveness. Insufficient sources were used, or they are cited with considerable error.	With consideration of the format style of your assignment, the APA General formatting and referencing was not applied correctly or was not used. No sources were cited, or sources were incorrectly cited. Please contact TA to discuss areas for improvement.

 

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