IBCP Reflective Project

"The reflective project is an in-depth body of work produced over an extended period of time and submitted towards the end of the CP. Through a reflective project students identify, analyse, critically discuss and evaluate an ethical issue arising from their career-related studies. The reflective project is intended to promote high-level research, writing and extended communication skills, intellectual discovery and creativity."
The RP can be submitted in a choice of formats and total of 4,000 words, which is inclusive of a reflective statement (maximum 1,000 words, provided on the RP/FRF).

Reflective Project Guide

The aims of the reflective project are for students to:
• engage in personal inquiry
• develop critical thinking and research skills to explore an ethical dilemma
• seek and appreciate local and/or global perspectives
• appraise the reliability and bias of resources found during the research process
• develop effective communication skills by creating a structured, coherent and balanced argument
• develop self-management skills to support the research, writing and product-creation process
• engage in ongoing reflective practice.

“The CP Core.” International Baccalaureate®, www.ibo.org/programmes/career-related-programme/curriculum/the-cp-core/.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

• How will you ensure you spend enough time on each aspect of the project?

• What environments and working conditions do you work best in? 

• What's your most comfortable and successful writing style? 

INTERCULTURAL UNDERSTANDING

• What is it that I do not know about others? 

• What are some different cultural contexts to consider? 

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

• What's my most comfortable and successful voice? 

• How should my voice be modified or amplified to be more in alignment with the situation? 

THINKING PROCESSES

• What are your strengths and preferred modes of inquiry? 

APPLIED ETHICS

• What are some ethical situations you have observed at work, in an internship, or through your career studies? 

• What are some ways that ethical codes and standards can be reviewed and improved in the workplace? 

• Is there an ethical dilemma that you find particularly concerning? 

• What are the similarities and differences between personal ethics and professional ethics? 

Questions from the Hillcrest World School Reflective Project website.

 “Reflective Project.” Hillcrest World School, www.hillcrestpps.org/reflective-project.html.

Before writing your paper:

• Choose an ethical dilemma that is related to your CRS.
• Plan how, when, and where you will find resources for your project.
• Create an annotated bibliography.
• Make sure your sources are balanced so you can give equal time to all perspectives.

During writing your paper:

• Start work early and adhere to deadlines.
• Keep track of which sources you are using as you write your paper. You MUST cite within your paper when you write about anything you learned from a source.
• Be sure to keep your paper balanced and unbiased. The reader should not know your opinion on the ethical dilemma until the end of the paper.

After writing your paper:

• Check and proofread your final version carefully.
• Try reading it out loud to yourself to hear if anything sounds awkward.
• Make sure anything you wrote in your paper that you didn’t already know before this project has an in-text citation that refers to a source on your Works Cited page.