Special Needs Assisting Learner Record Brief: 10 Reflective Journals (Flood Case Studies)

QQI Special Needs Assisting Learner Record Brief: 10 Reflective Journal Entries (40 Marks)

This SNA learner record asks you to keep a reflective journal of at least ten entries across the module. Each entry links a case study from Flood’s text, such as a pupil with Down syndrome, to what you learned in class and through your own reading, what you did and found challenging, how the module shaped your thinking, and what you personally take forward into your work as a special needs assistant.

Guidelines and Instructions

Your learner record must include a minimum of 10 reflections.

A reflective journal will be kept by learners, detailing:

• Their own learning and attitudinal change in understanding special needs, and the impact that various special educational needs have on the family and the community.
• A focus on the promotion of good practice in working in special educational needs.
• A comprehensive reflection on their experiences in various workplace settings, to reinforce their understanding of the different conditions.

A minimum of ten reflections is necessary. Use the case studies outlined in Assisting Children with Special Needs: An Irish Perspective by Eilis Flood.

Grading Criteria

The learner record is graded according to the following criteria:

• Description of knowledge gained in class and through independent learning
• Description of activities, including challenges or conflict encountered and how they were dealt with
• Reflection on the experience of undertaking this module
• Identification of personal learning throughout the module

Evidence for this assessment technique may take the form of written, oral, graphic, audio, visual or digital evidence, or any combination of these. Any audio, video or digital evidence must be provided in a suitable format.

Assessment Criteria

Template Structure for Each Reflection Journal

The centre’s learner record template sets out each journal entry under a topic heading (for example, Reflection Journal 3: Complex Conditions and Syndromes, with a short case study of a pupil with Down syndrome drawn from Flood) followed by four sections:

1. Knowledge gained in class / independent learning
2. Description of activities, including challenges or conflict encountered and how they were dealt with
3. Reflection on own experience of undertaking this module
4. Personal learning identified throughout the module