IB Docs (2) Team
The mandatory reflection sessions
Reflections help us to move forward
The Extended Essay requires students to meet their supervisor for three mandatory reflection sessions. These must be formally recorded on the RPPF (reflections on planning and progress form) and submitted to the IB for assessment. Note that these reflection sessions are in addition to any check-in sessions that students can have with their supervisor for support during the EE process.
The IB encourages students to meet with their supervisor in between (and in addition to) the three mandatory reflection sessions.
Supervision time (recommended to be between 3 - 5 hours) should help to facilitate the individual needs of each student being supervised. Hence, the frequency and duration of these check-in meetings will depend on the needs of the individual student and the supervisor’s professional judgement.
Supervision time for these check-in meetings are likely to be short and on an ad-hoc basis. They are usually used to discuss the research question, establish and check on a suitable timeline, and/or for clarification of a comment made by the supervisor. However, check-in sessions can also be more lengthy discussions about particular issues that arise during the process.
Note: as these check-in sessions are not form part of the three mandatory reflections, there is no requirement to report these meeting on the RPPF. Nevertheless, check-in sessions can be extremely useful for students so are an important part of being an EE supervisor.
Following each of the three mandatory reflection sessions, students are required to complete the relevant section on the RPPF and submit this to their supervisor. The supervisor must then initial and date the RPPF. After the third and final reflection session, the supervisor must also add his/her own comments on the RPPF. The form can then be submitted to the International Baccalaureate along with the completed final version of the Extended Essay.
It is recommended by the IB that these mandatory reflection sessions last between 20 to 30 minutes. These sessions should focus on progress made (looking back) as well as set clear objectives for moving ahead in the research process (moving forward).
The reflection sesssions provide opportunities for EE students to contemplate on their learning journey. This includes reflecting on matters such as (but not limited to):
Intellectual, creative, personal growth as a learner
Active engagement in the learning process
What they have learned about how they learn (including research and self-management skills)
The skills that they have developed as a learner, such as:
Critical thinking
Decision-making
Planning
Research methodologies
Time management
Academic integrity, including the importance of citation and referencing
As the reflection sessions are part of the formal assessment process (worth 6 marks - or worth 17.6% of the assessment grades), students must be fully prepared for each and every session with their supervisor. Each session should be a dialogue between the student and the supervisor, guided by questions prepared and posed by the supervisor.
Important note:
An incomplete RPPF document will impact the EE examiner’s ability to apply assessment criterion E (engagement) which will result in the student receiving a lower mark for this criterion.
The examiner will award zero marks for the non-submission of the RPPF or if the form is submitted in a language other than that of the essay.
You will find below some guided questions to help you with each of the three mandatory reflection sessions.
“Sometimes, you have to look back in order to understand the things that lie ahead.”
- Yvonne Woon, American author
The first of the three mandatory reflection sessions should be a discussion between the student and the supervisor based on the student’s initial explorations for the topic and (possibly) the research question.
Prior to this meeting, the student should have already considered their responses to the following questions:
Why is my topic appropriate for a Business Management Extended Essay? Some initial/background reading is important.
Why am I interested in this topic and research question, and why is it important? Think about what you might hope to learn or achieve from researching the topic and research question.
What possible questions have emerged from my initial reading about my chosen topic?
What possible methods might be used for research in this area and why? You should consider possible secondary research sources in the context of the chosen topic and research question.
Are there any ethical issues that I need to consider regarding the topic and/or research? This includes questions or challenges you have faced so far.
Top tip!
Students should send the outline of their research proposal to their supervisor before the first formal meeting. This will enable the supervisor to have the opportunity to review their plan before the initial reflection session, so that the first formal meeting is focused and productive.
During this initial reflection session, supervisors should:
Ask probing and challenging questions that will help the student to focus their thinking (see examples of questions below).
Outline of the next steps that the student should undertake in the process, including discussion about a feasible and realistic timeline.
By the end of this meeting, the discussion should have led to a mutual agreement of the research question for the essay. The student must complete the first reflection (approx 150 words) on the RPPF. The supervisor then signs (initials) the form to signify the completion of the first reflection session.
Note: Any RPPF that is left blank, unsubmitted, or written in a language other than that of the essay will score a 0 for assessment criterion E.
Possible guiding questions for the first reflection session
What has motivated you to research this topic in Business Management?
What do you already know about the chosen topic?
What section(s) of the syllabus are relevant to this topic?
What are some of the ideas/questions you have thought about for this topic?
What background reading, if any, have you already done?
What is the theoretical/conceptual base for your chosen topic? This should, preferably, be from the Business Management course.
What secondary sources of information will you need? How do you know if these are reliable?
Will you be able to collect sufficient secondary resources to effectively answer the research question?
Is there any role for use of primary research? If so, how might this add value to your overall research?
What do you think are the next steps in conducting your research prior to our next meeting?
Click the icon below to see an important note to supervisors.
Once the student has written and submitted their first reflection on the RPPF and this has been initialled and dated by the supervisor, no changes are to be made to these comments. EE examiners expect to see the progression of ideas, thoughts, and reflections from the three mandatory reflection comments. So, if a student makes any changes at a later stage of the process, this undermines the authenticity of the experience and could raise concerns about academic integrity. Hence, making subsequent changes can influence how EE examiners mark the essay under assessment criterion E (engagement).
The purpose of the second or interim reflection session is to check that the student can demonstrate the progress they have made in their research. The student should be able to discuss challenges they have encountered, offer their own potential solutions, and seek advice from the supervisor if necessary in order to move forward.
Prior to the second mandatory reflection session, students should have:
attempted to refine a focused and appropriate research question (RQ) for the essay
carried out appropriate and significant research
gathered and recorded relevant evidence, information, and/or secondary research data
reviewed and consolidated the methodologies used
formulated arguments based on the evidence collected thus far
added to the bibliography (work in progress) for the research. This should include both secondary research data sources as well as academic research into the topic.
Ideally, by the end of the interim reflection session, the student and supervisor should both agree on the following:
a clear and focused research question (RQ)
a viable argument on which to base the essay
a sufficient range of appropriate secondary sources (primary sources can be used if they are purposeful, are not available from secondary sources, and add value to the RQ)
a clear plan of the final steps in the EE writing process.
Top tip!
Recall that each formal reflection session is recommended to last around 20 - 30 minutes, and that the total hours of supervision should be between 3 - 5 hours. This means that between the interim session and the completion of the EE, students should continue to see their supervisor as appropriate for support and guidance. However, the third and final mandatory reflection session should not happen until after the extended essay has been completed and submitted.
Also note that if the student or supervisor is not satisfied with the progress, including progress in gathering evidence to answer the research question, further supervision sessions may be appropriate. The student must demonstrate their thinking/reasoning behind this decision in their second reflection on the RPPF. However, they must not go back and make any changes to the comments on the RPPF document for their first mandatory reflection session.
Possible guiding questions for the interim reflection session
What progress have you made and where are you now in the research process?
Has your research question been refined, and does it remain clear and focused?
How are you conducting independent secondary research to address the research question?
What challenges/problems have you faced during the process and what strategies have you used to tackle these issues?
How have you adhered to the school's academic integrity policy?
How has your knowledge and understanding of the topic/question changed?
What academic sources have you used to address the topic and research question?
What further steps/changes need to be made in order to complete the research?
What have you learned that might affect the way you continue and complete the essay?
Have you used a sufficient range of appropriate sources and are you able to critically evaluate the origin of these sources?
Are there any inconsistencies in your reasoning and analysis?
Are all of your arguments coherent and fully justified? Do not allow examiners to question "why?"
Have you provided sufficient evidence to support your arguments?
How have you critically evaluated your research?
Have you checked your work against the EE assessment criteria?
The third and final mandatory reflection session (the viva voce) is a meeting that typically lasts between 20 - 30 minutes and concludes the EE process. Therefore, the meeting should also be seen as an opportunity to celebrate the completion of the essay rather than just a(nother) reflection on what the student has learned from the process.
The final mandatory reflection session should not take place under after the draft essay has been submitted and looked at by the supervisor. This draft is the one and only that supervisors should comment on, so students must submit a full first draft. After commenting on the one full draft, the next version of the essay that the supervisor sees must be the final one submitted to them before the final reflection session (the viva voce).
Remember, the supervisor should have had the opportunity to read the full draft of the essay before the final reflection session is conducted. Note: any student who does not attend their viva voce will lose marks under assessment criterion E (engagement) as the RPPF document will be incomplete.
Following the viva voce, the student must complete the third and final reflection on the RPPF and then submit this to the supervisor to add his/her own comments. The form must then be initialled and dated by the supervisor.
Top tip!
The word count limit for the three mandatory reflections on the RPPF document is 500 words. As a general guideline, the final reflection should be given greater emphasis, so use the following suggested word count limits for each reflection comment on the RPPF:
Comments on the first mandatory reflection session = 150 words
Comments on the interim mandatory reflection session = 150 words
Comments on the final mandatory reflection session = 200 words
An RPPF that is blank, unsubmitted, or written in a language other than that of the essay, will be awarded a 0 for criterion E.
The final mandatory reflection session also provides the opportunity for supervisor to ask the student a variety of open-ended questions to elicit holistic evidence of the student’s learning experience, as well as to confirm the authenticity of the student’s own ideas as well as their research and findings. This will support the supervisor prior to completing the supervisor comments on the RPPF document. Students have the opportunity to reflect on their successes and the challenges encountered in the research process.
Top tip!
Students are not permitted to make any further changes to the final draft of the essay once it has been submitted to the supervisor. The only exception to this rule is if the supervisor identifies any administrative errors that can be fixed without changing any of the contents of the essay.
Hence, it is vital that students are reminded to ensure that their essay meets all formatting and submission requirements of the IB before the essay is submitted for electronic upload on IBIS.
Once the final draft of the essay has been submitted to the supervisor, it is the supervisor’s responsibility to ensure that no changes are made. This is particularly important in schools where students are allowed to upload their essays on IBIS.
Possible guiding questions for the final reflection session
What have you learned both in terms of the topic and the research process?
Which of the five ATL skills do you feel you have developed most during this process?
With reference to the topic and research question, what did you initially think and how has this changed (what do you think now)?
To what extent were you able to answer the research question?
How appropriate/realistic do you feel your original plans/ideas were?
What are the successes in this process that you are most proud of?hat was the most rewarding aspect of the entire process?
What has been the most rewarding thing for you in this process?
Which aspects of the IB Learner Profile have you developed most during the process of completing your EE?
How will this experience prepare you for future work of this nature at University or in the workplace?
What advice would you give to next year's cohort of students completing their Extended Essays?
Top tip!
In the vast majority of cases, and unless there are major problems, the final mandatory reflection session should start and end in a positive way. After all, the viva voce is an opportunity to celebrate the learning and successes of the students during the whole process. Completion of the Extended Essay is a great achievement for students (I do not know of any IB teacher who has taken the time to write their own extended essay and had this scrutinised by another professional using the assessment criteria!)
Return to the Extended Essay homepage
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