The Options
Guiding students to the right option for them
It can be tempting to consider one option easier than the other; what is right for the student must come first and care should be taken to guiden them to make a choice that will give them the most rewarding experience. Students have a choice of two options for the reflective project - an essay or a shorter essay with additional format. Both are accompanied by a series of reflections. This page considers Option 2 in more detail than Option 1 as students can find it hard to access without the right help.
How do you help students decide which option of the additional format is right for them?
Sometimes students can discover through careful questioning that Option 2 really is the perfect vehicle for the ethical dilemma they want to explore. Consider the following suggestions and use the worksheet below to help students dicover how a particular format might be used to the best of its advantage. This is also useful for supervisors to help them advise students in the early stages of their reflective project.
A short film (recorded video;7 minutes) or a written film script (700 words)
Choose a film if there are particularly visual ideas that you want to communicate that you might not be able to do in an essay. For example, you may be exploring the physical impact of an ecological issue on the local environment and population and you can successfully illustrate primary evidence of this ethical issue through film. Remember you are not being assessed on your filming ability but you do need to be able to communicate well. You may know nothing about film making but want to learn and this will be a great learning journey.
Mind map your inital ideas for:
... what type of film would best fit the ethical dilemma you are exploring
... whose perspective or perspectives you want to tell the film from
... what you will need to prepare this (pre-production such as story-boarding)
... what you will film it on and how you will film it
... how you will edit this and what advice you need to get going.
... difficulties of logistics: for example permissions for participants, locations or any copyright material you want to cite.
Ready to find out more?
Short film
... is for film The short film option as an additional format is an exciting opportunity. You would be right to think that 7 minutes is quite a challenge but it is also a chance, with the written report,...
A spoken presentation (recorded audio or video; 7 minutes) or a written script (700 words)
Choose a spoken presentation to support a shorter essay if you feel confident that you can present the content orally in an engaging, articulate and convincing way. This is a great format to support a shorter written essay if you want to present the ethical dilemma with a sense of debate especially if you feel very strongly about the issue.
Mind map your initial ideas for:
... what content would be best presented in the shorter essay and the spoken format
... how you could support your presentation visually too
... how you could utilise your voice or body language to support the delivery further
... which elements you find most daunting and which you find most appealing
An interview (recorded audio or video; 7 minutes) or a written script (700 words)
Choose an interview to support a shorter essay if you are fascinated by the way you feel your ethical issue and dilemma can be best presented through interviewing people with interesting perspectives. This is certainly an excellent choice if you are considering journalism as a career choice. You will need to have confidence that your role as inquirer and that your questions can draw out interesting responses from your interviewee.
Mind map your initial ideas for:
... what the interview could convey - look at criteria B and C for help
... what the purpose of questioning might be. Perhaps look into socratic questioning as part of your research
... the ethical ramifications when interviewing someone. Will your editing change the meaning? Does the interviewee have a say in the final piece?
A play (recorded on audio or video; 7 minutes or a written script (700 words)
Choose a play to support a shorter essay if you are particularly interested in expressing your ideas creatively and directing others as this is a fascinating way to do it. Taking the ideas and viewpoints that have emerged from your research on an ethical dilemma and taking advantage of drama, dialogue and stagecraft to explore them has been done by many successful and eminent playwrights.
Mind map your initial ideas for:
... can you successfully create a team to support you in this process? Think of the logistics.
... how you might capture an ethical dilemma in just 7 minutes. Are there examples you might look at for inspiration?
... at what stage of research the play could be fully planned
... what dramatic devices you could/want to utilise in your final piece
... if your ideas would be better expressed in performance or a written script
... the logistics of recording a final piece.
A display (a storyboard or photo essay using up to 15 annotated images and 700 words)
Choose a display to support a shorter essay if your research uncovers the significance of imagery to support the ethical dilemma at the heart of your project. Sometimes there are ethical dilemmas that can be depicted successfully in an image; sometimes the way bias and subjectivity emerges can be captured perfectly in an image rather than extensively in writing. You might be very keen on photography and media, looking to deepen your expertise in this area in preparation for further education or employment - this might be the perfect mode to showcase your talent.
Mind map your initial ideas for:
... how you will source your images. Are you creating the images yourself orare you using secondary sources? Or might there be a reason to use both? How will you avoid plagiarism?
... how you will utilise the additional written comments for your images. This is an area not to be overlooked just because the word count is comparatively small.
... how you will present your ideas. After researching your ethical dilemma extensively, an idea will emerge about what purpose you want your display to have.
Ready to find out more?
Display
...is for Display As an additional format this option stands out from the others; the information given is that this can be up to 15 images annotated with up 700 words. As with the other formats, students...
Deciding on Option 2 worksheet
The short film - A short video with many useful points on structure and simplicity when approaching making a short film. This can expand the activity above when students are deciding on how to use the additional format.
The power of photo essays
One of the additional formats listed is 'a display' which means a 1500-2000 word report with additional 15 images annotated with 700 words. A way of exploring this option is through the medium of the 'photo essay'; there are so many interesting examples out there that these can be real inspiration for students and how they approach this.
The nature of photo essays
Remember the criteria and the overall aim of the reflective project: we want the student to explore and evaluate an ethical dilemma from multiple perspectives. The key is to ensure that the purpose of both the written report and the additional display is firmly set and then the student are able to come up with an imaginative purpose for the display.
What can a photo essay achieve?
Create a narrative
Raise awareness
Educate
Evoke emotion
Advocate for change
The key here is to consider the strengths and limitations of an image without the written word as well as the strengths and limitations of the written word without imagery. What could be the impact of combining both? And then more specifically, does a particular research question centred on an ethical dilemma lend itself well to being explored visually as well as in written format.
Find out more about Display here ...
Display
...is for Display As an additional format this option stands out from the others; the information given is that this can be up to 15 images annotated with up 700 words. As with the other formats, students...
The next step is to see just how many different ways this powerful medium can be used.
Consider the following selection of photo essays and discuss both the ethical dilemma/dilemmas at the heart of them as well as what purpose the images serve. In other words, why not just an article or essay?
Topic: Climate change and natural disasters
Photo essay: 20 Climate Change photos that changed the world
This photo essay from 5th November 2022, is just one example of how photos can capture in an instant change and a new reality whilst allowing the viewer to reflect on what has been and lost. All these photos are powerful in themselves but as a collection that create a unifying beat of the same drum as both local and global consequences quite visible in each picture.
'They are the images that made us sit up and take notice. As world leaders gather for Cop27, these pictures prove that global heating isn’t a distant possibility – it’s already here'[1]
Topic: Global migration and the migrant experience in the 21st Century
Photo Essay 1: Unicef: 'The things we hold on to: Refugee children carry memories of home'[2]
This photo essay from 17th June 2022 was written for the charity Unicef. The opening paragraph captures the purpose of the piece and invites us to imagine ourselves in the shoes of those displaced. It is interesting to consider the way Unicef have used the photo-essay format here to document multiple perspectives unified by one shared characteristic of displacement.
'What would you take if you had only hours – even minutes – to decide before being forced to flee your home? And what if you didn’t know how long you’d be gone, or what would be left of your home should you return?
These are questions that a growing number of refugees have had to confront as new waves of violence and protracted crises worldwide uproot millions from their homes. But even as the global refugee population has more than doubled in the past decade, refugee and displaced children – from Afghanistan to South Sudan to Syria to Ukraine – have something important in common: They all have equal rights. And they need our support to grow, to learn and to thrive in safety'.[2]
Photoessay 2: Photo essay captures the drama, terror and heartbreak of migration[3].
This photoessay, from the Malta Times 28th February 2022, gives a sense of the role of photography in documenting challenging and distressing events truthfully. Pictures like this can prompt fearsome and fearless discussion as they challenge the reader. This photojournalist is also local to the island; interesting to consider how they are activists in their local community.
'A photo essay capturing the drama and fear experienced by migrants at sea by local photojournalist Darrin Zammit Lupi placed second in an international competition held recently as part of Xposure International Photography Festival, in the United Arab Emirates.'[4]
Other resources to explore:
from The Guardian: 21st June 2021 - Documenting violence against migrants in South Africa: a photo-story
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/21/documenting-violence-against-migrants-in-south-africa-a-photo-essay
Warning: this photo-essay is an uncomfortable read about a global ethical issue.