Reflection and Evaluation of Performance
Reflection as an assessable skill
Reflection is not a diary entry; it is structured evaluation against criteria. Know the cycle: plan, perform, evaluate, revise. Understand self-assessment against rubric descriptors, evidence-based judgement (cite a bar, a recording timestamp, a specific moment), and action planning (what you will change, by when, and how you will know it worked).
Concepts to understand
Learn to distinguish description ("I played the second movement") from evaluation ("the second movement lost momentum because I slowed at bar 24 without structural reason") from action ("I will practise bars 20–32 with a metronome and record them weekly"). Understand feedback literacy: how to use teacher and peer comments without defensiveness. Know the value of recordings as evidence and the danger of over-reliance on memory.
Traps
Questions often reward specificity over sentiment. A trap is a reflection that lists feelings without evidence - the diagnosis is lack of measurable criteria. Another is blaming external factors (acoustics, nerves) without identifying a controllable action. A third is confusing effort with improvement.
Worked example
A candidate writes: "My performance was good but I was nervous." Rewrite as: "Intonation drifted in the upper register from bar 40; I will add slow practice with a tuner and record the passage weekly, reviewing against the rubric's accuracy descriptor." Rule of thumb: every reflection sentence should name a moment, a judgement, and a next action.