Breaking through the a level effect: A first‐year tutorial in student self‐reflection

The A level experience of geography is often structured around carefully written textbooks which provide comprehensive ‘maps’ to the discipline. Such a structured geography does not encourage sophisticated critical faculties and results in what might be termed the A level effect. Many of the learning outcomes of the first year of a degree programme are designed to remove the impact of this effect. This paper describes a new first‐year tutorial designed to introduce students to techniques of self‐reflection constructed around a critique of their A level experience of geography. The argument is that the introduction of reflective learning practices to first‐year students has an impact on their performance, transforming many passive student listeners into proactive, enthusiastic learners.