Progress check resources   

Progress check 1. A rough outline

Introduction (50–100 words)

  • Restate your learning goal and why you chose it.

  • Briefly outline what you’ve done so far.

Use of Strategies (200–250 words)

  • What strategies, tools, or methods have you used?

  • Give examples from your Portfolio (e.g. annotated articles, interview notes, design drafts).

  • Explain why you chose these approaches.

Feedback & Perspectives (200–250 words)

  • Summarise feedback received (from teacher, peers, mentor, online sources, etc.).

  • Show how you’ve started responding to it.

Time & Resource Management (100–150 words)

  • How have you organised your time so far?

  • Note any adjustments you’ve had to make.

Emerging Insights (50–100 words)

  • What have you learnt about yourself as a learner so far?

  • How will this shape your next steps?

Progress Check 2. A rough outline

Purpose: Reflect on later stages, growth, and preparing for the final appraisal.

Progress Since Check 1 (150–200 words)

Summarise key changes since the first check.

Highlight shifts in your thinking or approach.

Judgements & Decisions (200–250 words)

Which important decisions did you make?

How did you weigh up options?

Link to specific Portfolio evidence (e.g. draft revision, presentation slides, reflection notes).

Further Feedback & Appraisal (200–250 words)

Detail the later feedback you acted on.

Critically appraise how well strategies and feedback worked.

Note what you might have done differently.

Time & Resource Review (100–150 words)

Were your plans effective?

How did you handle unexpected challenges?

Looking Ahead (100–150 words)

How will what you’ve learnt here apply to future study, work, or life?

Set one or two goals for the future.

A basic guide for how to 'script' a Progress Check

1. Identify a Challenge encountered [describe circumstances]

2. Identify the Risk that the challenge produced [in terms of ability to manage time and resources = specifically identify which resources, and why these are at risk]

3. Identify what strategies were available (choices) to respond to the Challenge/Risk, and what action was taken first. Explain reasons for this choice of strategy (why would this have been the simplest/fastest/best way to progress the learning at the time)

  • Mention specific successes and failures with this strategy

  • Mention alternative choices > what strategies were adopted next?

4. Ideally at this point we are mentioning strategies that seek the feedback of others (and why their feedback was important)

5. Give an account of what changed as a result of this Challenge/Risk > because of the way that you chose to manage it:

  • New tools, strategies, approaches to organise your time/resources?

  • New direction with your AIF (a change of your plan?)

  • New ways to gather feedback or others’ perspectives?

Always anchor reflections in Portfolio evidence (e.g. “As shown in my annotated article on climate migration…”).

Use first person (“I realised…”, “I decided…”) — it’s a reflective task.

Keep the writing concise and purposeful; avoid long descriptions of what you did without analysis.

Together, both checks should show a clear growth narrative: starting point → development → self‑appraisal.

Remember, Progress check evidence can be in any form ('Natural Evidence', remember!). It could be:

  • PowerPoint slides

  • Screenshots or still images

  • Images

  • Photographs of handwritten notes

  • Photos of practical experiments

  • Audio recordings

  • Sketches, prototypes, mock-ups