Small EL: Developing Professional Skills Through Mock Interviews
Students refine interviewing through practice and feedback
Activity summary
Through this Small EL activity, students develop interview skills by participating in mock interviews, providing peer feedback, and reflecting on their professional identity. The activity was designed to help students communicate their strengths effectively and prepare for future employment opportunities. Working collaboratively, students practice responding to interview questions, incorporate peer feedback, and connect their experiences to course concepts through structured reflection. By revisiting their performance and identifying specific actions for improvement, students strengthen communication, critical thinking, and professional self-awareness while building confidence for future interviews and workplace interactions.
Important details
- Activity Setting: Online
- Time for activity: 1-2 hours in class
- Assessment Approach: Part of Specifications Grading
- Assessment Type: Peer Assessment
- Weight in Final Grade: 5%
Learning outcomes
- Students acquire and apply professional skills and personal development to behaviour, decision-making and goal setting in work and learning settings.
- Students enhance and articulate an understanding of your personal strengths and how you relate to and collaborate with others (roles, responsibilities).
- Students reflect on and articulate/communicate learnings and make connections between your work and academic experiences.
- Students create goals and plan next steps based on learning for on-going professional development (experiences plus reflections).
Course description
Introduction to the foundational and transferable skills that support success in workplace, volunteer and professional settings. Through a current paid work, volunteer or career exploration experience, students will identify skills that support their success in the experience, reflect on strengths and areas for future growth, and learn how to articulate academic and foundational skills to employers. Foundational skills include; communication, creativity and innovation, problem solving, adaptability and collaboration.
This is a course description from the UCalgary Academic Calendar.
Implementation insights
What worked well?
Giving students multiple opportunities to practice the skills before the assessment worked well, especially when they collaborated in groups and structured their responses to match the required prompt.
What challenges did you encounter?
The instructor often needed to return papers for revision because students did not follow the instructions.
How might students redo/try out or apply these skills in future opportunities?
The instructor expects that students will apply these skills in future interview situations.
Reflection component
- Format for reflection: Written reflection
- Graded: Yes
Sample reflection prompt
"Students are asked how the activity will influence their approach to future interviews and to identify a specific step they can take moving forward."
Final thoughts
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Advice for those seeking to try this activity
Be mindful that students are best supported when they receive sufficient preparatory instruction and clear exemplars in advance as it helps them understand expectations and position themselves for success.
Explore experiential learning further
The Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning Resource Library is an excellent source for further reading about Small EL and experiential learning practices.