Supporting Reflective Practice: The Design and Implementation of Generative AI Tutors in Postgraduate Psychology Training

Abstract

Fostering deep reflective practice is a crucial component of professional training in health and service professions, yet educators are frequently constrained by the logistic challenges of providing personalised feedback to large cohorts of students. This presentation introduces a teaching innovation designed to meet this challenge: The Skills Practice Agent for RefleCtions (SPARC). SPARC is a generative AI tutor that engages postgraduate psychology students in a Socratic dialogue to deepen their self-awareness and critical evaluation of their practical skills, as a precursor to supervision.

The pedagogical innovation lies in SPARC’s ability to provide a scalable, equitable, and psychologically safe space for facilitating reflective practice. It offers consistent, on-demand support, allowing students to learn at their own pace and allowing educators to work with more nuanced and complex reflections. We will showcase the design and implementation of SPARC, and also provide a live demonstration. SPARC has been trialled in postgraduate psychology units in Trimester 2 2024 and Trimester 1 2025, and has been revised based on feedback and performance. This presentation will share insights from these iterative trials, including an analysis of student usage and feedback, to demonstrate the tool’s utility and impact.