As you read, Yancey believes that “reflection” allows students to become agents of their own learning. Other theorists view reflection as a means of looking back so that we can understand how to move forward. After reading Yancey's theory of reflection, I want you to reflect on reflection. Using specific evidence from the reading respond to the following questions:
*What is Yancey's theory of reflection? How does she connect it to composition?
***Note: she defines reflection in several different ways, so I'm not looking for everyone to use the exact same definition. Use the one that stuck out to you or that you were drawn to.
*Make your own connections between reflection and writing--where does reflection fit into the writing process? To your writing process?
*Why is reflection "important" to you as a writer, a thinker, and a knowledge-maker?
250-450 words. Engage with your peers.
Due: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 by class time.
Throughout high school, reflection was always just called revising because that’s all we really did. After reading Yancy’s piece, I believe that reflection is a very useful tool in successful writing, and in analyzing one’s rhetorical situation. “In other words, we learn to understand ourselves through explaining ourselves to others. To do this, we rely on a reflection that involves a checking against, a confirming, and a balancing of self with others.” This is my preferred definition of reflection from the piece because I believe that to truly reflect, one needs to share their rhetorical situation with others to provoke response. Yancy connects reflection to composition saying, “In the composing of any text, the writer attempts to create novel responses based on new ways of seeing the situation, the purpose, the audience, the genre, and hence the material.” Therefore, when a writer composes a piece, they are trying to evoke response by use of many literary devices that we have touched on so far this year. She goes on to say that when composing an event one needs to look over, revise, and hypothesize based on the audience, genre, and rhetorical situation that were chosen to provoke change. After reading this, I no longer believe that reflection should just be done at the end of a paper, but should be used throughout to see if the paper is on topic and makes sense. It is also a good way to check the purpose, and see if the point is going across to the audience in the correct way. Reflection is important to me because it basically creates a study guide of what would I could do better in my writing, and what I can change to create a perfect finished product.
ReplyDeleteLike Yancey said on page 6, I believe “reflection includes the three processes of projection, retrospection (or review) and revision. As I think about my own idea of reflection, I would say that becoming “agents of our own learning” is the same thing as “looking back in order to understand how to move forward.” As students and regular human beings we strive for an education in order to learn and move forward about any given subject we may be interested in. Reflection allows us to go back and analyze are flaws to further understand our goals. Brookfield suggests that reflection engages in frequent and deliberate self-awareness, which is critical with composition. Yancy connects reflection to composition saying, “In the composing of any text, the writer attempts to create novel responses based on new ways of seeing the situation, the purpose, the audience, the genre, and hence the material.” Therefor it seems that all of our writing becomes based on our previous reflections and revisions in attempt to reach a higher understanding in any subject further down the road. Similarly, in my own writing process I think that reflection allows us to identify our flaws, learn from our mistakes, and move forward with a new perspective and approach. As a writer, I think reflection is important because without revisions and ability to analyze our mistakes we as human beings could never move forward. Reflection is the base to my next attempt; it allows me to thoroughly understand my errors and what I could have done to prevent them. The process of being self-aware of your own flaws and mistakes is the most important component to an education in order to move forward with your work.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read this piece of writing, all I could think about was revising. I agree with Jacy because in high school that is all we did. I feel like reflection is a stronger way to revise a piece of writing. Instead of just correcting punctuation and spelling errors, it is really getting in depth with the writing. Reflecting is really getting in depth with your writing and not just scratching the surface. “Case study a methodology, then, and a focus on the individual student composing aloud, trying to get the writing right with the self: prime components of early research composing process.” I think that this is one of the best ways to reflect about a paper, because in some writing it can make sense in your head, but when it is read aloud you can catch so many more mistakes. It is hard to do with every piece of writing, but if you do it is definitely worth it. Yancy connects reflection with being rhetorical. “Known principally for his definition of the reflective practitioner, Schon argues that it is by reflecting on our own work- by knowing it, by reviewing it, by discerning patterns in it, by projecting appropriately from those patterns, and by using such projections to hypothesize a new way of thinking about a situation- that we theorize our own practices; that we come to know and understand our work and perhaps thus improve it.” So this is pretty much saying that reflection should be going through you mind all the way through the paper. It is good to do it at the very end so you get your ideas all down but it is definitely good to keep in your mind as you are writing the paper. Reflection is important to me because if I didn’t revise and think through as I was writing it would seem like I just wrote down a whole bunch ideas with out connecting them to each other. This will help me put all of my writing together and make the ending product put together, and easy to read.
ReplyDeleteYancey believes that reflection is the way that we look at our accomplishments, and move forward with them. We are able to reflect on what we have done as writers, using this as a base to better our writing. Throughout the writing process reflection can be used in order to make a composition better. Rather than simply writing a paper and leaving it as is, reflection can help a student better rethink and reanalyze what they are trying to convey. She claims that what happens, “through reflection, is extraordinary.” She states that reflection is something that is “woven into curriculum.”
ReplyDeleteAccording to Yancey, reflection is not simply one-dimensional. Rather, there are many types of reflection. These are: reflection-in-action, constructive reflection, and reflection-in-presentation. Reflection-in-action is the type of reflection that occurs on a daily basis. It is was happens when a writer hypothesizes and analysis their particular writing. Constructive reflection is the end effect of reflection. It is the overall reflection that occurs over time, and is more generalized than other forms of reflection. Lastly, reflection-in-presentation is when reflection is used within a presentation like a portfolio. It can be something like a written reflection. Teacher’s trying to reflect and analyze on their effectiveness can use this.
I think that reflection is tremendously important to the writing process. Like Jacey, I believe that it should be used throughout the entire writing process rather than just at the end. Without it, writing would not be as complex or interesting. Reflection is how a writer can re-evaluate their piece of rhetoric in order to make it better. It can also be used at the end of a writing process to reflect on what the writer did that was successful. They can then take this and use it in future writing projects.
I constantly use reflection in my own writing. My first draft is nearly never the same as my final draft. Throughout the writing process I use reflection to re-evaluate and restate what I am trying to convey within my writing. I agree with Jill that reflection is a key part of revision. Like Jill, I believe that reflection is a deeper form of analysis. It allows us to focus on the rhetorical situation, and not simply syntax.
Yancey believes that reflection is the way that we look at our accomplishments, and move forward with them. We are able to reflect on what we have done as writers, using this as a base to better our writing. Throughout the writing process reflection can be used in order to make a composition better. Rather than simply writing a paper and leaving it as is, reflection can help a student better rethink and reanalyze what they are trying to convey. She claims that what happens, “through reflection, is extraordinary.” She states that reflection is something that is “woven into curriculum.”
ReplyDeleteAccording to Yancey, reflection is not simply one-dimensional. Rather, there are many types of reflection. These are: reflection-in-action, constructive reflection, and reflection-in-presentation. Reflection-in-action is the type of reflection that occurs on a daily basis. It is was happens when a writer hypothesizes and analysis their particular writing. Constructive reflection is the end effect of reflection. It is the overall reflection that occurs over time, and is more generalized than other forms of reflection. Lastly, reflection-in-presentation is when reflection is used within a presentation like a portfolio. It can be something like a written reflection. Teacher’s trying to reflect and analyze on their effectiveness can use this.
I think that reflection is tremendously important to the writing process. Like Jacey, I believe that it should be used throughout the entire writing process rather than just at the end. Without it, writing would not be as complex or interesting. Reflection is how a writer can re-evaluate their piece of rhetoric in order to make it better. It can also be used at the end of a writing process to reflect on what the writer did that was successful. They can then take this and use it in future writing projects.
I constantly use reflection in my own writing. My first draft is nearly never the same as my final draft. Throughout the writing process I use reflection to re-evaluate and restate what I am trying to convey within my writing. I agree with Jill that reflection is a key part of revision. Like Jill, I believe that reflection is a deeper form of analysis. It allows us to focus on the rhetorical situation, and not simply syntax.
Yancey’s theory of reflection consists of three parts: reflection-in-action, constructive reflection, and reflection-in-presentation. It basically comes down to the student becoming aware of the flaws of their work and taking an active role in their learning process. With reflection comes a broader and fuller grasp of where flaws and potential gaps occur in a piece of writing. I feel that she connects it to composition by making it an integral part of any finished piece. When she gave the story about when she was the head of that writing program at Purdue she said she didn’t want to judge the students on the single impromptu essay. This shows that she thinks it is an essential part of any composition.
ReplyDeleteThe definition that stuck with me the most, probably because it seemed to be repeated so many times throughout the article, is that reflection is “to ask students to participate with [the teachers], not as objects in [their] study, but as agents of their own learning”.
I have to agree with Jillian and Jacy in that in high school reflection was much more about surface errors and revision instead of deep introspective analysis of what is wrong with a piece and what could be done better next time. In terms of my writing process I suppose I try and actively reflect, probably after each paragraph if not after each sentence. Then once the rough draft is done I usually need a new set of eyes to look at it and then through explaining myself to that person or reading it over and taking their comments, I’m better able to improve my understanding of the paper, and the content itself.
I think reflection is a key part of the learning process. I think that it is something that everyone does and just because no one had pointed it out or defined it until Yancey, I believe people do it as a part of their process either consciously or subconsciously anyways.
I agree with both Jacy and Jillian with the reasoning that reflection provides a better version of editing. Sure grammar errors among other things are very important when writing a piece and getting your point across, but to reflect on a piece you have written gives an analysis of your own work. It’s a critique worthy to expand your mind and further progress your paper. Yancey (who I guess is a woman…) looks at reflection as “a means of going beyond the text to include a sense of the ongoing conversations that texts enter into.” I believe this definition, or way of looking at reflection is accurate. Reflection is an analysis of your own writing. While analyses of writing occur often, an analysis of your own writing gives you something more to dig into. You start crossing why you’re writing what you’re writing and questioning what you’re trying to say. While it can be frustrating, it is very helpful in changing and perfecting a piece of writing. I think reflection should come after a first or second draft. An in-depth reflection can ask questions the writer needs to dig into the piece or their mind to answer. That makes them think and really look at their piece of writing, rhetorical situation and purpose of writing in a new way. Reflection is very important as not only a writer, but also a person. Reflecting on actions is the same as reflecting on a piece of writing. You think about why, how and what you did the same way you think about why you’re writing something, the way you’re writing it, the approach and many other aspects. It gives an outside perspective to something, but it’s not random. It’s still very intimate and personal for the writer. Multiple reflections should occur within a writing process.
ReplyDeleteI think that the most valid point Yancy makes is that there are many many versions of "reflection." As Yancy states, reflection "can mean revision [...]; it can mean self-assessment [...]; it can mean and analysis of learning that takes place in and beyond the writing class; it can entail projection [...]; and it can mean all of the above." Even though he then states that for the purpose of his argument, he is using reflection as "process by which we know what we have accomplished [...] and the products of those processes," I think that all the ways he brings about reflection are relevant. Much like "new knowledge" and "learning," I feel as if reflection can very much depend on the individual. I understand that simply reflecting alone is what the focus is, but it's the way that we reflect on our assignments that really shows what we're trying to accomplish. Yancy goes on and concludes that "Reflection, then, is the dialectical process by which we develop and achieve, first, specific goals for learning; second, strategies for reaching those goals; and third, means of determining whether or not we have met those goals or other goals." In short, he's just going over the basic revision and editing process I feel. To me, it sounds like he is trying to give each step in the revising process a certain type of reflection, which although it is good to think about in that sense, it is also rather redundant. Like Molly said, "sure grammar errors among other things are very important when writing a piece and getting your point across, but to reflect on apiece you have written gives you an analysis of your own work." I think that is all good and well, but reflection should go a little further. By that, I mean you should be able to try and read your piece from a different perspective when you are reflecting on it and see if what you're try to say is still sound, concrete, and coherent. I try to take this approach while writing to save time, however, it can't always be done that way which is why I agree with just about everyone on this post by saying that you should reflect over a piece more than a few times during the process of composing it before you can truly say that you have reflected on your piece.
ReplyDeleteIn the piece about reflection, I found the most interesting part not to directly relate to composition, because I think that is the easiest way to define reflection, but in terms of the insight they give teachers into how students learn. She states that reflection “makes student’s an agent of their own learning” and also cites a source of someone noting that utilizing reflection is one of the indicating factors of a “good” teacher. The reason that this strikes me as the most important way she characterizes reflection is further explained when she says that “they (students) too are intelligent agents who can engage in frequent and deliberate self- awareness”, this really hit home for me because I often times feel like as a student, we are all treated as uniform beings that are trained to mechanically do assignments and end at that. It is rare that we are requested to take a minute and think about what we have written, what it means to us, and how it will contribute to our future learning, although we are perfectly capable of doing so when asked. That is why utilizing reflection is imperative in order to show teachers how we learn, it provides insight into our minds that would not be obvious just by reading the writing to turn in. In a way, reading a student’s reflection to their own work is like reading their personal diary for writing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with my classmates with the idea that there are many different types of reflection, and that everyone has their own way of doing so. For me, reflection has never been a strong point, both because I have rarely been asked to do so before this course, and as a result of that have not developed that aspect of my critical thinking abilities. The only type of reflection I had ever engaged in was probably its most generalized and least powerful form, simply proofreading for mistakes. Since I have started to reflections on my work in this class I really can see when I am doing the bare minimum for an assignment, when I should be doing better, but I also appreciate how I am beginning to grow as a writer.
Although reflection has not been a significant aspect of my writing process in the past, I do intend to make it have a place in my writing process in the future. I am not guaranteeing that I am going to write a big long critique of my piece, but I will consider it more than I do currently.
In the piece about reflection, I found the most interesting part not to directly relate to composition, because I think that is the easiest way to define reflection, but in terms of the insight they give teachers into how students learn. She states that reflection “makes student’s an agent of their own learning” and also cites a source of someone noting that utilizing reflection is one of the indicating factors of a “good” teacher. The reason that this strikes me as the most important way she characterizes reflection is further explained when she says that “they (students) too are intelligent agents who can engage in frequent and deliberate self- awareness”, this really hit home for me because I often times feel like as a student, we are all treated as uniform beings that are trained to mechanically do assignments and end at that. It is rare that we are requested to take a minute and think about what we have written, what it means to us, and how it will contribute to our future learning, although we are perfectly capable of doing so when asked. That is why utilizing reflection is imperative in order to show teachers how we learn, it provides insight into our minds that would not be obvious just by reading the writing to turn in. In a way, reading a student’s reflection to their own work is like reading their personal diary for writing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with my classmates with the idea that there are many different types of reflection, and that everyone has their own way of doing so. For me, reflection has never been a strong point, both because I have rarely been asked to do so before this course, and as a result of that have not developed that aspect of my critical thinking abilities. The only type of reflection I had ever engaged in was probably its most generalized and least powerful form, simply proofreading for mistakes. Since I have started to reflections on my work in this class I really can see when I am doing the bare minimum for an assignment, when I should be doing better, but I also appreciate how I am beginning to grow as a writer.
Although reflection has not been a significant aspect of my writing process in the past, I do intend to make it have a place in my writing process in the future. I am not guaranteeing that I am going to write a big long critique of my piece, but I will consider it more than I do currently.