Yancey believes that “reflection” allow 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 and that perhaps you were drawn to.
*Make your own connections between reflection and composing--where does reflection fit into the composing process? To your composing process?
*Why is reflection "important" to you as a composer, a thinker, and a knowledge-maker?
Guidelines: same as normal.
Due: Monday, February 14, 2011.
Before I read Yancey’s piece, I defined what I thought reflection is. To me reflection is taking a look at something –maybe it’s looking at what has happened or what you think will happen, absorbing this material and having your own thoughts on it combined with the facts. It’s kind of like remediation- you take the original, think about it , and then add your own thoughts while keeping facts of the original to produce a new piece, and this is where composing comes in.
ReplyDeleteYancey, in one version of a definition, describes reflection as “as a mode of behavior indicative of growth of consciousness” (Yancey, 6). This stuck out to me because it seems like it applies to the definition I originally thought of; we all have a consciousness, but growth to it to me means reflection, thinking deeper about the subject matter and adding personal thoughts. Yancey says to her this definition is “ a means of going beyond the text to include a sense of the ongoing conversations that texts enter into” (Yancey, 5). This to me means that you have a text, that ignites conversations that are “ongoing”—the growth of consciousness thinking beyond the text.
I think composing is heavily connected with reflection. Reflection, combined with Yancey’s position and my own, is being given a text, and within yourself looking beyond it and adding personal thoughts on the original piece. Then when you compose, you have certain opinions and insight that are combined with the original text or subject matter that you use to write. When I compose, I like to sit and think about what I am writing about. For instance when I began the composing process for the newsletter, I thought about what voice meant to me, how could I rawly define this? Then I looked at what scholars had to say about voice. From then on, I quoted scholars and input my own knowledge. Writing came easily to me after this.
Reflection is important to me as a composer, thinker, and knowledge maker because it is how new light and insight is shed on material. For composing, it is necessary to reflect on what scholars or teachers had to say because they have knowledge I may not know yet, then I try to add my own flare and thoughts to what they said. As a thinker, reflection is how I form my opinions on things that have occurred. As a knowledge maker, I think that we learn from what has happened or what was written, and we develop new thoughts on it which keeps the knowledge process going.
Yancey’s has many different definitions of the word reflection, but the one that stuck out to me the most was also agreeing with Alexis, “as a mode of behavior indicative of growth of consciousness” (Yancey, 6). Reflection can be done in a multiple amount of ways, but when we reflect I believe it comes from our own valued view and opinion. When we reflect, whether it be on something we composed or someone else, we can grow from the values of others and ourselves. We reflect back and realize things that we may not have understood the first time (this brings growth and behavior to the table). Yancey also mentions other various ways to describe the word reflection, but going beyond what one is used to creates various opportunities to engage in better writing, better conversations, and an overall better sense of communication. When we reflect, we can off of others, changing behavior and growing in many ways. Yancey presents ways of reflection that even I had never thought about before. Reflecting back on her terms brought a whole new understanding of the word to me.
ReplyDeleteReflection and composing have a lot to do with each other. Without composing, we would not be able to reflect. What would we have to go off of? Not much of anything to be honest and I think that when we compose we do so with the intention of someone soon being able to reflect. It could be to give us advice on how our composing process is, or it can be to simply gain a ‘rise’ or some sort of emotion out of the person. In my composing process, reflection is key for me. Whenever I write something, I am always reflecting back on how I wrote it. Sometimes, I am just not in the mood to write and my writing can come out kind of sloppy. I always ask either peers or teachers for reflection suggestions to make my writing stronger than its original piece. It allows me, like Yancey talks about, to become my own teacher in a way.
Reflection is very important to me as a composer, a thinker, and a knowledge-maker. As a composer, it builds on my writing. It’s important to have the reflection of others, because what may be good to you may not be good to the audience. It’s so important to me in being a thinker for something as simple as needing advice. It could be needing advice on an assignment, a certain situation, or even just needing insight for my own well being. Reflecting on mistakes I have made has made me into a knowledge-maker. We know that we all make mistakes, but when I reflect on them it shows me my true character, who I am and not the person who made those mistakes. Reflection is a huge part of my life in both the composing world and my own personal experiences. Without reflection, our behavioral and learning process’ might not continue to cultivate and be as prudent.
Yancey essentially describes Reflection as a means of going beyond the text to include a sense of the ongoing conversations that texts enter into. She allows her students to inherently become “authoritative informants” on the material; students were regarded as a crucial, informed, authoritative source- the primary source. In my opinion, reflection fits into the beginning stages of the composition process, unless the composition is completely original, for example, a poem or a fiction work. In order to write and complete any thinking process, you need to contemplate and become an expert on the material before you intend on forming a composition. Take for example, the intense Classical rhetoric test that Dr. Fleck gave us last week in ENC3021. If you were not an expert, or as Yancey states, an informant on the material, there was no possible way that you were able to complete the five short answer questions and compose a full essay. In which case, you were not able to successfully and accurately compose. In my personal experience with composition, I have to brainstorm, in essence, according to Yancey, a part of reflection’s definition. Reflection is incredibly important to my process of definition because of my habit of reviewing and organizing information; in order to take that part of the composition process out, I would have to redefine my process as a writer, and who wants to do that? Instead, I can fully adapt Yancey’s definition of reflection to my habits as a thinker and knowledge maker, and agree with her definition as it relates to students.
ReplyDeleteI have never really thought about how much reflection really is a crucial part of the composing process. I mean, if you can’t evaluate your work, how can you learn from it to move forward and grow as a writer? Yancey’s theory of reflection has many different components to it and there were many that I can identify with. She states definitively that, “reflection will be 1) the processes by which we know what we have accomplishment by which we articulate accomplishment and 2) the products of those processes…” (6). So, in essence, she believes that reflection is a process and a product. It is “a means of going beyond the text”(5). It requires us to look at all aspects of our writing and think of it from a different prospective, a different view. Along with this, Alexis brings up a good point that, through reflection, “new light and insight is shed on material”.
ReplyDeleteFor me, reflection is a key process because I can evaluate without a biased view. I can seriously take into consideration what I have written and criticize or praise my work accordingly. I don’t have to make it look good to make my work seem worthy. I can simply reflect, knowing that through reflection I am learning. And when I learn from my work, my mistakes, my inconsistencies, I grow and become a better writer than I was before I wrote the piece. In reflection, “we look forward and cast backward”. We see what could have been if we had done it differently and we look back to see what we did do and how we could have improved. Also, through reflection we articulate. It is not merely thoughts in our head as to what we did right/wrong. It is concrete evidence and a conscious reality that we could have done things differently. Gbyrne4 says that, “without composing, we would not be able to reflect.” It’s kind of like if we did not have one medium, how could we remediate? We have to have the foundation first. Composing gives us that medium, the base to which we can grow.
Reflection is important to me as a composer because, when I reflect on my writing, I become a better writer. I catch things that I otherwise would not see and I learn from it. I realize I am indeed making headway and growing in the process. I can look back and see the little baby steps I took to get to the final draft. As a thinker, I can reflect on my goals. You have to reflect on everything you do in life. You learn from your mistakes. If you cannot effectively evaluate your decisions and reflect on what you have done, it will be hard to learn from your experiences. Reflection “can mean revision, of one’s goals…self-assessment…analysis of learning...”(6). You revise, assess, analyze. When I reflect on my goals, I can see where I have fallen short and need improvement and also where I have done well. As a knowledge-maker, I like what gbyrne4 says about “being able to reflect on our mistakes shows our true character”. I feel that is very true. You have to know when you have screwed up and need to fix something and own up to it. When you have a problem, you “have to know when a method works well” (12). And this is done by reflection. I should be an agent to my own learning. No one can do it for me. Only I can, and being able to reflect allows for growth that is necessary to survive in life.
Reflection is undoubtedly a “mode of behavior indicative of growth of consciousness”, as gbyrne4 and Alexis mentioned. But I feel like that definition is mainly describing the result of reflection more than what is really happening when we reflect. So, the definition Yancey presented that was most resonant with me was when she says reflection “entails looking forward to goals we might attain, as well as casting backward to see where we have been.” To me, this is the best definition because it encompasses the process of what’s going on when we reflect, not just the result. It shows that we “project and review” our compositions. Basically, after writing, we look back and think about what it is we’ve written as well as contemplating what we are going to add to that. If we are reading someone else’s work, we take what we’ve read that and think about that person’s thoughts, then internalize the ideas that have stuck with us and add our own thoughts to them.
ReplyDeleteComposition and reflection are closely related. I believe that the process of reflection- that Yancey says includes revision and refining, is crucial to creating and finalizing a successful composition. Without revisiting your work and adding to it, the writing would lack the depth of a well thought out and well written work. Also, I agree with gbyrne4 that “without composing, we would not be able to reflect.” You have to have something written in order to reflect, and that the point of writing at all is to have someone reflect on your thoughts, whether or not it is the composer reflecting on their own process, or a reader reflecting on the ideas.
I completely agree with Amanda S. when she describes the importance of reflection to her as a writer. I think we do become better writers when we analyze and contemplate both the successes and shortcomings of our work. By employing the process of reflection, we grow as composers and learn to become self-aware when writing. If we do that, we solidify our own writing process, and learn what works and what doesn’t work for us. As a thinker, I think reflection can go a long way in giving me a chance to pause and ask myself about what I’m doing when writing, or anything else for that matter. Is what I’m doing effective and meaningful? If yes, then I’m probably on the right track. Reflection definitely gives me a chance to expand my mind, form opinions, and rely on myself to create the best possible outcome through “goal-setting, revisiting, and refining,” processes that Yancey suggests when reflecting. As a knowledge-maker, I agree with Alexis that “we develop new thoughts.. which keeps the knowledge process going.” It reminds me of a snowball rolling down a mountain, constantly gaining snow. If you start with a composition and then reflect on it, then you develop a new thought; then someone else will develop another, and they will all add to the original idea. That keeps the knowledge process going.
Yancey does define reflection in a variety of ways, but I thought the most interesting one was when she defined reflection as a way of studying that helps students become “agents of their own learning” (p. 5) I thought it was a good point Yancey made about the way we tend to view the process of writing and reflection as being completed with the finished text and how that is an inadequate concept because of the way it doesn’t allow us to reflect on the writing after the discussions the writing is a part of take place. I was intrigued by that because I think it takes reflection from a simple process of going back and trying to change a few wordings or alter some content to a process that is much more comprehensive and informative when it comes to writing. If we are able to examine these discussions texts enter as well, we can get a better sense of how well the audience was reached, or what was effective and ineffective.
ReplyDeleteYancey discusses reflection in writing as a concept involving 3 processes: goal-setting, revisiting, and refining; text visiting in the light of retrospection; and the articulating of what learning has taken place. I thought this was a pretty handy definition that covers the diversity of the processes involved in thorough and helpful reflection. Obviously all writing has goals that it is attempting to satisfy, and revisiting and refining these goals is commonly needed as our texts develop and change. Also, I thought the last process was a really interesting idea. It’s easy to go back and look at our writing and see some surface level changes that need to be made or feel like we can trace the process we went through to write the piece, but if we can articulate what we have learned from the reflection and the writing, then genuine reflection has probably taken place and the writing (and those conversations it may have entered) has been thoroughly thought upon.
For me, reflection plays a huge role in my composing process because I’m still just a student. Of course even seasoned and extremely talented writers can benefit greatly from reflection, but as somebody studying writing with the goal of doing it for a living after graduation, it’s important to make an honest effort to reflect on my writing, including its strengths and weaknesses, no matter how tough it may be. I also like the point gbyrne makes about the role that reflection plays in our learning processes. Reflection isn’t just a matter of better analyzing my own writing, but reflection is an essential part of our learning in all areas. I also like Amanda Saxton’s mention of the quote “you have to know when a method works well” because reflection is ultimately about assessing our own hits and misses and improving from them.
I know Yancey and her views on reflection all to well now that I have just finished my keyword project on reflection. I read most of the book and realized how many different definitions of reflection there really are. My favorite definition in the assigned chapter is when she uses reflection “as a mode of behavior indicative of growth of consciousness” (4). This was probably the strongest point I was trying to get across in my newsletter. I wanted people to see that through reflection, they are learning not only how to be better writers, but they are also learning to understand themselves as writers. Without knowing how to reflect, they never know what to look for when reflecting. And without reflection, they can never really improve.
ReplyDeleteYancey says she is not interested in pauses and rescannings. But she is “interested in reflection as a means of go[ing] beyond the text to include a sense of the ongoing conversations that tests enter into” (5). There is more to reflection than just revision. It is a step deeper into the writer’s mind, pulling question about feeling rather than bad grammar or punctuation. She wants her students to go beyond just reading the text and develop more of a connection with it. It makes for a better composing process when one can understand themselves and their habits and how to fix or improve them.
Reflection, for me, has always been a bit difficult because I never really knew what I was looking for. I take things out here and there, but I never think very deeply on how I feel about certain parts of my writing. And I am always pretty biased because it is my own work, and it’s difficult for me to judge myself. I either really love something I write, and then sometimes my teacher shoots it down, or I flat out hate it and then my teacher shoots it down as well. I think it’s interesting how everyone is different in their reflection process. Amanda Saxton says she doesn’t have a problem with being biased when it comes to reflecting her own work. I think it’s awesome that she is able to do that, and I feel like she would be a good person to ask for help with reflection when you can’t see passed your own writing and understand your mistakes.
I think the most important part is to understand yourself. Then you can improve. I don’t think it’s possible to move on to the next step in the composing process without reflection. Especially if you are trying to move up to higher education or careers in writing. It is imperative to look back on old work and fix whatever you can to fit who you are now. You are constantly changing and with that, so should your work.
When I think about the word “reflection” different things come to mind. An obvious one would be when someone looks into a mirror or a lake and sees another model of themselves. It’s basically a representation of something repeated. I like the quote and definition of “reflection” that Alexis uses in her blog.
ReplyDelete“Yancey, in one version of a definition, describes reflection as “as a mode of behavior indicative of growth of consciousness.”’ She got from this that reflection is a conscious. Even though reflection is emotional, it’s a conscious act to think about your composition. Ask yourself, was this effective, did it strike emotion? It seems a lot of people are confusing reflection with revision. I believe reflection is the emotional aspect of the composition. These are the thoughts and feelings and process we should think about after we are done writing. Revision is more like editing and refining the work. Reflection is important to us as writers, thinkers, and knowledge-makers. It is important because it allows the writer to think about their work, and what they are trying to get out of it. It allows writers to look back on their writing and evaluate it.
I agree with Grace when she says “We reflect back and realize things that we may not have understood the first time (this brings growth and behavior to the table).” I think reflection allows us to look back on our writing as a whole for the first time. It allows us to piece together the meaning and the point of the composition.
It is difficult to dig up different ideas for reflection. It’s one of those terms that we assume we know everything about. However, the basic meaning is common sense. It’s the process after we compose something that allows us to view the finished product and express our ideas and feelings toward the product and the process of compiling it.
Yancey sees reflection as "a means of going beyond the text to include a sense of the ongoing conversations that texts enter into". I liked this definition most because of the connotation it carries, and that is that a text truly is a conversation with an audience and the discourse doesn't end on the last page. Yancey's theory of reflection takes into account that what a text carries continues to expand a person's knowledge prior to reading it. She mentions "self assessment" and "revision" as key points that allow reflection to better our understanding of the writing process. Yancey states "Reflection makes possible a new kind of learning as well as a new kind of teaching." It contributes to the writing curriculum in uncovering the events that take place in a student composers mind in retrospect of their writing.
ReplyDeleteTaking all this into account, reflection is an examination of our writing. It's a written account that works to reveal the underlying aspects of composing. This is important to me as writer and to all of us because writing requires a lot of trial and error. It involves many drafts, corrections, and realizations. Reflection helps us to become aware of our own voice.
Although Sam mentions that people are mistaking revision and reflection for one another, Yancey clearly defines revision as a component of reflection. It may not be "revision" in the form of proofreading or editing, but it is a "re-vision" of the completed text. I agree with this idea that reflection is looking at the work from an external position outside of the composition state.
What observation is to science, reflection is to composition. In order for the English curriculum to improve, observations must be made in order to identify where our writing originates from and the ways that we get it across.If writing, as Bitzer says, is a response to an exigence, then our reflection is a response to the composition exigence: that we haven't fully grasped how writing works. The only way to accomplish this is to continue an internal discourse until we are able to fully know ourselves and our composition.
Reflection, as defined by Yancey, is “a mode of behavior indicative of growth of consciousness” (Yancey, 6) As a writer, when we reflect on our finished work, we are able to evaluate ourselves from a different perspective than when we were writing the piece itself. I believe that reflection fits into the final stage of composing, because its only possible to do so at the end of a writing a piece. I disagree with BNicoleJ when she says that reflection belongs at the beginning of composing a piece. As mentioned by Amanda, part of Yancey’s definition of reflection is “recognizing accomplishment” and viewing our piece from a different perspective. As we are writing, we cannot view a piece from a different perspective other than the stance of the writer. We also cannot have reflection anywhere else than at the end of the composition process because we haven’t accomplished anything until we finish said composition.
ReplyDeleteFor me, reflection is a key part of composition. I have learned, through taking several workshop classes, that being able to reflect on your work from an unbiased perspective is important for growing as an author and composer. Being able to recognize your flaws and strengths from a piece you have already written is one of the only ways to improve holistically as a writer. I agree with Amanda’s perspective in saying that reflection can go beyond the composing process. In life, we must look back at previous experiences and learn from them. Learning from our past, weather it be from writing or life in general, helps us to “prevent the past from repeating itself.” Without reflecting on his or her pieces, an author could go on to make the same types of mistakes over and over again in his or her work, without even noticing.
Reflecting back on my newsletter project, I believe that I could have done some more research and maybe have narrowed down the broad view of circulation I had. I ended up having so much information; I had to cut down my piece several times to fit the information under 1000 words. My favorite part of this project was actually formatting the newsletter. I believe that the best way one could attract freshmen in college is covering the newsletter in bright colors and making it look like a comic book. I believe that marketing to freshmen is pretty much the same as marketing to all undergraduates in college. Nowadays, we all have a very short attention span thanks to the Internet, so we are only attracted to something that hooks us immediately. I know that I would immediately drop anything handed to me on the street if it looked like a standard newsletter. By using bright colors, and a bright and eye catching front page, I believe that my newsletter would be a hit with college freshmen. Hopefully it would hold their attention enough so they can learn a little something about circulation.
Though Yancey has many different in-depth discussions and definitions of the term reflection, the one that I noticed the most happened to be the first. Early in her writing, she explains that she was interested in reflection “as a means of go[ing] beyond the text to include a sense of the ongoing conversations that texts enter into” (Yancey, 5). I took this to mean that once a work is composed, its author must revisit the piece and contemplate the conceptual aspects of the composition, but also the process by which they reached their ideas. In order to get this kind of first person-feedback, Yancey had to use “the idea of students as authoritative informants” (Yancey 5). She explains that while scholars in the field were used to studying the works of students to form theories of composing, she preferred to have her students look at their own work for a number of reasons. The first is that in reflecting on their own work, a student is able to understand what associations and by what process they came to form their ideas and overall flow of writing. Also, a student’s reflection will be unbiased from leaning towards particular composition theories. Lastly, in reflection, a student can explain certain parts of their own processes that no one else can, making them crucial in parts of reflection. She then connects reflection to composition by stating that once students compose, having them reflect on that composition allows them to become “agents of their own learning” (Yancey 5). This is important because if students can accurately and holistically reflect on their work, it will help scholars in their investigation of the practice of classroom teaching of writing.
ReplyDeleteFor me, reflection used to be a nuisance. I can very clearly remember dreading the “reflection” that came with projects. But after a few years of writing classes as well as the readings in this class, I understand that is crucial to the composing process. I definitely agree with Kayla Becker in that “Composition and reflection are closely related” Without reflection, my writing is monotonous. When I look back on a composition, I first consider the ways I conceived my main points, then I analyze the literary techniques I used to make my piece consistent and readable. Revision leads to more cohesive compositions because if I notice a part of my writing that had an impact on the composition as a whole, I will be sure to include or omit it in my next composition, depending on if it had a positive or negative impact. That goes along with what Jay said about “being able to reflect on your work from an unbiased perspective is important for growing as an author and composer.” It’s important to be able to make adjustments to your own compositions because it will improve your revision and overall writing skills. Additionally, reflection is important for the facilitation of learning because a student’s reflection of his/her piece will reiterate key points and concepts that they have learned and will make it easier for them to keep this knowledge in their minds.
Yancey says that when she says talks about reflection in this text she means “ 1)the processes by which we know what we have accomplished and by which we articulate accomplishment and 2) the products of those processes (eg,as in, ‘a reflection’)”. I agree with Yancey when she says this because by accomplishment I think she is referring to the understanding of the text. When a speaker composes a piece it is like Conway say, “it can mean self-assessment, sometimes oriented to the gap between intention and accomplishment”. The composition is a reiteration of a reflection the speaker has in their mind. It is drawn up but the opinion or conclusion the speaker has created out of reflection. When it Is done properly something is drawn out of a reflection. Yancey also states that reflection has three components. “Speaking generally, reflection includes the three processes of projection, retrospection (or review), and revision”. I completely agree with this also. To really reflect a certain understanding or “projection” of a new understanding needs to be made. This is followed by a review of the understanding to make sure it makes sense. Then finally it is time to make a final conclusion and draw it on for everyone to see.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think about Reflection I think about the 2nd organization that I joined on campus. Reflections Modeling Troupe, is what I think about, where our only competition was our Reflections. Yancey describes different views and definitions in this piece.
ReplyDeleteYancey describes reflection as "dialectical, putting multiple perspectives into play with wach other in order to produce insight. Procedurally, reflection entails a looking forward to goals we might attain, as well as a casting backward to see where we have been." This basically means that in order to properly reflect we must first look ahead to see where we want out writing to become or develop into, as well as look behind us, to see what we enjoy or notice something that will distinguish our personal writing from the writings of others. Yancey says that reflection consists of "the three process of projection, retrospection, and revision."
Yancey states that reflection is both a process and a product. By process she means that reflection can be used in different ways. It allows composers the chance to begin to think on a "regular and systematic basis". The product of reflection is informal. This means that reflection is found outside the category of rhetoric and is found in different walks of life. Reflection is a process for you can use it as a verb, which is to reflect. To reflect is to think back on the way you presented something. It becomes a product by having a side conversation of something that was composed by you, going beyond the typical “text” and into the down and dirty area of the things you have tried to place upon others.
Reflection can be a little confusing, at times. It basically states that it can be used at any time during a composer’s process of composing. It makes a composer redefine the way that they compose and think about things. Reflection makes a composer simply draw off of their own experiences and make things happen by just making things become. What I mean by that, is that we as composers, have all of these different techniques of composing and make things seem different than what they are. We place a spin on a typical subject and make readers view it in a completely different way. Making others draw on their personal experiences and reflect on their own thoughts and views.
Reflection is "a mode of behavior indicative of growth of consciousness” (Yancey, 6). This basically means that we have to think deeper and ask more questions to the things that we want to be changed and the reason why we did the things that we did. Basically we need to go beyond the text, and bring in personal feelings and opinions how we can continue to grow outside of the text.