Reflection In The Writing Classroom Analysis

After reading the two pieces from Yancey, and Royster and Kirsch, I thought for a while about what the word ‘reflection’ means to me. I have never looked at the word in relation to my writing. Writing has never been a strong (or favorite) suit of mine. I have always despised re-reading/ revising my paper, for the fear of not wanting to seem inadequate to other writers (I would compare it to that of hearing your own voice on a recording, thinking, “Do I really sound like that?”). Besides writing, I would best describe reflection as looking at the past, and analyzing your feelings during that period as well as your current feelings for what took place. I used to not use reflective practices in my daily life, but this year I made it a goal

Yancey explains that after twelve years of education, people do have the understanding of what is going on, but based off of how they were taught, everyone will have their own way of writing and reflecting on those experiences. Through her research, it was found that you could tell the people who did not reflect on his/her writing seen through “flawed products” yet “consistent composing processes”. Reflection is seen as necessary in order to grow as a writer and in “consciousness” and what makes a difference between writers that are, in a sense, better than other writers. Yancey specifies her definition of reflection in two ways, 1) when one knows they have accomplished something, and their feelings and thoughts on those accomplishments, and 2) the outcomes of those thoughts and feelings. She mentions looking forward to possible goals, as well as review of the past. Personally, I have never thought of reflection in a forward-looking

Kirsch have a different perspective on ‘reflection’, referring to it instead as contemplation. They mention two separate, distinct parts to contemplation during the “research process”, the outward journey, and the inward journey. The outward journey refers to what one would think of as “traditional fieldwork”, collecting data, physically visiting a space, etc. The inward journey is how one deals with and handles what he/she has collected. The inward journey relies more on the imagination and analysis rather than the physical, real-time research of the outward journey. The authors mention “Contemplative moments seem to be a driving force for many scholars…how they found a passion in their work…but also how they have made chance discoveries and traveled down unexpected paths.” This quote makes me think of choosing a major in college. At the ripe age of 18, students are expected to choose what they want to do with the rest of their life, and often dish out hundreds of thousands of dollars to do so. Without experience, students can not reflect on what they do and do not like, allowing them to find their passion. It is not uncommon to hear of students changing their majors two or three times before finding their passion. However, these changes can also be too late, and cost the student a lot of time and