Yancey Discussion

Discusion #7

Joshua C. Cook English 1001 (006)

Kathleen Yancey’s “On Reflection” was an insightful read, but it was wordy and took forever to get to the point. She provided more than ample information, which is too much at times and could cause confusion between the different points of view. Most of the information was useful, but a lot of it felt redundant by the end of the chapter. The biggest struggle with reading this text was to retain all the information that was given right off the bat. Learning about the process for creating a theory on how students learn and how reflection is involved really kept my attention, which made the reading easier.

After reading Yancey’s first chapter I see that my Major Assignment #1 lacks a goal and clear direction. In my text I’m just analyzing what I’ve read and written, for no reason but to analyze them. Seeing a clear end goal as to what I’m trying to create would improve my draft immensely. Yancey’s style is far more narrative as well, she has applicable first hand experience that relates to the subject. I have a lack of that experience, so replacing the narrative structure with something just as engaging is in order.

Yancey’s definition of reflection “(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”). In method, reflection is dialectical, putting multiple perspectives into play with each other in order to produce insight.” (Yancey pg.6) My understanding of reflection was that “it is a process of analyzing past information and comparing it to current knowledge.” Which lines up with #1 of Yancey’s definition, #2 is agree able we could say that reflection is both a product and a process. The multiple points of view goes without saying for reflection is always on a past point of view or another person’s views. So in conclusion her definition of reflection is completely agreeable. The only course of action that I can take after what Yancey’s text says to me is to try being more conscious about what I’m reading, and how it affects me as a writer/learner.

Citation

Yancey, Kathleen B. Reflection in the Writing Classroom, by Kathleen B Yancey, NetLibrary, Inc., 1999, pp. 1–22.