April 16

For writing into the day, we responded to the question: In relation to an English class, what do you think of when you hear the word "reflection"?

The class responded with the following:

• Going over what someone has commented on
• Personal standpoints on what someone else wrote
• The "why" instead of the "what"
• How you grew and what you wrote
• Final review
• What went well, what did not and the things in between

Megan then gave the following a working definition for this class:

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines reflection as: “(1) the action of bending or folding back [and] (2) consideration of some subject matter, idea, or purpose¹.” Reflecting in a writing classroom combines these two definitions.

“Reflection is thinking for an extended period by linking recent experiences to earlier ones…The thinking involves looking for commonalities, differences, and interrelations beyond their superficial elements.²” “The act of reflection, therefore, becomes crucial to [students’] education. It serves as the bridge between experiences and learning.^3”

“Meaningful reflection considers three questions:

1. What—what happened?
2. So what—what does it mean? 
3. Now what—what is the next step?⁴” 

We talked about the Final Presentation and Final Reflection assignments.  On the last day of class, you will need to put the on your blog:

• In one post, you will embed the final drafts of the major assignments (see the document "Using Scribd to Post to Your Blog"  for how you should do this)
• In another post, you will write the final reflection letter

Finally, we used Megan's SI Reflection (http://megansreflection.blogspot.com) as a model for the final reflection and discussed it.

What does "good" reflection look like?

• Lots of evidence
• Gets personal
• Gets into thought process and feelings
• Well rounded

 

What types of things might you link to or use as examples in your final reflection?

• Ebscohost
• Daybook entries
• Blog posts
• Quotes
• TedTalks
• Other classmate's blog posts
• Twitter/Facebook posts
• Visual Analysis pictures
• Personal experiences
• Pictures - writing environment, notes, brainstorming
• Sources

How would you describe the final reflection to someone outside this class?

• Organize it chronically
• Combination of personal experiences and examples of work
• It's like a diary entry
• Everything you're thinking altogether - the hyperlink s are like side notes
• Writing with JD fantasies

Homework:

• Decide which structure you want to use for the Argumentative Essay.

Note: All drafts for extra feedback must be email to Megan by midnight on April 18.