Reflection in the Electronic
Writing Classroom
L. Lennie Irvin, San Antonio College

Introduction

The Importance of Reflection
Reflection as a Catalyst

Reflection in the Writing Classroom
Reflection in the E-Writing Classroom

Reflection as Observation
Reflection as Refraction
Reflection as Coherence

Introduction

Conclusion -- Works Cited

At the end of Kathleen Blake Yancey’s comprehensive book on reflection, Reflection in the Writing Classroom, she ends with a number of questions that her book left unanswered.  Among these questions for further study, she asks: "How hospitable a medium is a computer network for reflection? ... What is the effect of public audience on reflection?" (204).

Despite the prevalence of a constructionist and “dialogic” pedagogy used by many writing teachers in a computer networked environment, little has been written explicitly on the role of reflection in the electronic writing classroom.  The field of Computers and Writing certainly recognizes the importance of reflection. In the preface to The Dialogic Classroom, Gail Hawisher and Cynthia Selfe identify three things that must happen for the successful establishment of a “dialogic classroom,” the third being reflection: “all parties have to learn the importance of reflecting critically not only on their educational efforts in general but also on their uses of technology” (Galin and Latchow ix).  In summarizing Donald Schon’s views on reflection in the context of the constructionist classroom, Joel English states, “But a pedagogy that fosters reflective action espouses the constructionist view of language and reality, insofar as it allows the student to think about subjects, think about how she is thinking about it, and further analyze how an entire community of learners are coming to know the subjects.”  However, except for Joel English’s 1998 Kairos article “MOO-based Metacognition: Incorporating Online and Offline Reflection into the Writing Process" and Steve Watkin's "World Wide Web Authoring in the Portfolio Assessed, (Inter)Networked Composition Course" nothing has been written that focuses on reflection in the computer networked writing classroom. This article will answer Yancey’s question by contending that computer networks are, indeed, hospitable mediums for reflection.  It will go further to explore the unique dynamics at work within a computer networked environment that make this setting a powerful forum for reflection.

Next: The Importance of Reflection

Introduction | The Importance of Reflection | Reflection as a Catalyst | Reflection in the Writing Classroom | Reflection in the E-Writing Classroom | Reflection as Observation | Reflection as Refraction | Reflection as Coherence | Conclusion | Works Cited
by L. Lennie Irvin, San Antonio College