Firming up The Problem

At the heart of "the problem" of my dissertation inquiry is the importance of reflection and reflective thinking. As a form of strategic thinking, reflection is a central mediating factor for learning and action and problem solving. Dewey defines reflective thinking as a "method"--by which, he means a set of certain intellectual actions and tactics that are applied to a situation that is uncertain or problematic. Our ability to solve a problem or work our way the best we can to find the best course of action within uncertain circumstances depends upon the quality of this reflective thinking. The inability to think reflectively (or apply this "method") results in no solution, the wrong solution, or little or no learning. Thus, the stakes surrounding reflection are extremely high since reflection and the ability to think reflectively are crucial for learning and practice in general.

The problem with reflection in Composition/Rhetoric is a pedagogical one. As Linda Flowers states clearly, the value of teacher-prompted reflection for pedagogical purposes in a writing classroom is an "open question." She questions what sort of knowledge this kind of strategic reflection generates and whether reflection is a luxury whose benefits are so self-evident as to justify the time and effort required. Although Composition theorist and researchers like Flowers, Yancey, and Bereiter and Scarmandalia each find affirming answers to these questions of knowledge and utility, and each generates a "theory of reflection" and its place in the learning and act of writing, the problem at the core of reflection in Composition/Rhetoric remains pedagogical. Does reflection really work to help writers "invent practice" (as Yancey believes) or help solve problems and negotiate uncertainties within the activity or writing (as Flower believes)? How come reflection doesn't seem to have an affect? How come it seems to help some writer transform their approach to a topic?

Rather than questioning "Does it work?" I think more significant from a pedagogical perspective is "How does it work?" and "How does it not work?" What are its true uses and limitations? What are the ways in which a teacher can lead students in reflection that will have the most benefit? Rather than "Does it work?" we need to ask "What are the circumstances and prompts that promote productive reflection?" What kind of things about the student, their writing, and the learning context are indicated within a piece of reflection? We could test reflection, but contingencies and variables surrounding its use in the classroom would always overwhelm the narrow answer that such a test might come up with. Rather than question "Does it work?" as teachers we need to know better "How does it work?" and "What does it work well for?" and "What needs to be known about how reflection works and what it works for to help guide teachers' use of reflection with their own students?" Having better answers to these questions may provide a stronger basis for teachers productively using reflection in their classes.

But don't we already have satisfactory answers to these questions? Certainly, the work of Kathleen Yancey in particular has sought to provide this basis, this theory of reflection to guide our understanding of what reflection is and what it does. However, a close examination of how our current "theories of reflection" were generated calls these theories into question and may account for the questions about reflection that we have. Each of our main theorist of reflection in Composition/Rhetoric arrived at their theories from speculative thinking based upon logical deductions from other theories or from studying their experience of reflection in the classroom. Despite the fact that the theories generated from experiences are empirical and "observation-based," the interpretation of this data and the generation of theory from this data has not followed a systematic interpretive process that adequately grounds their theory in the data. What this dissertation, then, seeks to do is to apply a systematic interpretive process to examples of reflection in order to generate a grounded theory of reflection. No other Composition researcher has used this methodological approach to inquiring into reflection, and the end point, hopefully, will the generation of a new "theory of reflection" that both fits and works better. This new theory will provide a conceptual understanding of reflection that more closely fits actual examples of reflection. Likewise, this new theory of reflection will provide a conceptual understanding that will "work"--that is, it will provide a framework of understanding the relation and consequences of various interacting elements in the act of reflection, so that a teacher may navigate these relations and interactions to help make reflection productive for his or her students.

WGRA? Any teacher who seeks to help their students learn to face uncertainties and problems in their writing better.