the newInstanceArgs function cannot call a class' constructor if it has references in its arguments, so be careful what you pass into it:
<?php
class Foo {
    function __construct (&$arr) {
        $this->arr = &$arr;
    }
    function createInstance () {
        $reflectionClass = new ReflectionClass("Bar");
        
        return $reflectionClass->newInstanceArgs(array($this, $this->arr));
    }
    function mod($key, $val) {
        $this->arr[$key] = $val;
    }
}
class Bar {
    function __construct (&$foo, &$arr) {
        $this->foo = &$foo;
        $this->arr = &$arr;
    }
    function mod($key, $val) {
        $this->arr[$key] = $val;
    }
}
$arr = array();
$foo = new Foo($arr);
$arr["x"] = 1;
$foo->mod("y", 2);
$bar = $foo->createInstance();
$bar->mod("z", 3);
echo "<pre>";
print_r($arr);
print_r($foo);
print_r($bar);
echo "</pre>";
?>