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Kristiena Shafer
10th Honors World Literature
Mrs. Lester
3 May 2012
Summative Learning Reflection
1. Throughout my research on PTSD, the organizations that help, the treatments they use and
what we as a community can do to help, I have gained a much deeper understanding of this issue.
At first, I thought PTSD was not as severe of a mental illness as I do now. There are so many
organizations that devote themselves purely to veterans that suffer from this illness. Veterans can
use these organizations to help them learn to deal with PTSD and its many effects on the veteran
and all the people around that veteran. There are so many treatment opportunities for veterans
that suffer from PTSD. There is physical, mental, spiritual, and even animal therapy available for
veterans. Each treatment has different effects on recovery and recovery rates vary depending on
the veteran. As a community, there is so much we can do to help veterans that have contracted
these invisible wounds from war. Supporting our troops and veterans is our responsibility and we
owe it to them to help them to our upmost ability. A lot of my research came as a shock to me
because I never had been taught about PTSD and I really did not know how much it affected our
veterans. I also learned the severity of the issue.
2. There were not that many challenges with this research project compared to last semester's
project. Finding information that had more depth was slightly difficult, but this was resolved by
finding and using better search terms. Better search terms yielded better results and helped make
our project be more than just surface answers to serious questions. Collaborating with my partner
went well and I think we work well as a team. Technology is still not my strongest suit.

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Fortunately for me, Teagan is pretty good with working with technology and she was there to
help with my computer issues. Time management is something I am usually poor at, but
throughout this project I have done well with it. I think the pressure of knowing that if I did not
do something it would affect more people than me motivated me to keep on track. Overall, my
partner and I had few problems and the problems we did encounter were resolved quickly.
3. The most difficult part of this research project was the shaping sheet. Constructing the shaping
sheet was pretty much like writing the whole paper. We had to have sources to back up all the
information we used and then we had to cite all of the sources. I ended up having to put the
whole shaping sheet together because Teagan’s computer broke the weekend we were going to
assemble the whole sheet. That was really stressful, but after I finished the shaping sheet, it was
also the most rewarding part of the project. After it was completed, it felt like the bulk of the
work was over and I felt proud that I had completed it even though there were some mishaps.
After this point, I felt more comfortable with the project and as if the next steps would develop
much easier.
4. The study of our book which we read in class was, All Quiet on the Western Front and the
individual book we choose on our own, The Ghosts of War influenced my choice of the research
topic. All Quiet on the Western Front was really eye-opening in terms of showing what soldiers
go through and how it affects them way after they return from war. My individual book showed
me a more recent perspective of how war can really be. The main character was about my age
and reading about the things that he went through while he was at war and then also what he
went through when he returned from war made the issue of PTSD real to me. After reading these
books, I began finding myself thinking about people around me that have been to war and
wondering if they were left with this invisible wound of war. Talking about this issue and many

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more issues on our Fishbowl discussions helped me think about issues in different ways, but I
really cannot say our discussions influenced my decision about my topic.
5. This project has yielded many learning experiences that will have a lasting impact. I will
always be aware of the issue of PTSD in returning veterans and what their families have to go
through as well. Reading the books showed me the reality of war, and knowing the reality behind
the issue made the issue stick more permanently. Reading the non-fiction articles gave me
knowledge to back up the mental pictures the book had put into my head. The articles also taught
me how to begin to understand and to deal with this issue. The Fishbowl discussions will
probably not have a lasting effect on me, but they did give me insights on my topic and other
topics as well. Creating the final product will definitely have a lasting impact on me.
Constructing the product let me put all of my research and ideas in one place and I hope my
product will make a lasting impact on others as well. I feel like this project has benefited me
much more than I ever believed to be possible.
6. In the past eight weeks, this research project has been a very rewarding experience. I believe
that I was a very good researcher. This topic was difficult to research because of the amount of
bias toward this topic and I had to learn to sort facts from people's opinions. Learning how to sort
through the results of my research with this method helped a lot and I was able to find many
resources that were credible and factual, free of bias. I am proud to say that my partner and I
have worked on this project together. At first I was hesitant about working with a partner, but it
has been a very rewarding experience. We have communicated well together and split the work
evenly between us throughout this whole project. I feel that working on this project has given me
the knowledge of this topic as well as knowledge of how to better work efficiently on future
projects.

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7. Though there were few, challenges arose during this project. Technology never seems to
cooperate when it is most needed and not being that computer savvy did not make it any better.
Other than technology issues, there was the stress that came with the different deadlines. For my
partner and I, deadlines were always met, but the stress that came with them was also always felt.
Meeting deadlines is a crucial part of life and I glad to have this pressure so I can better handle it
in the future. Dealing with the technology and the stress was not a big problem for us to handle.
Working through this project with a partner was beneficial because without a partner I would
have been twice as stressed and twice as lost with the technological problems.
8. There were many literacy skills that I improved on this semester. The first one that I improved
on was 1.1.4 Find, evaluate, and select appropriate sources to answer questions. I improved on
this skill by finding articles and information that corresponded with the research questions that
we were trying to answer. 1.1.9 Collaborate with others to broaden and deepen understanding is
the second literacy skill I believe I have improved. During our Fishbowl discussions and while
working with my partner, I have found that my understanding about my topic has definitely
gotten deeper. Third is 1.2.3 Demonstrate creativity by using multiple resources and formats. By
creating a multi-genre project, my partner and I have used many formats and resources and doing
this made me more creative. 2.3.1 Connect understanding to the real world is the fourth literacy
skill I feel I have improved. By researching real stories of veterans suffering from PTSD, my
topic began to have a real world meaning and began to matter more to me. Last but not least,
3.1.4 Use Technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and
understanding in ways that others can view, use, and assess. I believe that I have improved on
this skill by creating this project on the computer and I have used so many information tools to

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organize my research and ideas in a way that others can access. I feel this has helped to advance
a plethora of literacy skills.
9. The process of composing a multi-genre project enhanced my learning process in this
"learning and inquiry" unit. Instead of a traditional research paper or just a digital text we were
able to pull the most beneficial components of each into one project. By doing this, I feel that our
project reaches more people because they can read about the issue and have visuals as well to
make the issue more realistic because it appeals to more than one of our senses. This multi-genre
project has definitely made me have a better understanding of this topic. The visuals help make
people want to take a closer look at the topic and that is where the paper explains what people
are seeing. It is almost like a picture that has a caption.
10. My partner and I used Netvibes as our information dashboard and overall we loved it. We
used it to organize all of our pieces of the project such as our paragraphs, pictures, videos, and
multi-genre elements. We shared a Netvibes, but in the future I believe I would create one of my
own so that I could have my own dashboard to put things on there that would not be used in the
final product, but that I found interesting. Using this tool would defiantly be a help to use in
another one of my classes next year. I could just put everything on there and separate things as
needed. I really like how Netvibes can be different for everyone that uses it because the people
that use it makes it how they want it. Our Netvibes says that we are organized and resourceful
students and I am proud of the way we have put it together.
11. This project has prepared me to enter American Literature and Composition next year with
confidence. Specific skills in digital literacy were improved on while doing the project such as
working with the computer to make our Netvibes page and embed information and multi-genre
elements into it. Reading the war books that we read was a great help for me to improve in my

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analytical reading skills by looking deeper into the book and find more than surface issues. I feel
that my writing skills have been improved so much while doing this project because we have put
all of our ideas and information into writing. Constructing this project really made me feel like a
better learner and much more prepared to enter American Literature and Composition next year.