Reflection+of+project

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I had a hard time choosing what topic I wanted to do. Initially, I wanted to do something with dance since that is my passion since I was three years old. My other option was Obsessive Compulsive Disorder because my brother and father have it. I had gone into my research with prior knowledge to OCD. I learned facts just by living with my brother and father and seeing the different things they do. I learned that not any one person with OCD is the same and that it is a hard thing for the individual who has it and the people around them as well. I was hoping to gain a greater awareness of the disorder through my research. I always knew that many people had it, but I did not realize that it was affecting 3.3 million people…and that is only the people that come forward about having it. Many people convince themselves that they do not have it and do not seek further help. I also learned just how serious it can be. I researched some scary stories of people with OCD and what they go through. I was also surprised to see how closely related OCD was to other disorders/syndromes, like Tourette’s syndrome.
 * Reflection:**

When I first found out about this project, I was really nervous. However, as I went through it, the project’s purpose became clearer and clearer to me. I learned so much from this project. I was expecting a composition class in which we sit at a computer writing the same old research papers we always have. Instead, this project taught me a lot more than I ever thought it could have. Through the process of creating this multigenre project, I learned how to present all of my research in ways that were appealing to me. Some of them included an ad, a brochure, a power point, and a 504 Plan for my professional genre. There were many positive pieces to this project, but there were also some I did not like. At first, I did not like the professional genre because I thought all of the different steps to it were kind of confusing but I did understand that it was made so that we could do a type of writing that we may do in our future career (which is why I chose to write a 504 plan as teachers write them). It was frustrating having to find three examples of each genre and derive characteristics and criteria, make our own, revise it, and fix it to come up with our final draft. As the due date approached, I realized how much I had pushed everything aside. I did a lot of it throughout but there were things I wish I would have kept up with. Even though there were difficult and tedious parts to the project, I came to a heavy understanding of what this project’s purpose was.

When I become a teacher, I think this project is definitely something I would consider if I taught a class like this. Research papers do not allow me to show creativity, which in turn, does not make me excited to research the topic. Presenting in this fashion, I think, was a way for not only me to learn more but my audience as well. I was able to use my creativity in this project by making up a story and incorporating the research within it. Coming to the end, I realized that I enjoyed this project with learning more about a topic that I am passionate about and presenting it in a new and exciting way.