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Personal Project
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In the personal project, action involves individual choices that extend MYP learning beyond knowledge and understanding to include not only socially responsible attitudes but also thoughtful and appropriate action, initiated and applied by the student as a result of the learning process.
Principled Action
While the principled action in the personal project may not result in a specific form of service with the community, the inquiry process remains the same.
Students’ learning process in the MYP personal project involves action in a wide range of forms, including:
- developing an area of personal interest beyond the subject-specific curriculum
- sharing their new understandings with their peers, teachers and family
- changing their behavior in response to their learning and recognizing that they are able to make a difference through the decisions they make and the things they do.
While principled action may not always be clearly or immediately visible or measurable, students are prompted to record and reflect on how what they have learned has impacted their attitudes and behavior.
The process of reflection should be carried out throughout the project, not just at the end. Students are encouraged to reflect regularly on their inquiry process and on the actions they have taken at various stages of their project.
The development of the personal project will follow the same stages as the community project: investigating, planning, taking action, reflecting and demonstrating. In the case of the personal project, the report will become the demonstration of the first four stages: a summary of the students’ processes of investigation, planning, actions and reflections.
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The Supervisor
The role of the supervisor
The purpose of the supervisor is to support the student or group of students during the project. Supervisors will support students throughout the project. The supervisors’ responsibilities are to:
- ensure the chosen MYP project topic satisfies appropriate legal and ethical standards with regard to health and safety, confidentiality, human rights, animal welfare and environmental issues
- provide guidance to students in the process and completion of the project
- confirm the authenticity of the work submitted
- assess the MYP project using the criteria in this guide
- participate in the standardization of assessment process established by the school
- provide personal project grades to the MYP Coordinator to enter in IBIS (from 2016).
- guidelines about the MYP project
- a timetable with deadlines
- the assessment criteria for the project
- advice on how to keep and use a process journal
- the importance of personal analysis and reflection
- formative feedback
- requirements for academic honesty.
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Timeline
Phase 1: September
- Establish process journal
- Explore IB learner profile
- Establish a topic of personal interest
- Begin investigating personal topic through global contexts
- Begin development of inquiry question
- Establish global context as focusing lens for investigation
Phase 2: Early October
- Meet supervisor and exchange contact information
- Share global context and developing inquiry question
- Discuss how personal topic fits within a global context exploration
- Discuss investigation approach and preliminary research approaches
- Record all in process journal
Phase 3: Late October
- Meet with supervisor and finalize inquiry question
- Investigate personal topic through global context exploration
- Record all research and findings in process journal; include MLA citations
- Begin to develop product idea-the product is action based the investigation
Phase 4: Late November
- Meet with supervisor and share investigative findings
- Discuss possible products based on research and global exploration
- Phase 5: December
- Finalize product idea and record product specifications
- Continue to use process journal to record development of personal project
- Start writing personal project report (Sections 1-3)
Phase 6: Early February
- Showcase of personal project products
- Continue writing personal project report (ALL Sections)
Phase 7: Late February
- Report the personal project: include proof of product and scanned process journal entries
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The process journal
For the personal project, students are expected to document their process in the process journal. In this way, students demonstrate their working behaviors and academic honesty.
Documenting the process
The process journal is a generic term used to refer to the record of progress maintained by the student throughout the project. However, the media for documenting the process can vary depending on student preferences. It can be written, visual, audio or a combination of these, and it may include both paper and electronic formats. In the use of electronic/digital media, students are strongly advised to make digital copies of their journals or to transmit copies of their journals to an online storage site.
Students will be familiar with the practice of documenting the development of their project in the process journal and can draw on techniques used to document the arts process journal, the design folder or similar workbooks in other subject groups. Students may develop their own format and design, although schools can provide templates or examples to support students’ work.
The process journal is personal to the student, in the sense that he or she is also exploring ways of recording his or her process. Students are not restricted to any single model of recording their process journals. However, the student is responsible, through his or her use of the process journal, for producing evidence of addressing the four objectives to demonstrate achievement at the highest levels of the criteria.
The process journal is:
- used throughout the project to document its development
- an evolving record of intents, processes, accomplishments
- a place to record initial thoughts and developments, brainstorming, possible lines of inquiry and further questions raised
- a place for recording interactions with sources, for example teachers, supervisors, external contributors
- a place to record selected, annotated and/or edited research and to maintain a bibliography
- a place for storing useful information, for example quotations, pictures, ideas, photographs
- a means of exploring ideas and solutions
- a place for evaluating work completed
- a place for reflecting on learning
- devised by the student in a format that suits his or her needs
- a record of reflections and formative feedback received.
The process journal isn't:
- used on a daily basis (unless this is useful for the student)
- written up after the process has been completed
- additional work on top of the project; it is part of and supports the project
- a diary with detailed writing about what was done
- a static document with only one format.
Selecting process journal extracts
For both the community project and the personal project, students should carefully select evidence from their process journals to demonstrate development in all criteria. These extracts are submitted as appendices of the report or presentation at the conclusion of the project. The student should take responsibility for making the appropriate extracts available to the supervisor.
Students working individually should select a maximum of 10 individual extracts to represent the key developments of the project. Students choosing to work in groups on the community project will submit a maximum of 15 process journal extracts.
The student should select extracts that demonstrate how he or she has addressed each of the objectives, or annotate extracts to highlight this information.
An extract may include:- visual thinking diagrams
- bulleted lists
- charts
- short paragraphs
- notes
- timelines, action plans
- annotated illustrations
- annotated research
- artifacts from inspirational visits to museums, performances, galleries
- pictures, photographs, sketches
- up to 30 seconds of visual or audio material
- screenshots of a blog or website
- self and peer assessment feedback.
Materials directly relevant to the achievement of the project should also be included in the extracts, as appropriate. For example, if the student has produced a questionnaire or survey that has been described and analysed in the report, he or she could include a segment of that completed survey.
An individual extract may include any of the formats that the student used to document the process. Extracts should simply be supporting evidence of the process and will not be individually assessed. -
Assessment criteria
Criterion A: Investigating
Maximum: 8
In the personal project, students should be able to:
- define a clear goal and global context for the project, based on personal interests
- identify prior learning and subject-specific knowledge relevant to the project
- demonstrate research skills.
Achievement level Level descriptor 0 The student does not achieve a standard described by any of the descriptors below. 1-2 The student: - states a goal and a global context for the project, based on personal interests, but this may be limited in depth or accessibility
- identifies prior learning and subject-specific knowledge, but this may be limited in occurrence or relevance
- demonstrates limited research skills.
3-4 The student: - outlines a basic and appropriate goal and a global context for the project, based on personal interests
- identifies basic prior learning and subject-specific knowledge relevant to some areas of the project
- demonstrates adequate research skills.
5-6 The student: - develops a clear and challenging goal and a global context for the project, based on personal interests
- identifies prior learning and subject-specific knowledge generally relevant to the project
- demonstrates substantial research skills.
7-8 The student: - develops a clear and highly challenging goal and a global context for the project, based on personal interests
- identifies prior learning and subject-specific knowledge that is consistently highly relevant to the project
- demonstrates excellent research skills.
Criterion B: Planning
Maximum: 8
In the personal project, students should be able to:
- develop criteria for the product/outcome
- plan and record the development process of the project
- demonstrate self-management skills.
Achievement level Level descriptor 0 The student does not achieve a standard described by any of the descriptors below. 1-2 The student: - develops limited criteria for the product/outcome
- presents a limited or partial plan and record of the development process of the project
- demonstrates limited self-management skills.
3-4 The student: - develops adequate criteria for the product/outcome
- presents an adequate plan and record of the development process of the project
- demonstrates adequate self-management skills.
5-6 The student: - develops substantial and appropriate criteria for the product/outcome
- presents a substantial plan and record of the development process of the project
- demonstrates substantial self-management skills.
7-8 The student: - develops rigorous criteria for the product/outcome
- presents a detailed and accurate plan and record of the development process of the project
- demonstrates excellent self-management skills.
Criterion C: Taking action
Maximum: 8
In the personal project, students should be able to:
- create a product/outcome in response to the goal, global context and criteria
- demonstrate thinking skills
- demonstrate communication and social skills.
Achievement level Level descriptor 0 The student does not achieve a standard described by any of the descriptors below. 1-2 The student: - creates a limited product/outcome in response to the goal, global context and criteria
- demonstrates limited thinking skills
- demonstrates limited communication and social skills.
3-4 The student: - creates a basic product/outcome in response to the goal, global context and criteria
- demonstrates adequate thinking skills
- demonstrates adequate communication and social skills.
5-6 The student: - creates a substantial product/outcome in response to the goal, global context and criteria
- demonstrates substantial thinking skills
- demonstrates substantial communication and social skills.
7-8 The student: - creates an excellent product/outcome in response to the goal, global context and criteria
- demonstrates excellent thinking skills
- demonstrates excellent communication and social skills.
Criterion D: Reflecting
Maximum: 8
In the personal project, students should be able to:
- evaluate the quality of the product/success of the outcome against their criteria
- reflect on how completing the project has extended their knowledge and understanding of the topic and the global context
- reflect on their development as IB learners through the project.
Achievement level Level descriptor 0 The student does not achieve a standard described by any of the descriptors below. 1-2 The student: - presents a limited evaluation of the quality of the product/success of the outcome against his or her criteria
- presents limited reflection on how completing the project has extended his or her knowledge and understanding of the topic and the global context
- presents limited reflection on his or her development as an IB learner through the project.
3-4 The student: - presents a basic evaluation of the quality of the product/success of the outcome against his or her criteria
- presents adequate reflection on how completing the project has extended his or her knowledge and understanding of the topic and the global context
- presents adequate reflection on his or her development as an IB learner through the project.
5-6 The student: - presents a substantial evaluation of the quality of the product/success of the outcome against his or her criteria
- presents substantial reflection on how completing the project has extended his or her knowledge and understanding of the topic and the global context
- presents substantial reflection on his or her development as an IB learner through the project.
7-8 The student: - presents an excellent evaluation of the quality of the product/success of the outcome against his or her criteria
- presents excellent reflection on how completing the project has extended his or her knowledge and understanding of the topic and the global context
- presents excellent reflection on his or her development as an IB learner through the project.
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Information on these pages is from the MYP Subject Guides and the MYP Project Guide. International Baccalaureate Organization. 2014. Print.
