The Personal Project Handbook

The Nature of Personal Project

The personal project provides an opportunity for students to undertake an independent and age- appropriate exploration into an area of personal interest. Through the process of inquiry, action and reflection, students are encouraged to demonstrate and strengthen their approaches to learning (ATL) skills.

Below are ideas to help students understand the nature of the personal project.

What do you think a personal project is?
What is a personal project for?
Who could be involved in your personal project?
When do you complete your personal project?
How much time will you spend on your personal project?

This document is a guide for students to help them complete the various steps of their personal project independently.

The Role of the Supervisor

The purpose of the supervisor is to support the student during the personal project. Each student has his or her own supervisor.

The supervisor’s responsibilities are to provide guidance to students in the process and completion of the project:

ensuring 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
giving guidelines about the MYP project
providing a timetable with deadlines
providing the assessment criteria for the project
giving advice on how to keep and curate evidence of the process
emphasizing the importance of personal analysis and reflection
providing formative feedback
ensuring requirements for academic integrity are met
confirming the authenticity of the work submitted
assessing the MYP project using the criteria in this guide
participating in the standardization of the assessment process
providing personal project teacher assessed totals to the MYP coordinator to enter in the International Baccalaureate Information System (IBIS).

Students should receive information and guidance that includes:

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

Supervisors will support students throughout the personal project. The frequency of meetings between students and their supervisor may change according to the type of project, the topic, characteristics of the students involved or the stages of the project. Supervisors are advised not to become project experts.

The Role of the Student

To complete a personal project, students must undertake independent learning. They are expected to spend approximately 25 hours on their personal project. This time covers the whole process, including meetings with their supervisor.

Through the personal project, students:

explore an interest that is personally meaningful (intellectual curiosity; family connection;
social, cultural or geographical relevance; individual passion; etc)
Take ownership of their learning by undertaking a self-directed inquiry
Transfer and apply skills in pursuit of a learning goal and the creation of a product
Recognize and evidence personal growth and development.

Specifically, students must:

establish a goal, an action plan and success criteria
apply ATL skills throughout the project process
gather evidence of how they have applied ATL skills throughout the
personal project
evaluate the project based on the success criteria
select evidence to add to the report
reflect on the impact of the project
write a report.

The Role of the Community

Many members of the community, both within and beyond the school, can support the personal project.

Within the School (examples)

Librarian
Specialist teacher
Technician (special education, recreation etc)
Administrator
MYP Coordinator

Beyond the School (examples)

Pharmacist
Artist
Athlete
YouTuber
Psychologist
Mechanic

A resource person can be useful during the research process or when complete in the product.

Objectives

❖ Three objectives under pin a valid and reliable evaluation of the project.

❖ Each objective corresponds to a section of the report.

	Planning	Applying Skills	Reflecting
Learning Goal	State a learning goal for the project and explain how a personal interest led to that goal	Explain how the ATL skill(s) was/were applied to help achieve their learning goal	Explain the impact of the project on themselves or their learning
Product	State an intended product and develop appropriate success criteria for the product Present a clear, detailed plan for achieving the product and its associated success criteria	Explain how the ATL skill(s) was/were applied to help achieve their product	Evaluate the product based on the success criteria

Time Frames

To complete the personal project, students must follow the following steps.

Gathering Evidence of the Process

Students are expected to document the process they followed to complete their project. In this way, they can demonstrate how they developed ATL skills and their academic honesty. Students must master different techniques for gathering evidence using portfolios, design projects, interdisciplinary projects or any other activity carried out during the project.

Students are not restricted to any single model for gathering evidence; however, they are responsible for producing evidence that shows they have fulfilled the personal project’s objectives. To foster their independence, students must develop their own ways of gathering evidence and of using media of their choosing, which can be written, visual, audio, digital or a combination of these.

Possible evidence may include:

visual thinking diagrams (mind maps)
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.

Evidence of the Process

Evidence of the process is

Evidence of the process is not:

• gathered throughout the project to document its development
• an evolving record of intents, processes, accomplishments
• a collection of initial thoughts and developments, brainstorming, possible lines of inquiry and further questions raised
• a record of interactions with sources, for example, teachers, supervisors, external contributors
• a record of selected, annotated and/or edited research and to maintain a bibliography
• a collection of useful information, for example, quotations, pictures, ideas, photographs
• a means of exploring ideas and solutions
• a place for evaluating work completed
• reflection on learning
• devised by the student

• collected 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 (unless this is useful for the student)
• a single, static document with only one format (unless this is useful for the student).

Defining the project

The personal project is truly personal because each student sets their own goal based on something that they find interesting. Students may draw inspiration from their prior experience in the MYP, such as:

a global context that they find particularly compelling
A service as action experience that they would like to build on
a unit of inquiry that they would like to explore further.

Similarly, students may draw inspiration from their interests and hobbies outside school. They may also consider developing new ones.

The project consists of two interrelated parts:

a learning goal (what the student wants to learn)
a product (what the student wants to create).

The project can change, if necessary, during the process.

The project’s starting point may be either the learning goal or the product. One learning goal can lead to different products, just as one product can relate to a variety of learning goals.

An example of starting with a learning goal to guide the creation of the project:

I want to learn about fitness by training for a half-marathon.

An example of starting with a product to guide the creation of the project:

I want to create a series of workout videos to learn more about filming and editing videos.

Ideas to help students Define their project

What have you always wanted to do?
What do you do in your free time?
What would you like to do in your free time?
What IB learner profile attribute best describes you?
What IB learner profile attribute would you like to develop?
Which global context interests you the most?
Which interdisciplinary or design project interested you the most?
Which experience of service as action did you find the most satisfying?
What problem within your community most affects you?
Which is your favourite academic discipline?
Which research project would you like to develop?

Cycle of Inquiry

MYP personal projects are student-centered and age-appropriate. They enable students to engage in practical explorations through a cycle of inquiry, action and reflection.

Success Criteria

The success criteria, developed by the student, measure the degree of excellence to which the product aspires or the terms under which the product can be judged to have been successful.

❖ The success criteria must be testable, measurable and observable.

❖ The success criteria must evaluate the product.

❖ The success criteria must evaluate the impact on the student or the community.

Below are ideas of specific product features that may help students establish success criteria to evaluate the quality of their products.

Product form:

technique or material
used
number of pages
length
resource people
visual aspects
colours
size
text type

Product content:

strand
target audience
organization
quality of the language
result achieved

Action Plan

“A detailed plan outlining actions needed to reach one or more goals.”(Wikipedia)

Working with the timeline provided by the school, students plan the time they need to spend on their personal projects by drawing up a timetable that gives them an overall view of everything they have to achieve. They can then add daily or weekly details showing everything they have to do.

The action plan must show how students will create the product and fulfill the success criteria.

For this step of the project, students may draw inspiration from similar action plans created for the individuals and societies subject.

The project is split into three main steps that correspond to the objectives.

Planning

Defining the project (learning goal and product)
Developing the success criteria
Presenting a plan

Applying skills

Achieving the learning goal
Completing the product

Reflecting

Explaining the impact of the project on themselves or their learning
Evaluating the product based on the success criteria

*Students must regularly revisit this plan to document and explain any changes to the expected deadlines.

Applying the ATL Skills

To complete the project, students must work through different steps to explore the learning goal and achieve the product.

Below are some ideas of how to do this.

Planning resources (financial, human and material) and constraints
Producing drafts, sketches, prototypes, plans, etc
Choosing information, techniques and materials base on the research
Testing techniques and materials
Compiling a list of purchases
Predicting other possibilities
Planning the documents to produce (survey, letter, poster, visual aids, etc)
Preparing meetings (interviews, surveys, presentations, resource people, etc)
Practicing a presentation
Creating
Regularly assessing their work to see if the product helps achieve the learning goal; this could be a self-assessment or an assessment by another person
Making necessary improvements
Presenting the Product

Which ATL skills will be useful for your project?

Review the ATL Guide
Define the specific skills for each category (communication, collaboration, organization, affective, reflection, information literacy, media literacy, critical thinking, creative thinking, transfer) that you will need.
Identify how you will gather your evidence.

Reflecting

Impact: “both negative and positive planned and unplanned consequences of a completed project, including those that only emerge sometime after the project ends”. (Translated from Guide de préparation d’un plan d’évaluation de projet, TÉLUQ.)

Below are ideas to help students assess the impact of their projects

Evaluating the Product

Below are ideas to help students evaluate their products based on their chosen success criteria.

To what extent did I complete my product based on the success criteria?
How can I demonstrate that I completed my product based on my success criteria?
What are my project’s strengths?
What could I have done differently to make my product better reflect my success criteria?

Criterion A: Planning

Maximum: 8

In the personal project, students should be able to:

i. state a learning goal for the project and explain how a personal interest led to that goal

ii. state an intended product and develop appropriate success criteria for the product

iii. present a clear, detailed plan for achieving the product and its associated success criteria.

Achievement Level	Descriptor
0	The student does not achieve a standard described by any of the descriptors below.
1-2	i. states a learning goal ii. states their intended product iii. presents a plan that is superficial or that is not focused on a product.
3-4	i. states a learning goal and outlines the connection between personal interest(s) and that goal ii. states their intended product and presents basic success criteria for the product iii. presents a plan for achieving the product and some of its associated success criteria.
5-6	i. states a learning goal and describes the connection between personal interest(s) and that goal ii. states their intended product and presents multiple appropriate success criteria for the product iii. presents a detailed plan for achieving the product and most of its associated success criteria.
7-8	i. states a learning goal and explains the connection between personal interest(s) and that goal ii. states their intended product and presents multiple appropriate, detailed success criteria for the product iii. presents a detailed plan for achieving the product and all of its associated success criteria.

Definitions

Learning Goal: What students want to learn as a result of doing the personal project.
Product: What students will create for their personal project.
Presents: Offer for display, observation, examination or consideration.
State: Give a specific name, value or other brief answer without explanation or calculation.
Outline: Give a brief account or summary.
Describe: Give a detailed account or picture of a situation, event, pattern or process.
Explain: Give a detailed account including reasons or causes.

Criterion B: Applying Skills

Maximum: 8

In the personal project, students should be able to:

i. explain how the ATL skill(s) was/were applied to help achieve their learning goal

ii. explain how the ATL skill(s) was/were applied to help achieve their product.

Achievement Level	Descriptor
0	The student does not achieve a standard described by any of the descriptors below.
1-2	i. states which ATL skill(s) was/were applied to help achieve their learning goal ii. states which ATL skill(s) was/were applied to help achieve their product.
3-4	i. outlines which ATL skill(s) was/were applied to help achieve their learning goal, with superficial examples or evidence ii. outlines which ATL skill(s) was/were applied to help achieve their product, with superficial examples or evidence.
5-6	i. describes how the ATL skill(s) was/were applied to help achieve their learning goal, with reference to examples or evidence ii. describes how the ATL skill(s) was/were applied to help achieve their product, with reference to examples or evidence.
7-8	i. explains how the ATL skill(s) was/were applied to help achieve their learning goal, supported with detailed examples or evidence ii. explains how the ATL skill(s) was/were applied to help achieve their product, supported with detailed examples or evidence.

Definitions

Learning Goal: What students want to learn as a result of doing the personal project.
Product: What students will create for their personal project.
ATL Skill(s) Clusters: One or more of: communication, collaboration, organization, affective, reflection, information literacy, media literacy, critical thinking, creative thinking, transfer.
State: Give a specific name, value or other brief answer without explanation or calculation.
Outline: Give a brief account or summary.
Describe: Give a detailed account or picture of a situation, event, pattern or process.
Explain: Give a detailed account including reasons or causes.

Criterion C: Reflecting

Maximum: 8

In the personal project, students should be able to:

i. explain the impact of the project on themselves or their learning

ii. evaluate the product based on the success criteria.

Achievement Level	Descriptor
0	The student does not achieve a standard described by any of the descriptors below.
1-2	i. states the impact of the project on themselves or their learning ii. states whether the product was achieved.
3-4	i. outlines the impact of the project on themselves or their learning ii. states whether the product was achieved, partially supported with evidence or examples.
5-6	i. describes the impact of the project on themselves or their learning ii. evaluates the product based on the success criteria, partially supported with evidence or examples.
7-8	i. explains the impact of the project on themselves or their learning ii. evaluates the product based on the success criteria, fully supported with specific evidence or detailed examples.

Definitions

Product: What students will create for their personal project.
State: Give a specific name, value or other brief answer without explanation or calculation.
Outline: Give a brief account or summary.
Describe: Give a detailed account or picture of a situation, event, pattern or process.
Explain: Give a detailed account including reasons or causes.
Evaluate: Make an appraisal by weighing up the strengths and limitations.

Notes about impact of the project

could refer to any aspect of having done the project: inquiry, action and/or reflection
could include progress made towards the learning goal
could include ways in which the student has grown as a learner, such as improvement in the ATL skills or learner profile attributes
could include ways in which the student has grown or changed as a result of the project.

Report

There are two possible formats for the MYP personal project report: written and/or oral. Students can combine these formats in a multimedia report.

Students may submit their report in written or recorded format, or a combination of the two. The table below shows the maximum length of students’ submissions.

To ensure that the written part of the report is clearly legible, each page must have a minimum:
- 11-point font size
- 2 cm margins
Evidence presented in images must be clearly visible at the size submitted.
Visual aids may be used to support spoken reports. However, evidence and examples presented in the visual aids should be submitted as documents. Visual aids presented only in video format will not be considered for assessment.
The bibliography is uploaded separately and is not included in the page limit.
Please do not include a title page; if included it will count towards the page limit.

Document File Types .doc, .docx, .pdf, .rit		Recording File Types: mp3, m4a, mov, codex H264, m4v
15 pages	and	No recording
14 pages	and	1 minute
13 pages	and	2 minute
12 pages	and	3 minute
11 pages	and	4 minute
10 pages	and	5 minute
9 pages	and	6 minute
8 pages	and	7 minute
7 pages	and	8 minute
6 pages	and	9 minute

Personal Project Grade Descriptors

Grade	Descriptor
1	Produces work of a very limited quality. Conveys many misunderstandings of the process of learning independently. Very rarely demonstrates critical thinking. Very inflexible, rarely shows evidence of knowledge or skills.
2	Produces a report of limited quality. Communicates limited understanding of the process of learning independently. Demonstrates limited evidence of critical thinking. Limited evidence of transfer of knowledge or approaches to learning skills into the project.
3	Produces an acceptable report. Communicates basic understanding of the process of learning independently through the project. Begins to demonstrate some basic critical thinking. Begins to transfer knowledge and approaches to learning skills into the project.
4	Produces a good-quality report. Communicates basic understanding of the process of learning independently through all stages of the cycle of inquiry. Often demonstrates critical thinking. Transfers some knowledge and some approaches to learning skills into the project.
5	Produces a generally high-quality report that demonstrates a thorough process. Communicates good understanding of the process of learning independently through all stages of the cycle of inquiry. Demonstrates critical thinking, sometimes with sophistication. Usually transfers knowledge and approaches to learning skills into the project.
6	Produces a high-quality report that demonstrates a thorough process. Communicates extensive understanding of the process of learning independently through all stages of the cycle of inquiry. Demonstrates critical thinking, frequently with sophistication. Transfers knowledge and approaches to learning skills into the project.
7	Produces a high-quality report that demonstrates a thorough process. Communicates comprehensive, nuanced understanding of the process of learning independently through all stages of the cycle of inquiry. Consistently demonstrates sophisticated critical thinking. Successfully transfers knowledge and approaches to learning skills into the project with independence.

Personal Project Hacks

Tips and Tricks for a successful Personal Project Experience

The Personal Project Handbook

Table of Contents

The Nature of Personal Project

The Role of the Supervisor

The Role of the Student

The Role of the Community

Objectives

Time Frames

Gathering Evidence of the Process

Evidence of the Process

Defining the project

Ideas to help students Define their project

Cycle of Inquiry

Success Criteria

Action Plan

Applying the ATL Skills

Reflecting

Evaluating the Product

Criterion A: Planning

Definitions

Criterion B: Applying Skills

Definitions

Criterion C: Reflecting

Definitions

Notes about impact of the project

Report

Personal Project Grade Descriptors