MYP PERSONAL PROJECT
@American international school of lusaka
Marie Slaby, PP Co-Coordinator
Carolina Escobar, PP Co-Coordinator & MYP Coordinator
2026-27
Embedded Files
The Personal Project is the culminating assessment of the IB Middle Years Programme. Over the course of Grade 10, students engage in rigorous inquiry, research, and action in order to achieve their chosen learning and product goals.
The Personal Project is the culminating assessment of the IB Middle Years Programme. Over the course of Grade 10, students engage in rigorous inquiry, research, and action in order to achieve their chosen learning and product goals.
The Personal Project allows students to demonstrate their ability to connect and transfer the extensive skills, knowledge and understandings they have acquired in one or more of their MYP disciplines in order to achieve a meaningful goal of their own design.
The project prepares students for success in the IB Diploma Programme by introducing them to the challenges of independent work, in which self-motivation is essential. The extensive research required by the project and the presentation of an academic report provide an introduction to the rigor and skills required by the DP Extended Essay.
During the course of the personal project, students choose a learning goal and develop a product or outcome that connects their chosen topic to their personal interest.
The three components of the Personal Project are...
What are the aims of the MYP project?
What are the aims of the MYP project?
inquire
inquire
Explore an interest that is personally meaningful
Take ownership of learning by undertaking a self-directed inquiry
act
act
Transfer and apply skills in pursuit of learning goals and the creation of a product
reflect
reflect
Recognize and collect evidence of personal growth and development
What will students learn through the Personal Project?
What will students learn through the Personal Project?
The Personal Project involves students in a wide range of activities to extend their knowledge and understanding and to develop their skills and attitudes.
These student-planned learning activities include:
Deciding what they want to learn about, identifying what they already know, and discovering what they will need to know to complete the project
Creating proposals and success criteria for their project, planning their time and materials, and recording developments in their journal
Making decisions, developing understandings and solving problems, communicating with their mentors and others, and creating a product or developing an outcome, and then evaluating the product/outcome and reflecting on their project and their learning.
As students become involved in the self-initiated and self-directed learning process, they will find it easier to construct in-depth knowledge on their topic, and develop an understanding of themselves as learners.
Information above is courtesy of: International Baccalaureate Organisation. Middle Years Programme Projects Guide, Cardiff, Wales: Peterson House 2022
The role of Mentors
The role of Mentors
Students are assigned an AISL adult to be a mentor. They will be the student's on-site coach, and they will meet at least five times while working on the project.
In addition, a student's project may involve skills or knowledge that the assigned AISL mentor may not have. Perhaps a student would like to write code for a role-playing video game and need an expert on Python or C++; or perhaps they want to up-cycle clothing and need to learn how to use a sewing machine; or perhaps they want to convert a go-kart with a petrol engine to one that runs on solar power. These students may need help from an additional trusted adult. They should think about people they know in their neighborhood, their parents' friends, family members, or members of the greater or religious community. Who has these skills and knowledge and can help guide their progress? An additional mentor is not required for the Personal Project, but students may need to seek one out depending on the needed skills or knowledge for their particular learning or product goal.
The information on this site, resources, and worksheets were originally adapted from Amber Rhinehart and Lincoln Community School. Please feel free to use any and all material for school use.
If using this material, please ensure that proper credit is given to the authors.
Page updated
Report abuse