The Personal Project
The Personal Project
Embedded Files
The MYP Personal Project is the culminating project for the MYP. It is where Grade 10 (Year 5) students can show off how they have developed as learners.
Students will choose a topic which is interesting to them. They will research, in-depth, this topic, and create a product/outcome that will show learning.
At the end, students will write a reflecting report, to explain the learning.
This is a challenging project, which students should dedicate significant time and attention to. The IB suggests that students spend approximately 25 hours on the project. Our program incorporates 15 hours into their school day, so only 10 hours needs to be completed on their own.
What will the students learn?
Handbook for PP 2021 (1).pdf"As today’s MYP students mature, they will be increasingly called on to shape the world that they inhabit. To prepare students for this responsibility, middle level education must cultivate students’ motivation, agency and capacity for lifelong learning."
The Personal Project engages students' motivation because the project asks students to explore an area that interests them.
The Personal Project activates student agency because it requires students to set their own goals, plan how to achieve those goals, and decide what success will look like.
The Personal Project encourages lifelong learning because it encourages students to demonstrate and develop ATL skills and to reflect on their learning and the impact that the personal project has had on themselves and/or their community.
This section is adapted from Personal Project Guide for use from Sept. 2021
What are the aims?
"These aims suggest how the student may be changed by the learning experience.
The personal project is an opportunity for students to:
Inquire by exploring an interest that is personally meaningful and by taking ownership of their learning by undertaking a self-directed inquiry.
Act by transferring and applying skills in pursuit of a learning goal and the creation of a product
Reflect by recognizing and showing evidence of personal growth and development.
This section is adapted from Personal Project Guide for use from Sept. 2021
How is this connected to the Diploma Program?
Culminating Experiences
Culminating Experiences
There are strong links between the MYP projects and subject-specific assessments in the DP core subjects, as well as, links to the senior project in CAS and the EE. In the core subjects, students will have to gather information, evaluate that information and present that information in a variety of ways. The research skills that are required of the personal project help students to prepare for those kinds of academic inquiry and collection and documentation of sources.
In CAS (Creativity, Action, Service), students are expected to do a balance of activities that are creative, active, and service-oriented and of personal interest to them. They are expected to write reflections on the impact of their learning through these different activities. In the personal project students are getting experience through the process journal of reflecting on their learning and the impact that learning has on the greater community. In addition, CAS requires seniors to run a project that will last for 4-6 weeks that addresses a particular need in their community. The personal project gives students the opportunity and tools to take a topic of personal interest to them and grow that project in such a way that it serves others as well as themselves. So, while the project is personal to the student, they will address through the personal project process how that personal project can be of service to others who have similar interests.
Finally, the EE (Extended Essay) is a requirement of the DP, where students choose a topic of interest within a subject that they are learning and delve deep into that topic to share insights they have learned. The personal project is a requires this same process, though it is not relegated to a subject area. Student are expected to delve deep into their area of interest and to share what insights they have gained.
The image to the left is from Personal Project Guide for use from Sept. 2021
How is the personal project planned at Schurz?
The Plan
The Plan
At Schurz, students working on the personal project are very supported. Each Friday, starting in June of their Freshman year, students will begin work on their personal project. By the time students leave in their Freshman year for summer break, they will have chosen a topic, a product and a plan of action. That enables them to use some of their summer break to work towards their goal on their personal project, if they choose.
Throughout their Sophomore year, students will spend every Friday from the beginning of September until December working on their personal projects with their Supervisors (rotating core teachers) in class. Next year, 2021-22, students will work on their personal projects with their Science teacher in September, their Math teacher in October, their English teacher in November, and their History teacher in December. In addition, students will be given a mentor, if one is available, and will meet monthly with their IB Coordinator, as well.
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