A: Planning
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.
Your English teacher will support you with each of these steps, but here are resources to guide you.
Ai: State a learning goal for the project & explain how a personal interest led to that goal
The personal project is truly "personal" because students are able to set their own goals around a topic that they find interesting. Students can create goals based on:
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.
an interest or hobby that you pursue (or want to pursue)
In all, your goal should be achieved in about 25 hours.
Below are ideas to help students define their projects.
● 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 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 favorite academic discipline?
● Which research project would you like to develop?
Setting Your Goals
The overall goal for the personal project consists of two interrelated parts:
a product
a learning goal.
The product is what you will create and the learning goal is what you want to learn.
Please note that the product may be a tangible artifact such as a sculpture, film, story or model, or it could be a non-tangible result (outcome) such as an awareness-raising campaign, learning to play a new piece of music or improving athletic performance.
The learning goal your begin with could lead to a variety of different products, just as a product could relate to a variety of learning goals.
Where to start?
Option 1: Some students might begin with a product in mind and then determine their learning goal.
If your learning goal is to find out more about making a personal computer, your product might be:
Creating an instruction manual/website on how to build a PC
Sourcing components to make a PC
Option 2: Some student might begin with the learning goal in mind and then decide what kind of product to pursue.
If your product goal is to create a diet with more plant-based foods, your learning goals might be:
learn about agriculture and nutritional content of plants
learn how to develop rooftop gardens for nutrition
learn about how to grow plants sustainably
Aii: State an intended product and develop appropriate success criteria for the product
Step 1: Determining the specifications (characteristics) of your product or outcome
Step 2: Developing the criteria for your product/outcome
You will create the criteria for success (a rubric) that you will use to evaluate your high-quality product/outcome.
Your criteria should be:
specific
multidimensional
justified
based on evidence
Aiii: Present a clear, detailed plan for achieving the product and its success criteria.
You should develop a plan that demonstrates how you will create your intended product and meet all your success criteria. It should include:
Detailed and logical steps
Specific dates
Specific deadlines
Clear evidence of when/how you make adjustments to the plan
You should gather evidence/record the process:
Comprehensive record of the process of product/outcome
(from start to finish)Aligned with your plan
Changes to your plan/process are justified and explained