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

Click on the template to create your own copy to brainstorm the characteristics of your high-quality product/outcome.

Bi- Characteristics of product:outcome.mov

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

Bi- Criteria for success.mov

Click on this template to create your own copy for your criteria for success and justification.

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

Bii- Plan and record development process.mov

Click on this template to make a copy of an action plan/timeline.