Web viewStudent Guide to the Personal Project. MYP Coordinator: Carolyn DowningPersonal Project Coordinator: Amber HornMiddle Years ProgrammeSouth Iredell High School2013-2014

(Student Guide to the Personal Project)

(MYP Coordinator: Carolyn Downing) (Personal Project Coordinator: Amber Horn) (Middle Years Programme) (South Iredell High School) (2013-2014)

Table of Contents

What is the Personal Project? Page 3

What sort of Personal Project can I do? Page 4

What guidelines should I follow when choosing my Personal Project? Page 4

What is required as the Final Project? Page 4

How long do I have to complete the Project? Page 5

What are the aims of the Personal Project? Page 5

How do I get started?Page 6

Areas of Interaction Page 7-9

How do I track my progress? Page 10

How am I graded? Page 11-13

Personal Project Assessment criteria Page 14-21

How do I choose what Information to use? Page 22

Who will/can help me? Page 23

What is the structure of the Personal Project ReportWritten Format? Page 23

What is the structure of the Personal Project ReportMultimedia Format? Page 24

(if you choose to present your project this way at the end)

What happens when Im done? Page 24

Appendices

A: Deadline and Checklist Page 26-27

B: Forms

Personal Project Topic Proposal Page 28

Interim Assessment of Process Journal Page 29

Personal Project Supervisor Final Assessment Page 30

Meeting Notes Page 31

Activity Liability Waiver Page 32

Community Mentor Agreement Form Page 33

What is the Personal Project?

Congratulations! You are about to embark on a wonderful journey as you complete your Personal Project.

Do you have a business idea you want to develop? Have you ever wanted to build a musical instrument, a boat, or a structure of sorts? Do you have an eye for fashion or photography? Do you have a secret passion to write a play, a short story, or poetry? Do you want to do something special for your community or some place in the World? Now is your chance! The Personal Project is YOUR project to do what YOU want to do, to show the skills that you have developed over the years in the Middle Years Programme. The Personal Project holds a special place in the Middle Years Programme, as it is the culminating event which is completed in the final year of the programme, in 10th grade.

The Personal Project is an independent assignment that can be on any topic and take any form as long as it has a strong connection to one Area of Interaction.

Remember, you will be working on this project for many mothers, so it should be something you REALLY WANT TO DO.

What sort of Personal Project can I do?

There are an infinite variety of Personal Projects that can be done! The following are some types of projects that are possible:

An original work of art (visual, dramatic or performance)

A written piece of work on a particular topic

A piece of literary fiction or creative writing

An original science experiment

An invention or specially designed object of system

The development of a business/management plan

The creation of a new student or community organization

SIHS MYP students have shot information videos about our programme, wrote their own poetry, built adaptive devices for special needs individuals, written/published books, composed and performed original music, choreographed their own dance and performed it, made dresses for needy girls in Haiti, built a library for under privileged children in our community, among many other wonderful things.

What guidelines should I follow in choosing my Project?

Each Personal Project Must:

Have a clear and achievable goal

Be entirely your own work

Be focused on at least one Area of Interaction

Be personalreflect your unique interests, abilities, and/or concerns

Be the result of your initiative, creativity and ability to organize and plan

Address a topic to which you are truly committed to

A Project Must Not:

Be part of coursework being assessed for a class

Completely overwhelm your other activities and responsibilities

Cross over into Community and Service (cannot combine hours)

What is required as the Final Project?

The Personal Project consists of three main components:

the report

the project/product/outcome itself

the Process Journal

How long do I have to complete the Project?

The time commitment for Personal Projects may vary somewhat depending on your project and what you are trying to accomplish as your goal. You will have a timeline of about 6-7 months (September to February/March). Of course throughout the time you might spend more time on your project one week than others, but you need to keep track of when and what you do in your process journal to see your growth, to see your obstacles and how you overcame them, as well as your aha moments. It is all up to you!!

What are the aims of the Personal Project?

The aims of the Personal Project highlight what you may expect to experience or learn. In addition, the aims suggest the impact that the learning experience may have on you. The aims of the MYP Personal Project allow students to:

engage in personal inquiry on issues that are relevant to themselves, through an area of interaction as a context for learning.

demonstrate the skills, attitudes and knowledge required to complete a project over an extended period of time,

reflect on their learning and knowledge (on their own and with others),

move towards thoughtful and positive action, and

develop confidence as lifelong learners

How do I get started?

Defining the Goal

You will begin your project by identifying areas or topics of interest to you. Start recording your thoughts and ideas in your process journal. After this brainstorming, narrow your idea(s) and develop an outline of how you are going to meet your goal (specifications). This outline will be useful when completing the Personal Project Proposal.

Setting an appropriate goal is the most important step you can take to ensure a successful project. Your supervisor will help you determine if your idea is too simplistic or too challenging to accomplish in the time set forth. The goal should clearly explain what you want to do and why you want to do it. One simple test of a good goal is to follow the path of a SMART goal.

Specific

Who or what is the project concerning?

What specifications are you setting for yourself to make sure that you can achieve your goal?

Measureable

How will you be able to measure whether or not you accomplished your goal?

Is your goal specific enough to be able to measure?

Attainable

Is your project realistic?

Can you accomplish your goal in the time you have available?

Relevant

Is the goal of your project of vast importance to you?

Why is it important? What is the personal connection?

Time-bound

Do you have control over the factors required to make your project work or are you overly dependent on others?

Areas of Interaction

When you are choosing your topic, goal, and approach of your project, you must remember that the Personal Project is your way of demonstrating your understanding of the areas of interaction. You must, therefore, choose a goal and focus on one area of interaction that will allow you to do this. Each project must have a strong connection to at least one area of interaction.

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Community and Service

Health and Social Education

Environments

Human Ingenuity

Approaches to Learning

Community and Service

Community and Service extends the focus beyond the classroom and encourages responsible, caring participation in ones local setting and in the wider world. Through such first-hand experience, students have an opportunity to learn how other people live while contributing something of benefit to society.

Some skills, attitudes, and values developed through Community and Service include:

Awareness of how community are created

Awareness of how communities function

Appreciation for different cultures

Sensitivity to the needs of the community and society

Sense of responsibility and self-esteem

(Example of focus on Community and ServiceTopic: Depression in adolescentsGoal of Personal ProjectHelp young people deal with negative thoughts and pressure that can lead to depression. Inspired by own and friends experiences.Process Research anxiety and depression in teenagers Explore techniques used to produce a video Show the video to peers and evaluate the responseProductA short video that looks at pressures on young people and positive ways of counterbalancing these. An evaluation of the impact of the video.)

Health and Social Education

Health and Social Education concentrates on preparation for a physically and mentally healthy life, becoming aware of potential hazards and being able to make informed choices. Respect for body and mind is the cornerstone upon which we build all learning.

Some skills, attitudes, and values developed through Health and Social Education include:

A respect for your body and mind

The ability to make responsible choices for yourself physically and mentally

Raising awareness of social issues and their effects on the health and well-being of others

(Example of focus on Health and Social EducationTopic: GenealogyGoal of Personal ProjectFind out about the history of my family in the last 100 years and examine my place in it.Inspired by the emigrat