Senn Personal Project Student Handbook 2013-14

7/28/2019 Senn Personal Project Student Handbook 2013-14

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PERSONAL PROJECT STUDENT HANDBOOK2013-2014


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Start of 4th quarter

- 9th grade

BeginPersonalProject

End of 9th

grade

Work onPersonalProject

Start of 3rd quarter

- 10th grade

Completionof Personal

Project

Start of 4th quarter

- 10th grade

Personal ProjectPresentations

End of

10th grade

PERSONAL PROJECT OVERVIEW

What is the Personal Project?

A project in which YOU define a goal and work towards accomplishing that goal A project with a topic that YOU CHOOSE because it interests you An independent study so you do it on your own with the help of an adult supervisor.

It is not a requirement for any one class; it is a program requirement.

A project that begins during the 4th quarter of your 9th grade year and is completedduring the 3

rdquarter of your 10

thgrade year

A project that concludes with a public presentation of your work

What are the major parts of the Personal Project? (What do I turn in?)

There are three major components to the Personal Project:

1. The Process Journal You have to document the steps you take and your evolving thinkingabout the project from brainstorming a topic to reflecting on your final product.

2. The Product/OutcomeThis is the thing you produce in order to accomplish your project goal.Examples include: a video, an essay, a play, a fundraising campaign, a website, etc. You evaluate

its success by measuring the product/outcome against specifications that you create in advance

(see What are project specifications and how do I create them? on page 6 of this handbook).

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What steps do I have to take in order to complete the Personal Project?*All steps are summarized below, then detailed on pp. 4-8 of this handbook.

3. Apply the Information you GatherInterpret the information by considering:

Why does this information matter?

How is this relevant to my stated goal?

Use the informationtransfer and apply it to your goal by:

Making decisions

Creating solutions

Developing understanding

2. Select Your SourcesFind a variety of sources(e.g., books, periodicals,

websites, interviews,images, etc.)

Use your Process Journal to recordbibliographic information

throughout this step

Make sure thesources are relevant

to your goal

Evaluate the sources judgesources by considering, e.g.:

Is the author credible?

Is the information current?

Is the information accurate?

Who is the intended audience?

1. Define the Goal

Begin your choice ofProcess Journal at thebeginning of this stepand use it throughout

Brainstorm andidentify a suitable

topic

Identify oneArea ofInteraction (AoI) on

which you will focusand justify it

Decide on achallenging, yet

realistic goal that youcan accomplish

Create specificationsto evaluate the

product/outcome

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Possible Formats for your Process Journal

- A journal notebook or binder

- A video documenting your process

- A wiki/blog

HOW DO I GET STARTED?

Begin your choice ofProcess Journalwith some brainstorming in order to

find a topic that best suits your

interests.

Meet your supervisor to share your topic and review the meeting protocol.*Also see My Personal Project Supervisor on page 8 of this handbook.

You will have to do some background research on your topic before you can develop aworthwhile goal.

Followingmeeting

protocol =higher scoreon Criteria A

Agree on time &place of meetings

Confirmappointments 1-

2 days in

advance

Communicate (e-mail) between

meetings

Honor all meetingtimes - don't be late!

Come to meetings prepared(bring Process Journal &thoughtful questions for

your supervisor)

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Your interest

Topic of choice

Research

Area ofInteraction

YOURGOAL

How do I decide on a goal?

Consider the following examples of Personal Projects:

Challenging (worthwhile) HIGHLY Challenging (not advised!)

A Raise political awareness among my peersthrough an information-giving campaign

Influence City Hall and get a lawpassed/changed in the city of Chicago

B

Design a playground for young children and

produce a model

Design a playground for young children,

produce a model, raise finance, and arrange

for the playground to be builtSamples by the IBs Personal Project Guide and a student handbook from BT Washington High School in Tulsa, OK

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ASK YOURSELF:

What qualities or properties should my product or

outcome have in order for me to say

YES! Thisis exactly as I planned it.

Possible sources include:

Your supervisor

Other teachers/librarian

Books & periodicals

Adults in the

community

What are project specifications and how do I create them?

Specifications (or specs) are criteria thathelp us measure the success of a

product/outcome. So, a product/outcome is successful if it

meets the specifications.

Create a checklist of the criteria you decide to use for your project specifications.Your specifications checklist could look something like this

How do I select and evaluate my sources?

You must use a varietyof resources. Be very careful to record the bibliographic

information for every resource that you consult As with your classes, use MLA for referencing When your resource is a person, get the correct

Project Specifications for playground model

Complete

The model shows five play stations/features including at least one climbing

apparatus

Complete

The model shows a surrounding fence with a locking gate to protect smaller

children

Complete

The model shows a soft/synthetic ground surface for child safety

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ACHIEVING YOUR GOAL will take some time and will involve a differentprocess from one project to another, depending on the defined goal. Some

important things to remember: Plan out how you will create the product/solution before getting started.

Leave enough time to accomplish this before the deadline.

Use the specifications you created to guide your work.

In the Achievement of the Goal section of your Project Report, you will evaluate

your product/outcome by showing how it met or did not meet the specifications.

How do I apply the information I gather from my sources?

First, you must interpretthe information you gather. You should do this while you are selectingand evaluating your sources in the previous step.

1. Make sure you choose sources that are relevant to your topic.2. You want to be able to answer the following questions when writing the Application of

Information section of your Project Report:

Why is this information important? How will this information help me achieve my goal?

When you are able to answer the above questions, it should be easier to transfer and applytheinformation you gathered. In the Application of Information section of your Project Report, you

should answer the following: How did I use the information I gathered to help me make decisions in moving

towards my goal?

How did I use the information to help me create solutions related to my goal? How did the information help me develop a greater understanding about my

topic?

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Title Page

Student name

Title of Project

Length (wordcount)

School Name

Month & Yearof submission

Table ofContents

Section names

Correspondingpage numbers

Body of Report(the sections)

The goal

Selection ofsources

Application ofinformation

Achieving thegoal

Reflection onlearning

Bibliography

MLA Format

Alphabeticalorder

Appendices(optional)

Charts

Graphs

Photos

Drawings

HOW DO I COMPLETE MY PROJECT REPORT?

Much of your grade on this project comes from your supervisor reviewing the report you submit. It is

therefore VERY important that you follow the guidelines below for completing your Project Report!

You must have a written report ready to present to your supervisor by the project due date. The written report may be on paper or in a digital format. The report must have the structure described below:

The minimum length of the report is 1,500 words. The maximum length is 3,500 words (for projects in which the product/outcome is an essay to

be included in the Project Report itself).

The word count applies only to Body of Report; appendices, bibliography, etc. do not count.A LITTLE HELP, PLEASE?

My Personal Project Supervisor

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EXPLAINING THE AREAS OF INTERACTION (AoIs)

APPROACHES TO LEARNING (ATL) - Through Approaches to Learning, we come to understand

how we learn, know and communicate our understanding. Approaches to Learning help students:

Develop their organizational skills Develop a positive attitude toward work Learn how to work effectively in groups Strengthen their oral and written communication skills Become effective researches by asking good questions Learn how to evaluate their work

COMMUNITY AND SERVICE - Community and service extends beyond the classroom as weparticipate in a variety of service learning projects. By giving importance to the sense of

community, students learn responsible citizenship and deepen their understanding of our global

community.

HUMAN INGENUITY - Human Ingenuity focuses on the evolution, process and products ofhuman creativity and their impact on life and society. We should learn to appreciate and develop in

ourselves the human capacity to create, transform, enjoy and improve the quality of life. Through

this area of interaction, students:

Become inventors, creators and developers Identify why we create or change products Predict possible future developments Celebrate human achievement Evaluate the effects of human invention on individuals, society and/or

the world

ENVIRONMENTS Thi f i t ti i t d l f i t d d

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How is the project graded? (What rubric will be used?)

Criteria

PointsCriterion A:Use the Process Journal

Criterion B:Define the goal

Criterion C:Select Sources

Criterion D:Apply information

Criterion E:Achieve the goal

Criterion F:Reflect on learning

Criterion G:Report the project

0

The student has not reached a

standard described by any of thedescriptors below


standard described by any ofthe descriptors below

The student has not

reached a standarddescribed by any of

the descriptors below

The student has not

reached a standarddescribed by any of the

descriptors below

The student has not

reached a standarddescribed by any of

the descriptors below


standard described by any ofthe descriptors below

The student has not reached a standard

described by any of the descriptorsbelow

1

The student demonstrates

minimal:

-organizational skills through time

& self-management

-communication & collaboration

with the supervisor

-information literacy, thinking &

reflection

The student:

-identifies the topic of

interest, a focus AoI, & a

limited goal

-creates minimal

specifications to evaluate the

projects outcome/product or

none at all

The student:

-selects very few

relevant sources to

achieve the goal

-demonstrates

minimal evaluation of

sources


minimal:

-transfer & application of

information to make

decisions, create solutions

& develop understandings

in connection with the

projects goal

-The student evaluates

the quality of the

outcome/ product.

-The outcome/

product is ofvery

limited quality &

meets few of the

specifications


minimal:

-reflection on how completing

the project has extended

his/her knowledge &

understanding of the topic &

the focus AoI

-reflection on how s/he has

developed as a learner by

completing the project

The student demonstrates:

-minimal organization of the project

report according to the required

structure

-communication, which is rarely clear,

coherent & concise & may not meet

required limits

-inaccurate use of MLA format* to

acknowledge sources or no

acknowledgement of sources

2

The student demonstrates some:


& self-management


with the supervisor


reflection

The student:

-outlines superficially the

topic of interest, a focus AoI,

& an achievable goal

-createsspecifications for

evaluating the projects

outcome/ product, however

they lack definition

The student:

-selects some relevant

sources to achieve the

goal

-demonstrates some

evaluation of sources


some:


information to make




projects goal


the quality of the

outcome/ product.

-The outcome/

product is oflimited

quality & meets some

of the specifications


some:



his/her knowledge &


the focus AoI





-some organization of the project


structure

-communication, which is sometimes

clear, coherent & concise & may not

meet required limits

-some accurate use of MLA format* to

acknowledge sources

3


satisfactory:


& self-management


with the supervisor


reflection

The student:

-describes clearly the topic of

interest, a focus AoI, & an

achievable & appropriately

challenging goal

-creates satisfactory

specifications for evaluating

the projects outcome/product

The student:

-selects a satisfactory

variety of relevant

sources to achieve the

goal

-demonstrates

satisfactory evaluation

of sources


satisfactory:


information to make




projects goal


the quality of the

outcome/product.

-The outcome/product

is ofsatisfactory

quality & meets many

of the specifications


satisfactory:



his/her knowledge &


the focus AoI

-reflection on how s/he hasdeveloped as a learner by



-satisfactory organization of the project


structure

-communication, which is generally

clear, coherent & concise & may not

meet required limits

-generally

accurate use of MLA format*to acknowledge sources

4

The student demonstrates well-

developed:


& self-management


with the supervisor


reflection

The student:

-justifies effectively the topic

of interest, a focus AoI, & an

achievable & appropriately

challenging goal

-creates appropriately

rigorous specifications for

evaluating the projects

outcome/ product

The student:

-selects a wide variety

of relevant sources to

achieve the goal

-demonstrates well-

developed evaluation

of sources


well-developed:


information to make




projects goal


the quality of the

outcome/product.

-The outcome/product

is ofhigh quality &

meets most or all of

the specifications


well-developed:



his/her knowledge &


the focus AoI





-consistent organization of the project


structure

-communication, which is clear,

coherent & concise & may not meet

required limits

-accurate use of MLA format* to

acknowledge sources, possibly with

minor errors

Total pts.

284 pts. possible 4 pts. possible 4 pts. possible 4 pts. possible 4 pts. possible 4 pts. possible 4 pts. possible

*Denotes local criteria for Senn; IB accepts any recognized convention to acknowledge sources


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Documents

Senn Personal Project Student Handbook 2013-14