Personal Project Supervisors Guide A4 09 10

70

1

ii

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APPENDIX FACTS

The appendix is a useful place for important information that is too extensive to be placed in the body of your project. For example: a copy of a survey you wrote, sketches, interview transcript, chronol-ogy of events, statistical tables. 1. The material must be relevant to the thesis of your project. 2. It must be cross-referenced in either a footnote or a parenthetical reference. 3. Do not pack the appendix with unnecessary material. 4. It is placed after the bibliography. FOOTNOTES Footnotes are used to cite information and ideas. 1. They are placed at the bottom of the page and separated by the text by a solid

line. 2. Leave a blank line and indent the footnote the same number of spaces as your

regular paragraph indentations. Example:

Alice Munro write deceptively simple stories . . . Yet stories by this so-called “antiquarian miniaturist”1 appear in a variety of magazines designed for sophi- sticated urban readers. Munro’s impeccable technique, her “postmodern view of language”2 . . . compression, time-shifting and subtle metaphor. In “The Progress of Love” the middle- aged narrator . . . it is a story about the discovery and exposure of secrets3

. . “How thoroughly we dealt with our fathers and mothers . . . How completely we filed them away, defined them beyond any possibility of change,” says the narrator of another Munro short story, “The Moons of Jupiter.”4

_____________ 1Brian Fawcett, “Me and my Gang,” Books in Canada, December 1991, 9. 2Russell Perkin, letter, Books in Canada, March 1992, 5. 3E.D. Blodgett, Alica Munro (Boston: Twayne, 1988), 7. 4Alice Munro, The Moons of Jupiter (Markham, Ontario: Penguin, 1983), 256.

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SAMPLE BIBLIOGRAPHIC ENTRIES, continued

Information from the Internet: "Great Pictures of Personal Projects From My School." Great IB Schools. 19

Aug. 2001. Online. Available http://www.raisingtheprofile.com/ jpeg/html/pic. 21 May 2002.

Format: Author (if known). "Title of page or document." Title of site or larger work. Date of document (if known). Online. Available http:lladdresslfilename. Date you viewed the information.

A Personal E-mail: McDuck, Ronald. <[email protected]> "Too Much Beef is Bad." 15

May 2001. E-mail received by : Vegan, Joe.

Format: Author's last name, first name. <Author's e-mail address. "Subject line." Date of message. E-mail received by: last name, first name. Hints: do not include the e-mail address unless you are sure that it won't be abused in some way.

An Interview: Pressly, Aaron. Personal interview. 27 March. 1998.

Format: Person's last name, first name. Date of interview. Hints: use this format for interviews and conversations that you have had in person or on the telephone.

A Television Program: "MTV Cribs: Limp Bizket's Personal Project Room." MTV Cribs. MTV Asia,

Bangkok. 6 Oct. 2001.

Format: "Title of the program." Title of the Series. Television net work, place it was produced. Date it was produced. Hints: try to get as much information as possible by watching the credits at the end of the program.

Adapted from the MLA Style Guide and the American Library Association by Mr. Christopher Hughes for the NIST Library, May 2002.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS Supervising the Personal Project A note from the coordinator iv

The Role of the Supervisor v

Guidelines for Supervisors v

Advice on Choice of Topic, Theme or Idea v Meetings vi

Student Guide 2

iv

Supervising the Personal Project A note from the coordinator…. This guide is prepared for use by Nations’ Secondary staff who supervise the personal projects of year 11 students at Nations. The information in the front portion of the guide comes from the MYP Personal Project Guide, published by the IBO and is included here for the supervisor’s convenience. Further information and many other valu-able resources are available at: www.occ.ibo.org. The second part of this guide provides the supervisor with a copy of all pertinent sections of the Student Personal Project Guide and Process Journal. Supervisors are asked to familiarize themselves with the mate-rial contained therein. All Nations year 11 students have a copy and are required to make use of it and the forms and instructions it contains. Please pay particular attention to the “Personal Project Timeline” as there are many deadlines for the student and supervisor to keep track of during the five phases of the Personal Project. Both the Student Personal Project Guide and Process Journal and the Supervisor Guide were created with a view to clarifying the requirements, process and product of the MYP Personal Project for both the student and the supervisor. I very much hope you both find them useful. Any comments and suggestions for future editions would be deeply appreci-ated. During the progress of this year’s Personal Projects, I am at your dis-posal and will do whatever I can to be of help. Thanks, in advance, for all your hard work supervising our students! Ann Krake

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SAMPLE BIBLIOGRAPHIC ENTRIES A Book By One Author: Armstrong, Matthew. The Best Projects to Help Save the Earth for Young Teens.

Toronto: Western Alliance Publishing, 2002.

Format: Author's last name, first name. Title of book. Place of publication: publisher, date of publication. Hints: take all information from the title page and back of the title page; take the first city listed and the most recent date.

A Book By More than One Author: Chartres, Frederico V. and Tomas Vallpollicello. How to Cook Spaghetti in Your

Uncle's Wok. Rome: Vendetta and Sons, 1999.

Format: First author's last name, first name. Second author's first name and last name. Title of book. Place of publication: publisher, date of publication. Hints: if there are three or more authors, put "et.al." after the first author's name.

A Magazine or Newspaper Article: Kane, Kwae-Chang. "How Kung-Fu Saved My Life and My Marriage." Martial Arts

Review 2 Nov. 1996, 23-36.

Format: Author's last name, first name. "Title of article." Title of magazine or newspaper Date of issue, pages. Hints: if you can't tell who the author is, the title of the article comes first; do not put a full stop after the title of the magazine or newspaper.

An Encyclopedia Article: Middlesbrough, Larry. "Vowels." World Book Encyclopedia, 2000 ed.

Format: Author's last name, first name. "Title of article." Title of Encyclopedia, edition. Hints: if you can't tell who wrote the article, the title of the article comes first.

An Article from a CD-ROM: Koeller, Martin. "Why the Leafs are the Greatest Hockey Team of All Time."

Microsoft's World of Hockey. CD-ROM. New York: Microsoft, 2002.

Format: Author's last name, first name. "Title of article." Title of disc. Format. Place: publisher, date. Hints: take the disc's information from the computer, not from the box.

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A GUIDE TO WRITING BIBLIOGRAPHIES

INTRODUCTION A bibliography is a list of sources that you have used for information during your research. This is a quick and simple guide to help you write a proper bibliography for your IB-MYP Personal Project. Listed below are some rules to follow and some examples. There is no single correct way to write a bibliography. Many different fields of study and different universities use different formats. This guide shows only one way to do it properly. If you are in doubt, FOLLOW YOUR TEACHER'S INSTRUCTIONS. WHY DO YOU HAVE TO INCLUDE A BIBLIOGRAPHY? • To give credit for ideas that are not yours; • To allow people who like your work to find the same information that you did; • To show all of the sources that you have used to support your research. WHAT SHOULD A BIBLIOGRAPHY LOOK LIKE? • It should be consistent and arranged alphabetically by the first word in each

entry (usually the author's last name) under the heading "Bibliography"; • It should contain proper punctuation, underlining, and indenting; • It should include who wrote the information, where the information was

published, and when it was published. WHAT DOES A SAMPLE BIBLIOGRAPHY LOOK LIKE? Here is a sample bibliography and some hints. The rules for each of these entries and others are on the next page.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Armstrong, Matthew. The Best Protects to Help Save the Earth for Young Teens. Toronto: Western Alliance Publishing, 2002.

Charnel, Frederico V. and Tomas Vallpollicello. How to Cook Spaghetti in Your Uncle's Wok. Rome:

Vendetta and Sons, 1999. "Everyone Out of the Gene Pool: How Thai Food is Harming Our DNA." Bangkok Post. 13 Sept. 1998:

C21. "Great Pictures of Personal Projects From My School." Great IB Schools. 19 Aug. 2001. Online. Available

http://www.raisingtheprofile.com/jpeg/html/pic. 21 May 2002. "MTV Cribs: Limp Bizket's Personal Project Room." MTV Cribs. MTV Asia, Bangkok. 6 Oct. 2001. **HINTS: (1) the word "Bibliography" is centered and in all capitals; (2) the second line of each entry is indented five spaces (one tab stop); (3) the entries are listed alphabetically by first word in each entry; (4) the name of the book or newspaper or television show is underlined; (5) notice exactly where the full stops appear.

v

The Role of the Supervisor Each student must have a supervisor to work with on the personal pro-ject. The supervisor is expected to: • make sure that the student has been provided with and understands

the guidelines and the assessment criteria for the personal project • guide the student on how to complete the personal project success-

fully • emphasize to the student the importance of keeping an effective

process journal • carry out formative assessment by offering positive, constructive oral

and written comments at each stage, using the personal project as-sessment criteria as a basis for discussion

• assess the project according to the assessment criteria • ensure that the project is authentic and entirely the student’s own

work, and that the material is adequately referenced • take part in the standardization of assessment process in the school.

Reminder The supervisor should be an appropriately qualified person within the school but need not be a specialist in the particular field of study chosen by the student.

Guidelines for Supervisors Working as a supervisor and helping a student prepare a personal pro-ject can be a very rewarding experience. The supervisor and student can work closely together as the project develops. The following guidelines, which can be applied to the supervision of all types of personal project, describe some of the ways in which the proc-ess of interaction between the supervisor and student can be ar-ranged. Advice on Choice of Topic, Theme or Idea The topic, theme or idea for the personal project should initially be cho-sen by the student, followed by discussion with a supervisor who should ensure that it is well defined and is inspired by one or more ar-eas of interaction. Students should be able to define their goals clearly by writing key questions and a statement of intent.

vi

The personal project must offer students scope for personal reflection and must have an obvious focus on at least one of the areas of interac-tion. This may be more difficult to attain where it is too strictly related to one academic subject. The scope of the personal project should go be-yond a single subject. During the latter part of year 4 students should discuss ideas for their personal projects with as many people as possible, such as: other stu-dents, friends outside the school, relatives and teachers, and their super-visor. During and following these discussions, students should draw up an outline of the goal they wish to pursue, which will form the basis of the first meeting between the student and the supervisor. At this initial stage students should discuss the possible choice of project with the coordinator who should ensure that the goal of the personal pro-ject is: • well defined • clearly focused on one or more areas of interaction • attainable by the student of clear interest to the student. Meetings Meetings of Supervisors Time must be set aside by the school for meetings of supervisors to agree on common deadlines, to decide on common expectations from students and to standardize assessment. There must also be time for su-pervisors to meet students on a regular basis. The school may need to adapt some aspects of the schedule to allow these meetings to take place. Meetings with Students Personal project supervisors will work more effectively with students if they are available to meet with each student regularly. Both supervisor and student need to acknowledge this and agree on appropriate meeting times. Different projects will require different contact times between the individ-ual student and the supervisor. The frequency of these meetings may change according to the type of project, the topic, the characteristics of the individual student and local circumstances. Supervisors should keep

65

BIBLIOGRAPHY GUIDE

64

FINAL STUDENT SELF ASSESSENT

MYP Criteria Level (Score)

Comments

Criterion A:

Planning and Development

(4)

Criterion B:

Collection of Information/Resources

(4)

Criterion C:

Choice and Application of Techniques

(4)

Criterion D:

Analysis of Information (4)

Criterion E:

Organization of the Written Work

(4)

Criterion F:

Analysis of Process and Outcome

(4)

Criterion G:

Personal Engagement (4)

vii

a record of each meeting to obtain an overall view of the student’s pro-gress. Weekly meeting times are beneficial to the overall success of any stu-dent’s personal project, even if those meetings are periodically very short. The aim of the first meeting is to help the student focus on the exact nature and goal of the personal project, and to discuss the student’s pro-posed topic. At regular meetings the supervisor: • discusses with the student relevant sources of information and,

when necessary, other resources that the student may use to de-velop the project

• reviews with the student the appropriate areas of approaches to learning (ATL) that will help develop the personal project

• focuses on the organization and presentation of the final piece of work, advising the student to be thorough and methodical

• helps the student establish and maintain the focus of the personal project, and ensures that it is proceeding as planned

• encourages the student to keep a detailed and useful process jour-nal

• advises the student to review and revise the project in the context of the assessment criteria.

Reminder Many students find it difficult to maintain focus on a specific task over an ex-tended period of time. Even dynamic and interested students may need to be encouraged and stimulated to maintain interest in their personal projects. Stu-dents should be encouraged by the supervisor, who should also show enthu-siasm for the personal project and offer support to overcome difficulties.

viii

Notes

63

FINAL STUDENT SELF-ASSESSMENT Name: _______________________________________________________ Homeroom:_____________________ Class:_________________________ Supervisor: ____________________________________________________ Project Title: __________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ Product Type: _________________________________________________

(e.g. portrait, model, CD Rom, VCD, clothing, essay, folder, etc.) Display Requirements: __________________________________________

(e.g. computer & required software, CD player, Internet access, etc.). After you have finished writing your personal statement, complete two final assessments: an Approaches to Learning checklist below and a summative assessment on the next page. To complete the summative assessment, use the Personal Project Assessment Criteria on pp 46-51. Please write in com-ments that justify your score for each criterion.

ATL Skills Rarely Occasionally Usually Always

Contacts supervisor on regular basis

Works independently

Organizes time effectively

Meets deadlines

Demonstrates good effort

62

FINAL SELF-ASSESSMENT

ix

Notes

2

STUDENT GUIDE

61



Works independently


Meets deadlines


Meeting 12 Date:______________________ Supervisor's Comments: Supervisor's Signature:__________________________________________

Next meeting:___________________


Next meeting:___________________


Next meeting:___________________

60



Works independently


Meets deadlines



Next meeting:___________________


Next meeting:___________________


Next meeting:___________________

3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Using this book 4 Personal Project Timeline 5 Calendar of dates (omitted from Supervisor’s Guide) 6-15 Getting Started 16 Introductory Questionnaire 18 Topic Selection Form 21 Commitment Contract 24 Planning Questionnaire 25 The Design Cycle 27 What is the Personal Project? 28 Sample Topics and Central Areas of Interaction 30 Written Documentation: Process Journal & Personal Statement 31 Sample Personal Statement Outlines 34-35 Personal Statement Checklist 36-37 Areas of Interaction 38-43 AoI Web 44 AoI Key Questions 45 Assessment Criteria 46-51 Assessment Criteria Checklists 52-55 Personal Project Grade Boundaries 55 Supervisor’s Feedback 56-61 Final Student Self-Assessment 62-64 Bibliography Guide 65-68 Appendix Facts 69 Process Journal (omitted from Supervisor’s Guide) 70-166

4

USING THIS STUDENT GUIDE AND PROCESS JOURNAL

This Student Guide and Process Journal has been created for the purpose of helping you to succeed with your Personal Project. The Student Guide section has all the information to answer your questions about the Personal Project and will be invaluable to you throughout your work. The Process Journal section begins after the Student Guide and there are several pages for you to record your progress. Some of the pages of the Process Journal are blank and some are lined. Use the Process Journal pages to write notes, draw diagrams, work through problems, record interviews, list your sources, etc. Your Process Journal is yours to use as you wish, but remember, it will form part of your overall Personal Project. Good luck and enjoy your journey.

59



Works independently


Meets deadlines



Next meeting:___________________


Next meeting:___________________


Next meeting:___________________

58

ATL Skills Rarely Occasionally Usually Always Contacts supervisor on

regular basis

Works independently


Meets deadlines



Next meeting:___________________


Next meeting:___________________


Next meeting:___________________

5

NB: Make regular entries in your process journal throughout phases 1-4.

2009 -2010

Phase 1: Selecting the Topic

Information Session / Preparatory pamphlet June 2009

Complete Introductory Questionnaire June-September 2009

Discuss topic options with supervisor Week of 28 Sept-2 October

Prepare topic selection form and Commitment Contract Obtain signature(s) from AoI leader(s) for chosen AoI(s)

5-9 October 2009

Present final topic, title (in form of a guiding question) and AoIs to supervisor and to Mrs Krake (for approval)

Week of 12-16 October 2009

Phase 2: Planning the Project (after final approval)

Complete Planning Questionnaire 16 October– 16 November

Create a timeline that will help guide you through the project (this can change)

16 October– 16 November

Begin research 16 October– 16 November

Discuss planning / timeline / resources with supervisor Week of 23-27 November

Phase 3: Gathering the Necessary Material

Preliminary bibliography due to supervisor Week of 30 Nov– 4 Dec

Collect & record information / data / material November ‘09– February ‘10

Phase 4: Working on the Product

Work on product, revise plans, keep journal —meet regularly with supervisor

November ‘09– February ‘10

Finish work on product and show to supervisor Week of 15-19 February

MYP Personal Project PRODUCT Exhibition 3 March 2010

Outline of Personal Statement due Week of 8-12 March

1st draft of Personal Statement due Week of 22-25 March

2nd draft of Personal Statement due Week of 12-16 April

Submit final draft of Personal Statement, process jour-nal and self-assessment (pp 62-64) to supervisor

7 May 2010

Viva Voce by each student—15:3015:3015:30---16.1516.1516.15 8 June 2010

Phase 5: Presenting the Outcome

16

GETTING STARTED

Note: This point in the student’s guide contains 14 pages of calendar for the student and supervisor’s use in keeping track of meetings and deadlines. These pages are omitted from the supervisor’s guide. However, pagination is organized to correspond with student’s book.

57

THE SUPERVISOR

Your supervisor will: Review the progress of your project and help you to use the criteria Review your process journal and provide ATL support Help you think about the direction of your project Suggest where more research might be helpful Help you think about the structure and presentation of your writing Assess your final project

Your supervisor will not: Do the project for you! Tell you what do to Organize your meetings

Each time your supervisor meets with you, he/she will make a brief com-ment on your progress. Every third or fourth meeting, you and your super-visor should fill in an Approaches to Learning checklist as well. These for-mative comments will help you to improve your progress.


Next meeting:___________________


Next meeting:___________________

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SUPERVISOR’S FEED-BACK

(formative assess-

ment)

17

WHAT STEPS SHOULD I FOLLOW?

Your study of ATL has prepared you for your personal project. The stages in the development of your personal project will include the following: • exploring and choosing at least one AoI and matching it with

a topic which has a clear focus on the dimensions of your chosen AoI(s)

• planning the project • gathering the necessary material • working on the project • presenting the outcome (1. the product, 2. the personal

statement and 3. your Viva Voce) Remember to record all information and ideas in your process journal. ∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎

GETTING STARTED

This guide is meant to give you ideas, but your own creativity is important. To help you get started, you could: 1. Remember Personal Projects you have seen from the past years

2. Read the list of sample Personal Projects on page 30

3. Talk to your family, friends, teachers, supervisor, and Year 12/13's

4. Complete the introductory questionnaire (p. 18)

5. Write down ALL ideas in your process journal 6. Meet with your supervisor (Meeting 1)

7. Decide on your AoI(s) and topic. Fill out the topic selection form, on

page 21.

18

PERSONAL PROJECT INTRODUCTORY QUESTIONNAIRE

The Personal Project, as you are by now aware, requires you to take responsibility for your learning by researching and investigating a project of your choice. The following questions are designed to help you work out what areas you might he interested in pursuing. Fill in Questions 1-9 before you meet with your supervisor for the first time. 1. What Area(s) of Interaction do you find a particular affinity with? 2. What do you do in your spare time ? What are some of your hobbies or

interests? 3. What are some of the things you do really well? (e.g. act, play piano or soccer)

55

Criterion G: Personal Engagement Have I: used my journal effectively for record keeping, reflecting and

as a reference tool for my Personal Statement shown good application of Approaches to Learning skills

when planning and developing my Personal Project shown organisation and commitment to my Project met all deadlines fostered a healthy relationship with my Personal Project

Supervisor responded positively to feedback and advice

Personal Project Grade Boundaries

You need at least a 3 to pass the Personal Project.

Grade 1 0-5

2 6-9

3 10-13

4 14-16

5 17-21

6 22-24

7 25-28

54

Criterion E: Organisation of the Written Work Have I: followed the Personal Statement structure as explained by

the Personal Project Coordinator sequenced my ideas in a logical and consistent manner used

appropriate transitions in my writing to show the flow of my ideas

organised and presented my written work in a neat formal manner

incorporated graphs, pictures, tables, etc. only where appropriate and where I have referred to them in my text

Criterion F: Analysis of Process and Outcome Have I: described and reflected on each of the stages of

development of my Project, discussing both my strengths and weaknesses

reflected on whether my goal/s was achieved—why or why not

reflected on my Area/s of Interaction as the focus and explained how they have been developed and explored through my Project

analysed the quality of my product and related it to my chosen Area/s of Interaction discussed new ideas for how the Project could be

investigated further suggested what I would do differently if I were to attempt it

again 19

4. What would you like to be better at? 5. When it comes to writing, what types of written assignments do you most enjoy and why? 6. What types of written assignments do you least enjoy and why?

20

7. Think about your school and wider community. Is there any aspect of your community that really infuriates you? (eg. perhaps there aren't enough trees in your local park). 8. At this point in time, what are some of your ideas for your Personal Project? FINAL PERSONAL PROJECT IDEAS

FINAL RESULT (e.g. CD,

Poster, essay, VCD, model,

etc.)

Key Area(s) of Interaction that

are Central to topic

(select one or two)

Advantages & Disadvantages

of topic

Human Ingenuity Community & Service Environments Health & Social Ed. ATL





53

Criterion C: Choice and Application of Techniques Have I: chosen absolutely appropriate techniques to achieve my

goal(s) justified how my techniques were appropriate in achieving my

goal and centering on my chosen Areas of Interaction applied my techniques effectively in my Project to achieve my

goal Criterion D: Analysis of Information Have I: analysed my researched information to help achieve my goal reflected on the researched information to identify what was

effective and what was not and if, ultimately, it helped to achieve my goal and focus on my Area/s of Interaction

supported my ideas/visions with evidence from my research ensured and highlighted the analysed information that related

directly to my chosen Area/s of Interaction

52

How do I ensure I have covered all the elements of the assessment criteria?

Use this checklist!!

Criterion A: Planning and Development Have I: clearly stated and explained my goal/s for the Personal

Project developed and justified my chosen focus Areas of Interaction provided a thorough description of my development plan

(outline) to explain how I would achieve my goal/s followed the above stated development plan (outline) to

achieve my goals Criterion B: Collection of Information/Resources Have I: chosen and used excellent / reliable sources of information justified my choice of reliable sources in relation to my goal

and my chosen focus Areas/s of Interaction used a wide variety of sources of information included a correctly formatted and well presented

bibliography included in text referencing in my writing where appropriate

21

PERSONAL PROJECT TOPIC SELECTION FORM

1. Proposed Topic:

2. What Area(s) of Interaction is central to your topic?

3. What form of presentation do you have in mind (e.g. essay, CD, work of art, model, etc.)?

Area of Interaction Explanation of how AOI is central to topic & how you plan to explore the AOI

(optional):

22

PP TOPIC SELECTION FORM, continued

4. What is the goal of your personal project?

5. How do you aim to achieve this goal? Be specific.

If your goal changes as you go through your PP, write your new goal here:

51

Criterion G: Personal Engagement Maximum level: 4 This criterion focuses on an overall assessment of students’ engagement and application of ap-proaches to learning skills during the planning and development stages of the personal project. Qualities such as organization and commitment to the task should be considered. By their very nature, these are difficult to quantify and the assessment should take into account the context in which the personal project was undertaken. The assessment should also take account of working behaviours such as the amount of encour-agement required by students, the interaction between students and supervisors, the attention to deadlines and procedures, as well as the appropriate use of supporting documentation such as log books and process journals. The levels of achievement awarded should be based on a holistic judgment of the degree to which these qualities and working behaviours are evident in the personal project.

Level Descriptor

0 The student has not reached a standard described by any of the descriptors given below.

1 The personal project shows little evidence of any of the required qualities and working behaviours.

2 The personal project is judged to be satisfactory in terms of most of the required quali-ties and working behaviours.

3 The personal project is judged to be good in terms of most of the required qualities and working behaviours.

4 The personal project is judged to be outstanding in terms of the required qualities and working behaviours.

Level Descriptor

1 Minimal achievement in terms of the objectives.

2 Very limited achievement against all the objectives. The student has difficulty in understanding the required knowledge and skills and is unable to apply them fully in normal situations, even with support.

3 Limited achievement against most of the objectives, or clear difficulties in some areas. The student demonstrates a limited understanding of the required knowledge and skills and is only able to apply them fully in normal situations with support.

4 A good general understanding of the required knowledge and skills, and the ability to apply them effectively in normal situations. There is occasional evidence of the skills of analysis, syn-thesis and evaluation.

5 A consistent and thorough understanding of the required knowledge and skills, and the ability to apply them in a variety of situations. The student generally shows evidence of analysis, syn-thesis and evaluation where appropriate and occasionally demonstrates originality and insight.

6 A consistent and thorough understanding of the required knowledge and skills, and the ability to apply them in a wide variety of situations. Consistent evidence of analysis, synthesis and evalua-tion is shown where appropriate. The student generally demonstrates originality and insight.

7 A consistent and thorough understanding of the required knowledge and skills, and the ability to apply them almost faultlessly in a wide variety of situations. Consistent evidence of analysis, syn-thesis and evaluation is shown where appropriate. The student consistently demonstrates origina-lity and insight and always produces work of high quality.

General IB Grades and descriptors

50

Criterion F: Analysis of Process and Outcome Maximum level: 4 Evidence of students’ achievement in this criterion will be found in the conclusion and also in the body of the structured piece of writing. Students are expected to describe, and reflect on, the stages of development of the personal project and the thought processes followed. Stu-dents should reflect on the ways in which the personal project has fulfilled the initial goal. In this reflection, students should review the ways in which the project has been focused on the cho-sen area(s) of interaction, and on how dimensions of the area(s) have been explored and devel-oped. Students should attempt to define new perspectives that could be investigated further through future inquiry into the topic/theme. Using their process journals as a prompt for reflec-tion, students will provide comments on such questions as: • What have been the strengths and the weaknesses of the personal project at different

stages of development? • What would the student do differently next time?

Level Descriptor

0 The student has not reached a standard described by any of the descriptors given be-low.

1 The student’s review is simply a narrative summary or a superficial review of the de-velopment of the personal project in terms of the goal set at its start. There is little un-derstanding of the dimensions of the area(s) of interaction that were stated as the fo-cus for the personal project.

2 The student adequately reviews his/her personal project in terms of the goal set at its start. The student’s review shows some reflection on different stages of the process including an adequate analysis of the quality of the product. The student’s review shows some understanding of the dimensions of the chosen area(s) of interaction that served as a focus for the personal project.

3 The student consistently reviews his/her personal project in terms of the goal set at its start. The student’s review shows significant reflection on different stages of the proc-ess. The evaluation includes a good analysis of the quality of the product, and shows a clear understanding of the dimensions of the chosen area(s) of interaction that served as a focus for the personal project.

4 The student consistently and thoroughly reviews his/her personal project in terms of the goal set at its start. The student’s review shows excellent reflection on different stages of the process. The evaluation includes an excellent analysis of the quality of the product and reveals a thorough understanding of the dimensions of the chosen area(s) of interaction that served as a focus for the personal project. The student presents new perspectives emerging from the chosen topic.

23

PP TOPIC SELECTION FORM, continued

6. What is your personal motivation for this topic? How will you be able to reflect personally on this topic?

7. Is this a project that will maintain your interest over eight months?

8. Final Topic Selection Checklist: □ My Personal Project is personal. □ My Personal Project has a clear goal. □ My Personal Project is central to at least one AOI. □ My Personal Project is not related to a specific subject area. □ My Personal Project is a realistic project. □ My Personal Project is something I can investigate and learn about.

AoI LEADER SIGNATURE(s): ____________________________________ STUDENT’S SIGNATURE: ______________________________________ SUPERVISOR’S SIGNATURE: ___________________________________ MRS KRAKE’S SIGNATURE: ____________________________________

24

COMMITMENT CONTRACT

Read the following commitment contract carefully and then sign below. I,________________________________ , promise that I will take ad-

vantage of this opportunity to direct my own learning. I will respect the

deadlines, work independently, seek advice when I need it, meet with my

supervisor regularly, and do my best work.

If I am unable to meet these responsibilities, I understand that I will be

subject to appropriate academic discipline.

I also promise that the work I submit will not be plagiarized in any way

and that I will document all sources. I understand that plagiarism will re-

sult in a grade of "0" which would mean I am unable to receive my MYP

Certificate.

_______________________________

(student's signature)

_______________________________

(supervisor's signature)

49

Criterion D: Analysis of Information Maximum level: 4 This criterion measures students’ abilities to analyse information in terms of the personal project’s goal and focus on the chosen area(s) of interaction. Students should express personal thoughts and support arguments with evidence.

Criterion E: Organization of the Written Work Maximum level: 4 This criterion focuses on the presentation of the written work (including title page, contents page and page numbering, overall neatness, the appropriate use of graphs, diagrams and tables, where appropriate). It also assesses the internal structure and coherence of the work.

Level Descriptor


1 The personal project contains little reflection in terms of the goal and focus on the chosen area(s) of interaction, and is largely narrative/descriptive. The student misses many opportunities for personal treatment of the topic/theme.

2 The personal project contains some reflection in terms of the goal and focus on the chosen area(s) of interaction. Personal thought is mostly supported with arguments and evidence.

3 The personal project contains significant reflection in terms of the goal and focus on the chosen area(s) of interaction. The student generally supports personal thought with arguments and evidence. However, some opportunities for analysis are not pursued.

4 The personal project clearly shows the depth of reflection and vitality of the student’s own ideas and vision. The student consistently supports a truly personal response to the topic with arguments and evidence.

Level Descriptor


1 The written work is poorly organized, lacking a sensible order and coherent structure. The presentation of the work (for example, table of contents and page numbering) is lacking in several respects.

2 The student has made some attempt at logical organization and an attempt to respect the required structure of the personal project. There are some coherent links between parts of the personal project, and the presentation of the work is often appropriate.

3 The student has made a good attempt at logical organization, respecting the required structure of the personal project. There are some good links between parts of the per-sonal project, and the presentation of the work is almost always appropriate.

4 The organization of the work is completely coherent with the required structure. Ideas are sequenced in a consistently logical manner with appropriate transitions. Overall presentation and neatness of the work are excellent.

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Criterion B: Collection of Information/Resources Maximum level: 4 This criterion allows the student to demonstrate the ability to collect relevant information from a variety of sources and to compile a bibliography of sources used in the project. Students should select sufficient information and appropriate resources to substantiate all arguments and/or to support the project. Students should also acknowledge their sources of information clearly in the body of their text through clear referencing.

Criterion C: Choice and Application of Techniques Maximum level: 4 This criterion assesses students’ abilities to choose techniques relevant to the personal pro-ject’s goal, as defined by the key questions, or statement of intent of the personal project. Stu-dents should justify this selection and apply the chosen techniques consistently and effectively. Students should choose a goal that is achievable. Because of circumstances that may be be-yond their control, students may find that unforeseen difficulties prevent successful completion of ambitious projects. These types of ambitious personal project may still result in a good level of achievement for this criterion.

Level Descriptor

0 The student has not reached a standard described by any of the descriptors given below. 1 Few sources of information and resources have been collected, or the majority are ir-

relevant to the goal of the personal project. The student has provided a summary bibli-ography, where many elements are missing. Few references are made in the text to sources of information used.

2 The student has chosen and used a limited amount of relevant information and re-sources, from a limited number of appropriate sources. A bibliography has been com-piled with most elements present and/or appropriately presented. Some references are made in the body of the text and appendices, where appropriate.

3 The student has chosen and used a good amount of relevant information and resources, from a fairly extensive number of appropriate sources. A bibliography has been com-piled with all important elements present and/or appropriately presented. Detailed ref-erences are made in the body of the text and appendices, where appropriate.

4 The personal project contains excellent, relevant information and resources from a wide variety of appropriate sources. The bibliography is complete and well presented, with clear references to sources in the body of the text and appendices, where appropriate.

Level Descriptor


1 Large parts of the project are not relevant in terms of the goal that had been identified by the student. The techniques used are largely inappropriate and inadequately applied.

2 The techniques chosen vary in their appropriateness, with some being applied to an acceptable standard in order to contribute to the achievement of the goal. The student begins to provide justification for the use of the chosen techniques.

3 The techniques chosen are generally appropriate and well applied to contribute to the achievement of the goal. The student provides some justification for the use of the chosen techniques.

4 The student has chosen absolutely appropriate techniques, provided specific justifi-cation for their choice and applied them effectively, to achieve the stated goal.

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PLANNING QUESTIONNAIRE

1. What material(s) do I need to do my project? 2. Where do I find the necessary material(s)? 3. Who has information about my topic?

26

4. Do I have to carry out my own experiments? If so, describe. 5. Do I need to prepare, circulate and analyse a questionnaire or survey? If so, describe. 6. Do I need to go to libraries other than the school library? If so, which ones? 7. Do I need to visit museums? If so, describe. 8. What other resources in the community might help me?

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Once you’ve finished your product and have used your process journal to write your Personal Statement, your Personal Statement will be assessed using the following seven criteria. Criterion A: Planning and Development Maximum level: 4 Students should be aware that it is essential to define a clear goal before starting detailed research and work. A goal can be defined as a statement, or one or more key questions, which identify the focus of the personal project based on one or more areas of interaction. The goal may alter during the course of the personal project but students need to state and explain clearly the reason(s) for a change in goal. Evidence of students’ achievement in this criterion will be found in the introduction, the body of the work and the conclusion.

Total PointsCriterion A Planning and Development 4Criterion B Collection of Information/Resources 4Criterion C Choice and Application of Techniques 4Criterion D Analysis of Information 4Criterion E Organization of Written Work 4Criterion F Analysis of Process and Outcome 4Criterion G Personal Engagement 4

TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE 28

CriteriaMYP Personal Project Assessment Criteria

Level Descriptor

0 The student has not reached a standard described by any of the descriptors given be-low.

1 The student identifies the goal of the personal project but does not provide an out-line of how he/she aims to achieve this goal.

2 The student identifies and describes the goal of the personal project, states the focus on the chosen area(s) of interaction and provides a simple outline of how he/she aims to achieve this goal.

3 The student identifies and clearly describes the goal of the personal project, describes the focus on the chosen area(s) of interaction and provides a coherent account of how he/she aims to achieve this goal. The development of the personal project is generally consistent with this description.

4 The student identifies and clearly describes the goal of the personal project within a context, develops and justifies the focus on the area(s) of interaction and provides a coherent and thorough description of how he/she aims to achieve this goal. The development of the personal project is totally consistent with this description.

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Assessment Criteria

27

THE DESIGN CYCLE

You are familiar with the design cycle from your DT and IT classes. Use it to help you plan your personal project.

INVESTIGATION

CREATE A SOLUTION EVALUATION

PLAN

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WHAT IS THE PERSONAL PROJECT? Have you ever wanted to build a musical instrument? Do you have a secret passion to write your own play? Do you want to make a difference in your community? Now is your chance! Your Personal Project is your project to do what you want to do, to show the skills you have developed over the years in your subjects and through the Areas of Interaction, and to apply them to an area or topic on which you decide. The Personal Project holds a place of special importance in the Middle Years Programme, and thus your project must be closely linked to at least one of the Areas of Interaction. Remember, you will be working on this project for an extended period of time, and your grade for the Personal Project is as important as any subject grade, so it needs to be something you really want to do. WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PERSONAL PROJECTS? There are a wide variety of forms your Personal Project could take, such as: • an original work of art (e.g. visual, dramatic, performance) • an essay: a written piece of work on a special topic (literary, social,

psychological, etc.) • a piece of literary fiction (e.g. creative writing) • an original science experiment • an invention or specially-designed object or system • the presentation of a developed business, management, or organizational plan

(i.e. for an entrepreneurial business or project, a special event, or the development of a new student or community organisation).

WHAT DOES DOING A PERSONAL PROJECT INVOLVE? Your Personal Project must include a process journal, a product, and a personal statement in the form of a piece of structured writing. If your project is an essay, the essay itself will contain the requirements of the personal statement. HOW DO I START? After you read the student guide (first part of book) and attend the information sessions, go to page 16 for a specific outline of how to get going on your Personal Project.

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Approaches To

Learning

How do I learn best? How do I know? How do I communicate my understanding? What sort of learner am I? How can I research effectively? How can I organise my time and my materials well? What have I learned and done well this term? What role(s) do I play in a group? NB: This AoI may only be selected as a personal project focus ONLY if the pro-ject centers around someone else’s learning.

Community and

Service

What do I know and understand about others around me? How can I contribute to the community? How can I help others? What does "community" mean? What makes a community? How are communities similar? What can I learn about myself through serving others?

Human Ingenuity

How and why do we create? What are the consequences of creating? Origin: How did the creation start? Who thought of it? Process: What steps are taken to produce the creation? How does it change? Development: How has the creation been modified? What else does it lead to? Context: What is the historical / social / cultural / religious context of the creation? Impact: How does the creation affect individuals and/or society? Product: What is the creation? What is it made of? How is it made?

Environments Where do we live? What resources do we have or need? What are my responsibilities? What environments am I a part of? How do I affect the environment? How am I affected by the environment?

Health and

Social Education

How do I think and act? How am I changing? How can I look after myself and others? How can I increase my self-esteem? How can we resolve crises? How can I make wise decisions when faced with many choices? How can I differentiate between needs and wants? To what extent do I act responsibly in groups? How can I express my needs clearly and appropriately? To what extent am I aware of the different standards of living of people around me? To what extent am I aware of potential global health and environmental risks? How can I deal with situations of bullying, harassment, or prejudice? To what extent am I aware of the relationship between lifestyle choices and leading causes of death?

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HI

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WHAT SHOULD I CONSIDER WHEN SELECTING A TOPIC? Whatever form you decide on, your Personal Project should: • have a clear and achievable goal • have at least one Area of Interaction which is central to your topic • allow you to express a truly personal message • be the result of your initiative, creativity and ability to organize and

plan • reflect your special interests, hobbies, special abilities, or concerns

about particular issues • deal with a topic or area to which you are committed • be entirely your own work - plagiarism will result in a grade of "0"

which will mean not receiving your MYP certificate Your Personal Project must not: • be part of any assessed course work (current or past) • destroy your personal and social life, nor interfere with your studies,

even though it will involve many hours of work • be too closely linked to any specific subject • be a topic you can copy from a book or a general topic (e.g. "Reggae

Music"), but should be a question or a challenge you can answer or meet.

Additional points to consider: • you must think of the idea first, and then rework it so that one AOI is

central to it • your personal project can be written in any of the IB languages

(English, French, Spanish, Chinese) • it can be done in cooperation with other students as long as each

student's work can be marked individually and separately and the success of the projects is not dependent on each other

• it must be completed with the guidance of your supervisor (a teacher at school who does not need to be an expert on your idea). You can get help from other people as long as you record this.

WHY DO A PERSONAL PROJECT? • you get to determine what you learn • you can choose something that interests you • you get an opportunity to show your understanding of the Areas of

Interaction • it is excellent preparation for the IB-diploma Extended Essay in Years

12 and 13 • you will get an MYP Graduation Certificate if your earn a "3" or more

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Environments (Env) Key Questions: • Where do we live? • What resources do we have or need? • What are my responsibilities? You are confronted every day by global environmental issues, at home, at school and in your immediate surroundings, all of which require attention and involve decision making. In your Personal Project, you could examine one of these environmental issues and even develop a solution for it. Environments involves you in understanding the issues surrounding your place in the world and the responsibilities that you (and all people) have in ensuring that your legacy is that of a clean healthy planet. In the Personal Project, you could choose to explore issues such as: • the interdependence of human and other forms of life • the consequences of human manipulation of the environment • pollution and population growth • the links between health and changes to the environment • world problems and common issues • local, regional, national and international responsibilities • the environmental choices and opportunities offered by technology • the political responsibility of each individual

Health and Social Education (HSE) Key Questions: • How do I think and act? • How am I changing? • How can I look after myself and others? Four Strands of Health and Social Education 1. Looking after ourselves 2. Understanding ourselves 3. Ourselves and others 4. Ourselves in the wider society Health and Social Education gives you the opportunity to explore, learn and discuss a wide variety of topics which contribute to a physically and mentally healthy life. HSE aims to educate the whole person, mentally and physically. As you plan your Personal Project, you might explore topics that involve making informed decisions and taking responsibility for your own well-being and for the people and world around you. Developing an action plan to stop school bullying and creating a healthy menu for the cafeteria are two sample Personal Projects that would be central to HSE. Other issues you could explore include hygiene, physical and mental health, rest, exercise, leisure, alcohol, drugs, adolescence, emotions, family life, sexual is-sues, peer influences, advertising, media, interpersonal relations, self-respect, family relations, school, peers, safety, firearms, vandalism, poverty, delinquency.

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31

WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION:

THE PROCESS JOURNAL

&

THE PERSONAL STATEMENT

32

WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION OF YOUR PERSONAL PROJECT In addition to working on your actual “product” you need to keep a process journal throughout the duration of your project and write a personal statement after completing your product (unless you choose to write an essay - in which case you incorporate the essay with the personal statement). A. The PROCESS JOURNAL Your process journal (this book) should have all your rough ideas, rough drawings, ideas you thought of with supervisors or other people, interviews you may have conducted, notes and bibliographic information from sources you may have consulted, reflections on the process itself (challenges, potential solutions), etc. Your process journal is a practical workbook for your rough notes. It need not be neat, but should be honest and filled in regularly to show you how your project is developing. Your process journal will help you write your personal statement and show your level of Personal Engagement with the Project If you run out of pages in this process journal, use another plain notebook for your second one.

At least once each week, you should write in your process journal. What should you include in your process journal? • all ideas you have, even if you don't end up using them • a list of what you've done • resources you've consulted (record complete bibliographical details) notes

from your research (including interviews) • challenges and difficulties you have, including potential solutions and

diagrams, charts, samples, sketches, photos, etc. • an evaluation of your progress (are you achieving your goals?) • areas that you need to improve upon • lists of things to do • information about your focus Area of Interaction and how you believe it is

central to your topic • research about the focus Area of Interaction to make the concepts clearer B.The PERSONAL STATEMENT What is a personal statement? • It is the written reflection that you do on your project • It is a thorough reflection on both the process and product • It includes much of what you recorded in your process journal • It is the part of your Personal Project that is assessed • It is PERSONAL.

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Human Ingenuity (HI) Key Questions: • Why and how do we create? • What are the consequences? Human Ingenuity involves learning about creativity, action and thought, both in and outside the classroom. It allows you to appreciate the human capacity to invent, create, transform, enjoy and improve the quality of life. It encourages you to see the relationships between science, aesthetics, technology, and ethics. One of the best ways to view Human Ingenuity is as a cycle, not unlike the DT/IT design cycle. Many areas of human activity can be explored through Human Ingenuity, including: • systems (laws, governments, transport, education, health care) • communication, (which may include statistics, language, codes) • technology (buildings, machinery, tools) • thought (principles, concepts, ideas, opinions, attitudes) • art (painting, sculpture, embroidery, theatre, music) • culture (fashion, rituals, food) Just as all Personal Projects will somehow involve ATL skills, all projects will involve Human Ingenuity to some extent. However, for a personal project to have HI as its central AOI, you must go beyond presenting your product as an example of human creativity (i.e. "I made it, therefore it's Human Ingenuity" will result in poor results in 3 criteria). For Human Ingenuity to be central to your Personal Project, you must question and investigate the creative process, reflect on your own and others' involvement in it, engage with the product, and reflect on its role and context. Describe Human Ingenuity as a cycle. Useful words to remember and to use in your reflection are 'origins', 'context', 'impact', 'product' and 'development'. For example, if you are preparing a Per-sonal Project which involves building or designing a bridge (product), you might ask questions about how the idea for the bridge came about (origins), who or what influ-enced you (context), how you expect your bridge to affect people (impact), and how the bridge might be used in the future (development). Also, you must remember that Human Ingenuity relates as much to yourself as it does to something you are learning about. It may be helpful to ask yourself questions related to ethics: "Am I making decisions in the right way?" and "What sort of values am I using while I complete this project?" Both are very good Human Ingenuity questions, because they are a reflection on how you as person are developing your 'product' - the Per-sonal Project. NOTE: The diagram on the following page is useful in helping you describe

Human Ingenuity as a cycle.

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Approaches to Learning (ATL) Key Questions: • How do I learn best? • How do I know? • How do I communicate my understanding? ATL is automatically related to the Personal Project. This area enables you to take responsibility for your own learning. It is concerned with the development of effective study skills, of critical and independent thought, and the ability to solve problems and make decisions. In your individual work, you should develop organizational skills, collaborative skills, communication skills (written and oral), in-formation literacy (i.e. the ability to find and evaluate information), problem solving and thinking skills, and reflection skills. All Personal Projects will demonstrate your ATL skills.

For a Personal Project to have ATL as its focus, however, the project must be focused on learning. For example, a project that involves organizing educational activities with young hearing-impaired children would involve a study of how this disability affects learning.

Community and Service (C&S) Key Questions: • How do we live in relation to each other? • How can I contribute to the community? • How can I help others? Community and Service encourages you to become a more responsible citizen both through a greater understanding of the world around you as well as through actively participating in service projects. If your Personal Project has C&S as its central AoI, your project could show a greater awareness of the needs of the community and your role within the commu-nity. Equally, your Personal Project could lead to you becoming actively involved in a community service aspect. Reflection upon your C&S experi-ence in Years 9 and 10 should help you to become aware of your own strengths and weaknesses, and may enable you to look at how your own community involve-ment can develop. Please note that simply performing something does not make it a community service. Remember that community and service must be the focus of your Personal Project (and evident in your goal) for it to be considered central to your Personal Project.

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How should a personal statement be organised? The whole of your Personal Project should be organised as follows: • a title page that includes the title of your project and your name. You can use

photos or graphics if you want • an acknowledgements page. This is optional, but it is a chance to acknowledge

(or thank) all those people who helped or inspired you in completing your Personal Project

• a detailed table of contents (include all subheadings in the main body as well as page numbers. Make your subheadings specific to your topic)

• an introduction, defining the goal of the project and an explicit focus on the chosen AOI(s), and providing a detailed outline of how you attend to achieve the goal

• a description and reflection of the process, including production steps, the characteristics, aspects, or components of the work and details of the problems/ difficulties encountered and how they were overcome

• analysis of the inspiration, research and influences guiding the work, the analysis of the research/findings and decisions made, the resulting product and the process in terms of the goal and its central AOI(s) chosen (if you have chosen to write an essay, the essay itself forms the main part of this analysis)

• a conclusion, where you reflect on the impact of your project and on new perspectives that could be considered

• the word count, put discreetly after your conclusion • page numbers • charts, diagrams, photos of the process/product (if you include these, you must

label them and refer to them in the body of your personal statement. They must also be relevant)

• bibliography, properly formatted (for more details on writing bibliographies, see pages 65-68)

• an annex, if necessary. If you include one, you must label it and refer to it in the body of your personal statement. (for more details, see page 69.)

What is a good personal statement? A good personal statement: • gives thorough answers to all the questions that are in the sample outline (see

pages 34-35) • can be described by the highest achievement level of the assessment criteria

(see pages 46-51) • includes all the relevant information from your process journal (see pp 70-166) • is highly reflective and concise and is a genuine PERSONAL response. How long should the personal statement be? • If your product is creative, your personal statement must be no longer than

3000 words • If your product is an essay, your essay/personal statement (integrated

together) must be no longer than 4000 words.

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REQUIRED STRUCTURE

GENERAL OUTLINE OF PERSONAL STATEMENT

SAMPLE 1: ESSAY (together with personal statement)

Title Page Give a clear title (not "Personal Statement") that indicates your project

Poverty in my City: How Can it Be Explained?

Table of Contents

List sections, sub-sections, and page numbers (make them specific to your topic)

Titles of sections and sub-sections specific to the essay (and page numbers)

Introduction • What is your PP? • What is your goal? • What Area(s) of Interaction is/are central to

your goal?(describe and justify) • How did you aim to achieve this goal?

(outline)

Areas of Interaction: HSE, Env Goal: to understand the causes and effects of poverty in my city Outline: general review of poverty through local statistics; main aspects of poverty and its causes or consequences in terms of health, education, and local environment

Description of Process

• What techniques did you choose to enable you to achieve your goal?

• Why did you choose these techniques and not others: (justify your selection)

• research by reading various documents and statistics

• interview social workers, sociologist, psychologist, poor people in different parts of the city

• analyse police data and information • writing process: planning, drafting, editing

Analysis of the

inspiration, research and

influences guiding the

work

• What information did you research and how was it relevant to the goal and AoI(s) of Your PP?

• What evidence do you have to support what you learned? (refer to what you learned from doing research; cite what you learned using footnotes, endnote, or parenthetical references)

• What is your personal response to what you've learned?

• show contrast between what different sources say about the main causes and consequences of poverty in my city

• analyse how the consequences of poverty affect health & education of the poor in my city

• analyse how poverty affects the environment where people live (may be related to housing, pollution, other factors)

• review the process in terms of difficulties encountered and ways you attempted to solve them

Conclusion • What were the strengths and weaknesses of your PP at all the different stages of development?

• How could you have tackled the project differently?

• How would you assess the achieved results (the product) in terms of your goal and the focus on your AoI(s)?

• Can you summarize the overall perspecti-ves/ideas/conclusions related to your PP?

• What new questions do you now have?

• identify the main causes and consequences of poverty in my city that affect health, education, and environment, according to my research

• evaluate each step of your process strengths and weaknesses

• evaluate the quality of your essay • what would you do differently next time? • formulate a new question: how do

changes in the surrounding environment improve the quality of life of poor people?

Bibliography All works you used should be properly cited in the bibliography (and referred to in the body)

Books, newspapers, magazines, interviews, websites

Appendices, if

appropriate

Include any extra but relevant information in an appendix. Label each appendix and refer to it in the body of your writing

Statistics, graphics, histograms, question-naire used for interviews, other material if relevant

SAMPLE OUTLINES OF 3 DIFFERENT PPs

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THE AREAS OF INTERACTION (AoIs) The Areas of Interaction form the basis of the MYP and are at the core of your subjects. The AOIs help you to develop greater global awareness, international understanding, and an appreciation of cultural diversity. The Areas of Interaction are central to the Personal Project. When selecting your topic, you must ensure that your topic and goal focus on one or more of the Areas of Interaction: approaches to learning (ATL), community and service (C&S), human ingenuity (HI), environments (Env), and health and social education (HSE). Your topic must allow for a further exploration of an AOL . You will be assessed on your use and exploration of one or more AOIs in three assessment criteria (A, D, and F— see pages 46-51). APPROPRIATE VS. INAPPROPRIATE PERSONAL PROJECT TOPICS

AOI APPROPRIATE TOPIC (AOI is central to topic)

INAPPROPRIATE TOPIC (AOI is not central to topic)

Approaches to Learning

Teaching hearing-impaired children how to read (deals with how they learn)

Designing a dress (you might deal with how you learn, but this is not central to your topic)

Community and Service

Teaching women in the slum how to make stuffed animals for profit (you are out in the community performing a service)

Performing a song you wrote (C&S isn't central to your topic)

Human Ingenuity

Manipulating digital photos to create new images that shock the audience (impact, development, creation, ethics are central).

Making a model car (HI isn't central to this)

Health and Social

Education

Creating a healthy menu for the cafeteria (physical health is central to topic)

Writing a play (while the theme could be HSE related, it isn't central to the project)

Environments Conducting a campaign to help Nations reduce its paper usage (the environment is central to topic)

Making a chair out of recy-cled parts (using recycled parts does not make topic central to the environment)

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THE AREAS OF INTERACTION

35

SAMPLE 2: MURAL (personal statement)

SAMPLE 3: FUND-RAISING (personal statement)

Creating a Mural about Poverty in My City Fighting Poverty in My City: A Fund-Raising Drive



Areas of Interaction: Env, C&S Goal: to sensitize people in my school to the conditions of poverty in my city Outline: review poverty in my city; consider ways of con-veying a feeling & a message; consider how it will impact on the visual environment; draw my way of perceiving it; seek feedback from others; consider the impact on the community; complete the mural; reflect on your service to community

Areas of Interaction: C&S Goal: to find ways in which different groups of people can take action to fight poverty in my city Outline: review poverty in my city; find out about people and organisations fighting poverty; evaluate ways of contributing; consider impact on the community and your contributions; decide on processes, procedures, and beneficiaries; organise the fund drive

• investigate different sources about art and poverty in my city and the possible impact on the visual environment

• choose aspects of poverty and the local community to be reflected in the mural

• choose techniques • Sketch • get feedback and adapt drawing • complete final product (and get feedback)

• investigate poverty in the city and organizations that already work with poor people

• interview and gather data about needs and possible action

• choose strategy to organize and publicize the fund drive

• organize and complete the fund drive • follow up with beneficiaries

• show how symbols of poverty are used • explain how to produce desired impact in the community • show contrast between own interpretation (of symbols,

techniques, colours) with feedback of others • evaluate the changes introduced to mural • analyse the characteristics of the audience • analyse the choice of location for the mural to create

social awareness and benefit to the visual environment

• briefly describe and analyse the different ways institu-tions raise money to fight poverty and how their ac-tions make a difference

• analyse the way fund-raising was carried out to make it appealing and effective

• review the process in terms of difficulties encountered and how these were overcome

• analyse the impact on the community of activities such as this

• evaluate whether the mural has been able to reflect the environmental problems linked to poverty in the city

• evaluate each step of your process, including its strengths and weaknesses

• reflect on the impact mural has had on community • formulate new questions: (a) is a mural a good way to

sensitize people to a problem? (b) what other means could have been used?

• evaluate the quality of your mural • what would you do differently next time?

• reflect on C&S through the impact this type of activity may have on the ones who benefit from fund-raising

• evaluate each step of your process strengths and weaknesses

• assess the impact of the project on people who bene-fited from the fund-raising

• review the outcome (money raised vs. expectations), involvement of others, responses

• indicate other ways to help fight poverty in terms of C&S

• give overall perspective on how the project changed me

• evaluate the quality of your organisation • what would you do differently next time?

Books, newspapers, magazines, interviews, websites Books, newspapers, magazines, interviews, websites

Pictures, photos, lists of artists, art movements that inspired me

Questionnaire used for the interview and supporting sta-tistics

ON POVERTY IN MY CITY

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PERSONAL STATEMENT CHECKLIST Use this checklist after you've completed your personal statement. My title page contains my name and a title that is specific to project

(graphics are optional). I have a table of contents that lists page numbers and sub headings

that are specific to my topic. I have an introduction. I clearly described what my goal was. I clearly described and justified the AoI(s) that are central to my

PP. I gave a detailed outline of how I aimed to achieve my goal.

I selected and used a variety of appropriate resources in my

personal statement. I analysed/evaluated this information critically. I acknowledged the sources of information properly (i.e, used

footnotes, endnotes, or parenthetical references in the body of my statement and a properly cited bibliography after the conclusion).

I chose and described the applied techniques/steps relevant to my

PP's goal. I explained why I chose a specific technique (or made a specific

decision) and not another one (e.g. why I chose a certain colour/ image/idea etc.).

Where appropriate, I included photos or diagrams or graphs that are clearly labeled and integrated into the text.

I analysed the information I learned/used in terms of my goal(s). I analysed the information I discovered in terms of my AOI focus. I expressed personal thought/opinion. I supported arguments with evidence. I responded thoughtfully to my ideas and inspiration for the Personal

Project. 37

PERSONAL STATEMENT CHECKLIST, continued

I discussed to what extent my initial goal was achieved in relation to my end product.

I assessed the quality of my product and what I learned in terms of my AOI focus.

I identified the strengths and weaknesses of my project at different stages. I explained what I would do differently next time if I were to do this again. I discussed what new questions or ideas I have about my product/topic now

that I have finished it. I reflected on what I learned about myself from doing this project.

I put the word count after my conclusion, before my bibliography. My bibliography is properly cited and ordered alphabetically. (Optional): I put extraneous information in an appendix.

⇒ If I used appendices, I labeled each one clearly with Appendix A (or B...) as well as a specific title.

⇒ If I used appendices, I referred to each one in the body of my personal statement (e.g. In Appendix A....).

⇒ If I used appendices, I put them after the bibliography. I used sub-headings specific to my topic throughout the body of my personal

statement. I presented information clearly and neatly:

I typed my project in an easy-to-read font. I used standard margins. I put page numbers on each page. I spell-checked my personal statement. I edited my personal statement carefully. I collated (stapled or put in folder or bound) my personal statement.

I expressed reflective thinking in a concise and precise manner (avoided repetition and needless words).

I adhered to the word count (less than 3000 words for a creative project; less than 4000 words for a combined essay/personal statement).

I reviewed the assessment criteria (pages 46-51) to make sure my personal

statement is the best I can make it. I completed the self-assessment form on pages 62-64 after I finished the final

copy of my personal statement. I am proud of my personal statement.

Technology

Personal Project Supervisors Guide A4 09 10