Frequently Asked Questions about the Personal Project
1. What is the Personal Project?
It is a significant piece of work produced over an extended period- about one year.
It is a product of your own initiative and must reflect your experience of the MYP- especially the Areas of Interaction.
This is your opportunity to undertake something truly personal and creative.
2. When do I begin the Personal Project?
• You begin your Personal Project in Grade 6 when you start the Middle Years Programme! This is because that is when you begin to learn about the Areas of Interaction.
• The skills that you learn in all of your subjects from grade 6 to grade 10 will be used for your Personal Project.
• When you reach the middle of grade 9, you will begin working on the actual project, which is to be completed in grade 10.
• You should begin thinking about your Personal Project now so that you have enough time to plan and execute your project over a year.
3. How do I choose my Personal Project?
• Look at the Areas of Interaction. Which one inspires you the most? Which one asks questions that you find interesting?
• What are your hobbies, talents, interests, dreams, loves and passions?
• These are the two most important groups of questions that you need to answer to begin choosing a Personal Project. You will be given guidance in making a final decision by your supervisor.
4. Who helps me with my Personal Project?
There are three groups of people who will help you with your personal project:
• The Personal Project coordinator: he will give you all of the information that you need and the Guide that you must follow. He will also help find you a suitable supervisor.
• Your Personal Project supervisor: this person will meet with you at regular intervals and will help you make decisions about your project. Your supervisor will also give you guidelines about keeping focused. You may ask your supervisor for help when you are struggling for ideas or experience difficulties.
• Your family and friends: you will need a lot of support and encouragement to work alone for a year and your family and friends will help you to keep on target but it is always your project.
5. When do I do my Personal Project?
You should work on your project in your free time and your holidays. You should plan this carefully so that you may take advantage of research opportunities presented by travelling to other countries.
Your project should not destroy your social life!
6. How is my Personal Project assessed?
• Like all your subjects in the MYP, your personal project is assessed using published assessment criteria. These are used all over the world by every IBO school that offers the MYP.
• Once your supervisor has assessed your project, it will be moderated by the other supervisors of our school.
• Samples of our Personal Projects will then be sent to an external moderator- appointed and trained by the IBO academic office. This ensures that all MYP schools use exactly the same standards.
• You have 7 assessment criteria A-G- all out of 4 to give a total of 28. This is then converted to a score out of 7.
• Criteria A, D and F each contain aspects that relate to your focus on the Areas of Interaction- you must know your AOIs!
• Criterion B is about researching and referencing. You MUST have a perfect bibliography. Do not limit your research to the internet- this will NOT be sufficient. You absolutely must quote your research throughout your written statement to support what you are saying about your chosen techniques, your area of interaction and the product itself.
• Criteria A, C, D and F require you to apply the skills that you learned in Technology and the Arts. Use the Design Cycle. Use your process journals.
• Criterion E assesses your structure. Use the essay writing skills that you learnt in Language A, B and Humanities.
• Criterion G is decided by your supervisor alone- this is determined by your attitude and diligence towards your project- make the right choice, stay on task, keep a process journal and lots of photographs, don’t miss appointments and have fun!
• Your Guide contains all of this information in detail.
7. Why is the Personal Project useful to me?
• You may never have another opportunity of exploring something that is as much fun as this. Remember- it is what is of interest to YOU!
• You may discover skills and talents that you did not think you possessed.
• You may realise what you would like to choose for your career.
• You may realise what you would never ever like to have as a career!
• The skills used in working on this project for over a year will help you with your IB Diploma work where you have to work on many assignments with limited supervision- this includes the compulsory Extended Essay and Theory of Knowledge essay.
8. In which language do I write my Personal Project?
You may write your Personal Project in one of the following languages because we have teachers who teach these languages:
• English
• French
• Indonesian
Where possible you should choose your best language.
9. How important are the Areas of Interaction to the Personal Project?
The Areas of Interaction are the HEART of your Personal Project.
They are the reason for your choice of project. THREE of the seven assessment criteria directly assess your focus on your chosen Area of Interaction. No AOI= no PP!
10. Which skills will I use for the Personal Project?
• Applying the whole Design Cycle from Technology and the Sciences
• The Process Journal/ Developmental Workbook from the Arts and Technology
• Research and referencing methods from Humanities and other subjects
• Essay writing from Languages A and B
• Bibliography writing from all subjects
• Using graphs, maps, photographs and tables from Mathematics, Sciences and Humanities
• Using initiative and showing responsibility to your own learning process and showing self-motivation from Sciences, the Arts and Physical Education
Files available to download