VSA Personal Project Guide 2021-22 PDF

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VICTORIA SHANGHAI ACADEMY

IB MYP Personal Project Guide 2021-2022

TABLE OF CONTENTS

What is the Personal Project?

3

Setting a Goal

3

Approaches to Learning

4

The written report

5

The written report requirements

6

The product

7

How do I start?

8

Involving others

8

Supervisors

9

Academic honesty

10

Final submission

10

The exhibition

10

Timeline

11

Assessment criteria

12 - 14

*Information for this guide has been taken from: VSA Personal Project Guide 2020-21 IB MYP Projects Guide (Feb 2021) Concordian International School (Personal Project page): https://concordian-thailand.libguides.com/personalproject

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WHAT IS THE PERSONAL PROJECT? The Personal Project is a large, independent project that students undertake at the end of their MYP course. This is a project for you to create and present what is of personal interest to you. This is your project to do what you would like to do, and a chance to demonstrate the understanding and skills you have developed throughout the MYP. The project itself should be based on an area of interest or personal passion where you can apply and demonstrate your learning. Through the process of inquiry, action and reflection, students are encouraged to demonstrate and strengthen their ATL skills. The aims of the Personal Project are to encourage and enable you to: • inquire -explore an interest that is personally meaningful -take ownership of their learning by undertaking a self-directed inquiry • act -transfer and apply skills in pursuit of a learning goal and the creation of a product • reflect -recognize and evidence personal growth and development.

The Personal Project includes the following main parts: - A written report - A product - An exhibition

You are expected to spend a minimum of 25 hours on their personal project.

Setting a Goal Within your project you must set yourself a goal based on something that you find interesting. You may draw inspiration from prior experiences in the MYP such as ● ● ●

a global context that they find particularly compelling a service as action experience that they would like to build on a unit of inquiry that they would like to explore further.

Similarly your goal might be based around an interest or hobby that you have (or wish to have),

The overall goal for the personal project consists of two interrelated parts: a product and a learning goal. The product is what you will create and the learning goal is what you want to learn.

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APPROACHES TO LEARNING The Personal Project is also a chance to show your understanding of the Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills. You should be able to show good use of the skills, and also be able to recognize and distinguish between these skills and reflect on how effectively you have used them. Throughout the personal project, you should collect evidence of how you have applied the ATL skills. At the end of the personal project, you will select pieces of evidence to demonstrate the ATL skills that have had the most impact on their project. Your report must contain evidence to support your analysis of how ● ATL skill(s) were applied to extend their learning goal ● ATL skill(s) were applied to achieve their product. ATL skills in the MYP and examples of evidence that could be collected: Research

These will help you in the initial phase of the Personal Project as you investigate your topic. Think carefully about the different types of skills you can use (and the different methods of research mentioned above). The more of these you use, try out or experiment with will give you more detailed and specific information to write up in your written report.

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Selfmanagement

Skills that will help you get the project done, well and on time. They are not just about how you organize your time and the project, but also about how you manage yourself. They also help you to understand how you operate and realize areas where you can make improvements.

Thinking

These will help you all the way through the project. Transfer skills can be used to combine knowledge, understanding and skills from different areas, or to apply skills and knowledge to unfamiliar situations. Creative thinking will be needed as you think through your product ideas and critical thinking will help you overcome problems you experience at any point in the process.

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Communication and Social Skills

These will be needed throughout the process, but particularly when you are researching - you may need to contact or interview, ask people outside of your normal network for help and advice or send out questionnaires or surveys. You will have to keep in regular contact with your supervisor who is a teacher, but they may not be your normal subject teacher and you will be interacting with them in a different way to the way you do in a classroom.

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In-text citation Screenshot of bibliography Evaluation of research (OPVL) Interview notes Survey results Annotated research A series of inquiry questions Timelines for completing short- and long-term tasks. Action plans Screenshot of daily reminders or alerts to complete personal project tasks Summary of prior learning that is relevant to the project Process journals Visual thinking diagrams Artifacts from inspirational visits to museums, performances, galleries Design sketches with justifications Sample correspondence Reflection about resolving a conflict Justification for language used Screenshots of blog, website etc created

THE WRITTEN REPORT A report is a spoken or written account of something observed, heard, done or investigated. The report should be presented in identifiable sections following the MYP personal project objectives— planning, applying skills, and reflecting. The report must include evidence for all the strands of all criteria. You will be assessed on:

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●

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Objective A: Planning

Objective B: Applying skills

Objective C: Reflecting

Maximum 8

Maximum 8

Maximum 8

What you did in your project.

How ATL skills contributed to your learning goal and product.

Why you did your project.

state a learning goal for the project and explain how a personal interest led to that goal state an intended product and develop appropriate success criteria for the product present a clear, detailed plan for achieving the product and its associated success criteria.

Examples of supporting evidence could include: ● a list and/or diagram of interests and relate learning goals ● a list of possible strategies to achieve personal and academic goals ● a diagram showing the connections between the learning goal and the product ● a series of steps leading to the completion of the product

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●

●

explain how the ATL skill(s) was/were applied to help achieve your learning goal explain how the ATL skill(s) was/were applied to help achieve your product support the explanations with detailed examples or evidence.

Examples of supporting evidence could include: ● a series of inquiry questions ● sample correspondence with the project supervisor ● screenshot of daily reminders or alerts to complete personal project tasks ● reflection about resolving a conflict ● summary of prior learning that is relevant to the project

*Full assessment criteria can be found at the end of this handbook.

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● ●

explain the impact of the project on themselves or their learning evaluate the product based on the success criteria support their comments with specific evidence or detailed examples.

Examples of supporting evidence could include: ● evaluation of the product against the success criteria ● images showing key features of the product ● analysis of the causes for success and/or failure ● summary of new knowledge or insights related to the learning goal.

THE WRITTEN REPORT REQUIREMENTS You may submit your report and evidence in any combination of documents and recordings that fits within the limits outlined in the table below.

Document

Recording

File types: .doc, .docx, .pdf (noneditable), .rtf

File types: .mp3, .m4a, .mp4, .mov (codecH264), .m4v

15 pages

and

no recording

14 pages

and

1 minute

13 pages

and

2 minutes

12 pages

and

3 minutes

11 pages

and

4 minutes

10 pages

and

5 minutes

9 pages

and

6 minutes

8 pages

and

7 minutes

7 pages

and

8 minutes

6 pages

and

9 minutes

Further clarifications for preparing the documents and recordings. 1. To ensure that the written part of the report is clearly legible, each page must have a minimum: ● 11-point font size ● 2 cm margins 2. Evidence presented in images must be clearly visible at the size submitted. 3. Audio and video must be recorded and submitted in real time. 4. Visual aids may be used to support spoken reports. However, evidence and examples presented in the visual aids should be submitted as documents. Visual aids presented only in video format will not be considered for assessment. 5. The bibliography is uploaded separately and is not included in the page limit. However if bibliography is being used as evidence for Research ATL a screenshot must be including in the report. 6. Do not include a title page; if included, it will count towards the page limit. 7. You must NOT add any identifying features anywhere on your work. Do not include your name, student number or school details. Do not put the school logo or name on.

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THE PRODUCT The product is what you make, produce, design, film or perform to express all of the learning you have undertaken during the project. The product provides a focus for exploring an interest that is personally meaningful, and a basis for recognizing and evidencing personal growth. You can choose a number of different forms for your product to take, including (but not limited to) any of the following:

An original piece of art

A course of study

A campaign

A debate

A research report

A performance

A business plan

A novel

A screenplay

A self-produced physical item

An academic essay

A model

A film

A music composition

A website

A blueprint

Think carefully about what you want your finished piece of work to be. Most importantly the product should explore an area that motivates and interests you.

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HOW DO I START? Once your PP Proposal has been approved you are free to start. Coming up with a strong research plan is essential for success in the PP. Try to make sure that your research isn’t just one dimensional. Don’t just search on Google and base your learning on the first few websites you find. You can find and acquire information and data by lots of different methods – here are just a few ideas: -

Research in a library Discuss project with people inside/outside school Interview people Conduct experiments Collect your own data Visit museums Research on the internet (journals, e-books, and websites) Send out surveys Observe and analyze a similar product

One of the ATLs for the Personal Project is organisation, and how you keep track of your time. As well as having a research plan, make sure you are familiar with the timeline. Create a plan to complete your work and discuss with your supervisor to ensure you keep on track. You will have support in place to help you complete your work, but it comes down to how well you manage your time. Here are some suggested steps to complete a successful project: - Create a calendar for your work – when are the deadlines, and how will you organize your time? - Fill in your calendar with items to complete each week from your brainstorm - Set reminders on your phone - Schedule in regular times each week that you will dedicate to your Personal Project - Keep in contact with your supervisor and make sure you meet regularly to check your progress - Revise your calendar as required

INVOLVING OTHERS Whilst your PP should be your own individual work, this does not mean that you should be working on it in isolation. You will have regular contact with your supervisor. You are encouraged to speak to people inside and outside of school to help complete your project. You may need to ask for help for a number of reasons; expert advice, help from people to take part in a performance, filming/photographing you making or showing your product, to carry out a survey or questionnaire.

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SUPERVISORS Your PP Supervisor will be a teacher in school. They will choose your PP on the basis of their own personal interest and not necessarily their subject background. Your PP Proposals will be anonymous when the teacher chooses them, so they will not know which student they are signing up to supervise. -

You should ask to meet with your supervisor every 2-3 weeks Your supervisor will not chase you, you need to get in touch with them Only arrange to meet with your supervisor when you have something to discuss or for them to check

Your supervisor does not have to be an expert in the area of your Personal Project. They are there to guide your through the process of completing the project, not the content. Your supervisor will help you keep on track and provide you with feedback. Student responsibilities: - Show up to scheduled meetings with all necessary materials - Get in touch with supervisors in advance if you are unable to attend a meeting - Bring your process journal to every supervisor meeting - Ask your supervisor for advice and feedback Supervisor responsibilities: - Attend scheduled meetings - Get in touch with students in advance if unable to attend a meeting - Help their students establish the main focus of the Personal Project - Oversee that the project is being completed as planned - Help suggest sources of information for research - Ensure the academic honesty form is completed - Provide feedback on progress and written report - Advise you on preparing for the exhibition You submit two first drafts, one for your Criteria A, and one for your Criteria B & C sections. Your supervisor will provide qualitative, constructive feedback for you on these, but they are not permitted to give you a mark/grade. You should use this feedback when completing the final draft of your written report. Your written report will be marked by at least two VSA teachers and then a team of teachers will check and moderate all the marks associated to your project. We then send off the marks (and some example Projects) to the IB for checking, and we receive the final grade in August.

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ACADEMIC HONESTY Academic honesty isn’t just confined to copying and pasting work, but often students can slip up and unintentionally plagiarize work. It is important that you correctly understand how to effectively reference work and cite your references; this includes images, diagrams, maps, videos and any other work for which you are not the original author. We use the MLA 8 system, which you should be familiar with. If in doubt, seek help from your supervisor or speak to Mr. McDonald in the library who can give you expert help. Your drafts of Criteria A, B, and C, and your final project will be submitted through Turnitin on Managebac. Turnitin will check the originality of your work and flag anything that you have included incorrectly or that is not your work. When the final report is submitted, an academic honesty form must also be submitted which is completed by both the student and the supervisor. Supervisors will keep and update academic honesty forms. Works cited page: Sources that you have directly used and referenced in your written report (should involve in text citations) Works consulted page: Sources that you have used in the project, but have not directly referenced in your report Extracts from the academic honesty form: Students: The academic honesty form records your progress and the nature of your discussions with your supervisor. You should aim to see your supervisor at least three times, at the start of the process to discuss your initial ideas, then once you have completed a significant amount of your project, and finally once your completed project report/presentation has been submitted Supervisors: You are asked to have at least three supervision sessions with students, one at the start of the process, an interim meeting and then the final meeting. Other sessions are permitted but do not need to be recorded on this sheet. After each session, students should make a summary of what was discussed and you should sing and date these comments.

FINAL SUBMISSION At the end of the PP you must submit the following: 1) The written report 2) Bibliography 3) Academic honesty form How and where these need to be submitted will be communicated to you before the final deadline.

THE EXHIBITION Once you have completed your Personal Project, the school will hold an exhibition where students have the opportunity to showcase their journeys, what they have learnt and what they produced. The format of the exhibition is still to be decided, dependent on social distancing protocol at the time. Previous exhibitions have been held in the evening at the school, with parents, teachers and other members of the school invited, however last year the exhibition was held online due to the pandemic.

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TIMELINE Month

Student Checklist

May 2021

o o

Attend all PP FLex Sessions Ask questions

June 2021

o o

Goal Proposal to be submitted by June 1st Finalise or amend Goal Proposals

July/August 2021

o o

Begin research Begin to create product success criteria

September 2021

o o o o o

Supervisor assigned Contact & meet supervisor Finalise research Make a timeline Begin product

October 2021

o o o o o o o o

Criteria A due on Managebac 30th September 4pm Continue to work on product Start to complete Criteria B + C Meet with supervisors to discuss progress Supervisors give feedback for Criteria A before 13th October 4pm Discuss academic honesty Discuss structure of report Discuss areas to improve

November 2021

o o o o o

Complete the product Evaluate product using criteria Meet with supervisors to discuss progress Evidence of product submitted to Managebac before 26th November 4pm Criteria B + C due on Managebac before 26th November 4pm

December 2021

o o o o

Supervisors give feedback for Criteria B + C before 10th December 4pm Meet with supervisors to discuss progress Discuss feedback, academic honesty and areas of focus to improve Begin improving all Criteria

January 2022

o

Complete final written report

February 2022

o o