The Personal Project is a graduation requirement, completed independently by all students in their sophomore year.
The following is adapted from the IBO website on MYP Projects:
Through the Middle Years Programme (MYP) projects, students experience the responsibility of completing a significant piece of work over an extended period of time.
- MYP projects encourage students to reflect on their learning and the outcomes of their work – key skills that prepare them for success in further study, the workplace and the community.
- All students who complete the MYP in Year 5 complete the personal project.
- The community project provides an important opportunity for students ages 13-14 to collaborate and pursue service learning. Schools register all MYP Year 5 students for external moderation of the personal project, promoting a global standard of quality.
- MYP projects are student-centred and age-appropriate, and they enable students to engage in practical explorations through a cycle of inquiry, action and reflection.
What are the aims of the MYP projects?
The aims of the MYP projects are to encourage and enable students to:
- participate in a sustained, self-directed inquiry within a global context
- generate creative new insights and develop deeper understandings through in-depth investigation
- demonstrate the skills, attitudes and knowledge required to complete a project over an extended period of time
- communicate effectively in a variety of situations
- demonstrate responsible action through, or as a result of, learning
- appreciate the process of learning and take pride in their accomplishments.
What will students learn through the MYP projects?
MYP projects involve students in a wide range of activities to extend their knowledge and understanding and to develop their skills and attitudes. These student-planned learning activities include:
- deciding what they want to learn about, identifying what they already know, and discovering what they will need to know to complete the project
- creating proposals or criteria for their project, planning their time and materials, and recording developments of the project
- making decisions, developing understandings and solving problems, communicating with their supervisor and others, and creating a product or developing an outcome evaluating the product/outcome and reflecting on their project and their learning.