The Personal project cohort 2011

1. The Personal projectcohort 2011 New Student Orientation

2. The Personal Project: An Overview • An independent, long-term (nine month!) project • Students choose topic, investigate and design project • Students create a product and the Personal Project Paper (4,000 words), Public Exhibition • RESEARCH based • Culmination of MYP: AOI understanding, transfer of ATL skills • Pre-Diploma: Extended Essay prep • Assessment based on the PAPER (not the product!)

3. ALL on my own??? • Each student has a Personal Project Supervisor • Your Supervisor helps to guide and support you in the different parts of the Personal Project • New students get matched with experienced Supervisors • IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE AND KEEP APPOINTMENTS WITH YOUR SUPERVISOR! • Supervisors give you your ‘Personal Engagement’ grade

4. THE PROCESS JOURNAL • Keep EVERYTHING in here… • Your journal, your style • Your Supervisor will ask to see your journal at each meeting • You will use your journal to write your paper at the very end of the project • Without it you will forget important details!

5. How is the project assessed? 42-49 • A Planning and Development: A clear goal, a product that helps you achieve your goal, an action plan, all rooted in an Area of Interaction • B Collection of Information and Resources: Research! • C Choice and Application of Techniques; including research! • D Analysis of Information: What have you learned? What are your thoughts? New arguments about your goal and topic? Based on your research and process • E Organization of Written Work: structure and presentation of written work • F Analysis of Process and Outcome: critical thinking about AOI, goal, your strategies and how they worked, the quality of your product, the ways your product does and does not achieve your goal, new perspectives about your chosen topic and area of work • Criterion G Personal Engagement

6. WHAT DO I FOCUS ON NOW? Choose a topic that you are interested in and passionate about – that you want to learn more about. Challenge yourself! • TOPIC! Must have meat. Must require new learning • GOAL and Area of Interaction • PRODUCT: What will help me achieve my goal? • RESEARCH: what areas should I investigate? What are my research questions? • JUSTIFICATION: Who cares? Why?

7. INTEGRATION OF RESEARCH SHOULD BE IN ALL PARTS OF PROJECT ESSENTIAL TO THE SOPHISTICATION OF PAPER AND IDEAS DEMONSTRATES CONTENT KNOWLEDGE PRECISION OF THOUGHT ABOUT TOPIC, GOAL SPECIFIC DETAIL EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT IDEAS AND CHOICES USE OF RESEARCH, CONTENT KNOWLEDGE IS WHAT PROVIDES THE RIGOR IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO RESEARCH

8. AREAS OF INTERACTION 50-51 Choose your goal, and then consider the Areas of Interaction guide. It will help you shape and focus your goal a bit, and decide on your research questions. • GOAL DRIVES AOI • Use the GUIDE: • Consider each strand, LINK STRANDS TO SPECIFIC PARTS OF THE PROJECT, NOT THE PROJECT/TOPIC AS A GENERAL WHOLE • USE PROMPTS: SHOW AWARENESS AND UNDERSTANDING, REFLECT, TAKE ACTION • TREAT EACH STRAND THOROUGHLY: NO SUPERFICIAL COVERAGE • CONSIDER GREATER IMPLICATIONS OF WORK (LARGER CONTEXT)

9. FIRST DUE DATES (changes) September 20th: Action Plan + November 17th: Research Analysis • Justification of GOAL, PRODUCT, AOI • Detailed Action Plan: Backwards from GOAL • RESEARCH QUESTIONS • Working bibliography • Complete Bibliography • Research Evidence • Write up of research: New learning re: Context, AOI, Subject, Goal, Product, impact on original action plan • Revisions and progress check on Action Plan

10. MORE DATE CHANGES November-December: Writing Workshops to support student writing of parts of paper (sup) JANUARY 17th: PRODUCT and ROUGH DRAFT DUE FEBRUARY 17TH: FINAL DRAFT DUE