Putting the “Personal” in Personal Project

1. Putting the “Personal” in Personal Project An Exploration of Who You Are and Who You Want to Be! Henrico High School 2011

2. Diving into the Areas of Interaction

3. Remember the Learner Profile? • Inquiring • Knowledgeable • Thinking • Communicating • Principled • Open-minded • Caring • Risk-taking • Balanced • Reflective

4. What was your trait?

5. Now we make connections!

6. Areas of Interaction How we connect to the world!

7. Approaches to Learning

8. ATL’s Big Questions • How do I learn best? • How do I know? • How do I communicate my understanding?

9. More on ATL • Approaches to learning (ATL) is central to the program, as it is concerned with developing the intellectual discipline, attitudes, strategies and skills which will result in critical, coherent and independent thought and the capacity for problem solving and decision making. It goes far beyond study skills, having to do with “learning how to learn” and with developing an awareness of thought processes and their strategic use. This area of interaction recognizes that true learning is more than the acquisition of knowledge: it involves its thoughtful application, as well as critical thinking and problem solving, both individually and collaboratively.

10. Community and Service

11. C&S’s Big Questions • How do we live in relation to each other? • How can I contribute to the community? • How can I help others?

12. More on C&S • Community and service starts in the classroom and extends beyond it, requiring students to participate in the communities in which they live. The emphasis is on developing community awareness and concern, a sense of responsibility, and the skills and attitudes needed to make an effective contribution to society. Students are expected to become actively involved in service activities

13. Human Ingenuity

14. HI’s Big Questions • Why and how do we create? • What are the consequences?

15. More on HI • Human ingenuityallows students to focus on the evolution, processes and products of human creativity. It considers their impact on society and on the mind. Students learn to appreciate and to put into practice the human capacity to influence, transform, enjoy and improve the quality of life. This area of interaction encourages students to explore the relationships between science, aesthetics, technology and ethics. It is at the core of student-centered learning, where the students themselves are placed in the position of human ingenuity: solving problems and showing creativity and resourcefulness in a variety of contexts throughout the curriculum and school life.

16. Environments

17. E’s Big Questions • Where do we live? • What resources do we have or need? • What are my responsibilities?

18. More on E • Environment aims to make students aware of their interdependence with the environment so that they accept their responsibility for maintaining an environment fit for the future. Students are confronted with global environmental issues which require balanced understanding in the context of sustainable development. Students also face environmental situations at home and at school which require decision making. This area of interaction places the students in a position where they take positive, responsible action for the future.

19. Health and Social Education

20. H&SE’s Big Questions • How do I think and act? • How am I changing? • How can I look after myself and others?

21. More on H&SE • Health and social education prepares students for a physically and mentally healthy life, aware of potential hazards and able to make informed choices. It develops in students a sense of responsibility for their own well-being and for the physical and social environment. This area encourages students to explore their own selves as they develop healthy relationships with others. • While the main defining features of each area of interaction can be outlined, they should in no way be viewed as narrow categories. These broad-based areas of interaction overlap each other.

22. Now What? Diving for sunken treasure – your trait in the Areas of Interaction

23. How do you relate? • How does your chosen Learner Profile Trait “respond” in each area of interaction? • Why? • Fill out the worksheet for next seminar!

24. So what? Now that you have connected your LP trait to the AOI, it’s time to choose the AOI that most reflects who you are. To do that, we need to explore the AOI’s more extensively!

25. AOI Why? The areas of interaction: • give meaning to what is learned through the exploration o • f real-world issues • provide the contexts for the MYP fundamental concepts and the IB learner profile, which underpin the philosophy of the program • encourage higher-order thinking skills to deepen understanding • provide a framework for student inquiry • can help students develop positive attitudes and a sense of personal and social responsibility • engage students in reflection to better understand themselves as learners • can lead students from academic knowledge to thoughtful action • contribute to an interdisciplinary approach to learning • provide a common language for constructing and organizing the curriculum so that students see inter-relatedness of content areas.

26. One thing leads to another • Awareness of the connections between subjects • Leads to a greater understanding of the impact of various issues on you and those around you • And an increased sense of responsibility for yourself, for each other, and for society in general • So that you will continue to think about things as you grow up.

27. What AOI am I?

28. Do you • Manage your time well and enjoy keeping things organized? • Work well in groups and with others? • Accept others’ ideas and differences? • Organize your materials and resources and plan well? • Communicate well? • Like being informed? • Like to inform others? • Evaluate yourself naturally? • Identify problems and arrive at creative solutions?

29. Your AOI is Approaches to Learning

30. Do you • Like to understand how people are alike and different? • Like to understand how the individual affects the community and vice versa? • Are you interested in people different from yourself? • Are you curious about social attitudes and what creates them? • Are you concerned about ethical issues? • Are you eager to be an active contributor to society?

31. Then your AOI is Community and Service

32. Do you • Care about how what is around us affects our well-being? • Notice the effects of one environment on another? • Have an awareness of the physical, social, political and cultural dimensions of environments? • Look at the role of local and international organizations in protecting the environment? • Have good ideas about conservation? • See issues related to the environment in the virtual world?

33. Your AOI is Environments

34. Do you • Find fascination in how things work, develop or change? • Wonder how things change over time? • Think about the impact of innovation on individuals, communities, societies, and the world? • Like to make things? • Think outside and inside the box well? • See how things could be in your head?

35. Your AOI is Human Ingenuity

36. Do you • See yourself in the context of a wider society, including issues such as freedom, health policies, and globalization? • See yourself in the context of relationships with others? • Seek to understand yourself and others? • Want to look after others? • Want to help others and yourself make wiser choices?

37. Your AOI is Health and Social Education

38. Now, Choose one!

39. What is your best AOI? • Three reasons why • Three possible activities/projects that would demonstrate that AOI • Feasibility study for each • Worksheet due by next seminar