6 Steps to Having the Best I.B Personal Project
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The I.B MYP personal project is a seemingly complicated project that is due at the end of your sophomore year in high school. This is completed as a part of the International Baccalaureate Middle School Years Programme.The MYP personal project is a project an I.B student does to achieve a certain product or outcome, over the course of many months. You are required to do your project on a topic of your choosing. The topic you choose can be virtually anything, but it must relate to an “Area of Interaction.” During the process, you must complete a process journal of your thoughts and procedures. Alongside the process journal, you must complete a 1500-word report to summarize your feelings of your outcome and your experience doing the MYP personal project.
Start Early
The key to a successful MYP personal project is time management. It is ideal to start thinking about your MYP personal project during the summer before your sophomore year. That way once school starts, you can be ready to start the actual project. To begin your MYP personal project, you must select a research topic and a supervisor to assist you during the duration of your sophomore year.
Selecting a Topic
Choosing a topic can seem daunting at first since there are so many possible topics you can choose from. So how do you choose one? A key tip would be to choose a topic that you’re actually passionate about, because you are going to be working on it for an extended amount of time. For example, since I’ve always loved music, I decided to do my MYP personal project on learning to play the guitar. It was something I’ve always wanted to do. So when it came down to the long hours of practice, I actually enjoyed it.
Finding a Supervisor
Even though some schools assign a supervisor to a student, some do not. So, this is a crucial step in completing your MYP personal project since a good supervisor can help you in many different ways. Their sole role is to guide and support you throughout your project. But they may also provide feedback on your work, help you with deadlines, and ensure that your project is meeting the criteria. Even though it may seem like a good idea to choose your favorite teacher to be your supervisor, if he or she isn’t a teacher that specializes in your project topic, you may not want to ask them to be your supervisor. For example, if your favorite teacher teaches music, you may not want to ask them to be your supervisor if your topic is about science. Instead, maybe ask your science teacher since they can probably give the most accurate feedback. Also keep in mind that you are required to meet with this person often to discuss your progress. You should follow your school’s guidelines on how many times you have to meet with your supervisor.
Organize
Once you have discussed your topic with your supervisor, then it’s time to get started. Start by gathering the needed materials for your project. Then, research background information to give you a better understanding of what you’re researching. For instance, I researched how to read music. Creating an outline or monthly to-do list can also help you in managing your time well. Make sure to include appointments with your supervisor. Once you have done that, begin your project.
The Process Journal
Once you begin your project, you will begin to accumulate a lot of information. You may also make mistakes or have to make changes. This is where your process journal will come into place. In this journal, you will write about the procedures you took to create your product or outcome. You may write about anything that occurred with working on your project. Be sure to include dates and write legibly since you will be revisiting this journal at the end. It’s completely okay to include mistakes that you made or unfortunate events pertaining to the project. Also include any information you learned through researching. In my process journal, I wrote about my difficulty with playing at a steady beat when I was just starting. I also included how I was going to fix my problem by using a metronome and practicing more.
Write the Essay
Now it’s time to reflect on what you have done. Your report is a time to evaluate how your product came out versus what you set out to do. Your overall report must be at least 1500 words and be printed out. Even though it seems like a rather long essay, it is relatively easy to write if you use your process journal entries to help you. This is why it’s important to write useful information in it. Gradually writing small paragraphs instead of writing them all at once can also make the process easier. All in all, The MYP personal project is a time to explore your passions and demonstrate all the useful information you have learned during the MYP Program. If you follow these steps and tips, you’ll be well on your way to achieving a high score!
