Hey sophomores! You survived the Personal Project paper! Good for you! But now we have to tackle the Personal Project presentation. This article is all about my list of tips and tricks to survive the second part of the Middle Year’s Program (MYP) Personal Project.

The Personal Project, that all sophomores are highly encouraged to complete, is all about MYP’s key goals and focal points as a program. These are: identities and relationships, orientation in space and time, personal and cultural expression, scientific and technical innovation, globalization and sustainability, and fairness and development. The Personal Project could include any number of combinations of these ideas. The biggest goal of MYP is to make students, who are in the program, better and more rounded learners. When students know how to learn, they can better achieve their educational goals.

The definition of the Personal Project, according to the official IB website, is:

“The MYP personal project is a student-centred and age-appropriate practical exploration in which students consolidate their learning throughout the programme. This long-term project is designed as an independent learning experience of approximately 25 hours. The personal project formally assesses students’ ATL skills for self-management, research, communication, critical and creative thinking, and collaboration.”

Step Number One: Understanding your project
This one should be fairly straightforward, considering you already turned in your project paper. In my opinion, the paper takes the most time; it involves explaining everything you did and why you did it. The presentation is just that; the presenting of the accumulation of your work.

Step Number Two: Make a plan for your project
In order to make this presentation, you have to figure out how you’re going to present what you learned. For some, this is extremely easy. Some people made a movie and all they need to do is show people that. Other people had more conceptual projects, where they did something instead of making something. Presenting this could be through a Power Point that includes pictures from your experiences, or a poster with other types of visuals. The flexibility given when deciding topics is also given when creating presentations.

Step Number Three: Make your project
Make a list of materials you might need in order to make this presentation. The more materials you have, the easier it will be to assemble. Giving yourself as much times as you might need will also help. Taking advice and feedback from your peers is another way to ensure you are doing your best work. And of course, there are always your teachers and MYP coordinators that are endlessly helpful resources.

Step Number Four: Present your project
You will be presenting your project to your peers this spring. It will take place in the Field House, with every sophomore who completed a personal project paper. Students from the middle school, and from the 9th grade classes, will all come see your presentation and give you feedback.

If you have further questions, feel free to contact Mrs. Bonk, the MYP coordinator, Ms. Sabo, the Personal Project co-ordinator, or any other staff member.