A Supervisors Guide

to the
IB Personal Project

So you have agreed to be a Personal Project Supervisor? First and

foremost, thank you for your contribution to this integral part of the IB
program. Your dedication to the students in this regard is a testimony to how
committed you are to this profession and to learning. Thank you, thank you,
thank you.

Whether you are an old hat at this supervisor thing, or you are new to the
journey, it is imperative that you read this document. There are changes
taking place this year and everyone needs to be as prepared as possible.
Please be warned that this document is a work in progress and will be edited
and perfected over time. You can help by keeping notes and giving
constructive feedback about what was helpful (and what wasnt)

KVE

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Why exactly do we have our Secondary 5 students do a PP?

This is a good question. Aside from it being a requirement for IB certification, the PP
really gives the student an opportunity to shine! They bring together all the ATL
(approaches to learning) skills that they have been perfecting under your guidance
throughout their four years of high school to create something truly personal and
meaningful. Whether you are an IB teacher or not, you are familiar with these ATL
skillswe are talking about things like communication, collaboration, organization,
etc. These are the key skills to learning, be you an IB student or not. Throughout the
PP, your student will draw on these ATL skills to consolidate what they already know
about their topic with some very subject-specific new learning about their topic. They will
do this within a global context (more on this later) over an extended period of time. It will
take the form a cyclical inquiry process where they will research their topic of inquiry and
take appropriate action as a result of what they learn. In the end they will communicate
everything they have learned about the topic (and about themselves) to a larger
audience. Its a pretty impressive project if it is done properly.

What is your role?

Your role is to support the student during the project. As such, you will:
ensure the chosen project topic satisfies appropriate legal and ethical standards
with regard to health and safety, confidentiality, human rights, animal welfare and
environmental issues.
provide guidance to students in the process and completion of the project with
regular, thoughtful, standard-based feedback that allows them to grow and
improve. You are here because you have experience and wisdom that they
can benefit from.
confirm the authenticity of the work submitted
assess the PP using the criteria described later in this document
participate in the standardization of assessment process with a buddy
provide PP grades to the PP Coordinator

Students will receive information from the PP coordination team that includes:

guidelines about the PP

a timetable with deadlines
the assessment criteria for the project
advice on how to keep and use a process journal
the importance of personal analysis and reflection
feedback
requirements for academic honesty.

In other words, they will have information.

You dont need to know EVERYTHING.

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The PP consists of three components:

PP component How it is assessed

This will be evident in the
1. Focus on topic leading towards a
presentation/report/product/outcomewhat do
product/outcome
you see at the end?
A selection of extracts to be inserted in the
appendices of their report..how did they
2. Process journal
proceed and progress on their way to the
end?
The content of the report assessed using all
four criteriato what degree have they
3. Report
achieved all the strands of the criteria in the
end?

How exactly does my PP student proceed through this personal project and how
can I help them?

Essentially students will go through an inquiry process in an effort to reach a goal.

They might not yet have a goal.your initial conversations with them will probably be
concentrated on this very thing. They will need help focusing and streamlining their
ideas. The four objectives for the PP on which they will be assessedinvestigating,
planning, taking action and reflectingform the cyclical and interactive approach to that
inquiry process. A goal will emerge perhaps only after some initial investigating.

The inquiry process required for the PP requires that the student do four things:

1. Investigating
In deciding what they want to learn about, identifying what they already know, and
discovering what they will need to know to complete the project, students are
INVESTIGATING. You will evaluate them on how well they investigate. In this stage,
students will identify a goal, based on areas or topics of interest to them. It is useful for
students to have the opportunity to brainstorm and think about ideas, as well as to
discuss ideas with other peoplefor example, other students, friends outside the school,
relatives and YOU. You do need to guide and advise your student on the selection of
topics for the project, however, you have to balance providing support with objectivity
and must not take over the project from the student. Ownership of the project must
remain with the student.

Students should document all of this investigating: the thinking, the researching, the
refining and developing of initial ideas. They will develop an outline of the goal they wish
to pursue. Remember that they should develop a goal that they can accomplish, but
which challenges their knowledge, skills or techniques in an appropriate way. Some
proposed projects may require overly complex procedures or a process of learning that
is too lengthy. Others may be too simplistic and present no challenge to the student.
Deciding whether a project is realistic or unrealistic for a student will be based on
discussions between the student and you. Ask other mentors, the PP coordinator, or the
IB coordinator if you need help.

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2. Planning
Once the investigating is underway, students create proposals for their project, plan their
time and materials, and record developments of the project. Here, they are PLANNING.
You will evaluate them on how well they plan. As part of the goal, students must determine
a final product/outcome of their project. The product/outcome might be an original work
of art, a model, a business plan, a campaign, a blueprint or architectural drawing, an
essay, a course of study, a debate, a film or some other work (the sky is the limit!)

Students must define realistic criteria (these used to be called specifications) to

measure the quality of the projects final outcome or product. Working with you, students
decide what constitutes a high-quality product/outcome. They document the criteria in
their process journal and will use those criteria to assess the final outcome or product.

Example: If the goal of a PP is to increase personal fitness in order to run for a half-
marathon, then the criteria could include:
a. Setting a clearly defined and researched running schedule over a 16-
week period along with interim projected running times
b. Setting a time objective in which to complete a half-marathon.
c. Registering for and completing a half-marathon

The product/outcome of this project could be a written training schedule that will
demonstrate this increased fitness. It could be documented through a fitness chart, diary
entries, recorded running times and a series of photos/videos of both the training period
and the actual race day.

Usually, students will not be able to define the criteria until they have spent some time
researching the goal, and criteria should only be determined once students have a clear
understanding of what they want to achieve and what proposed product/outcome of their
project will be.

3. Taking Action
Students will be making decisions, developing understandings and solving problems,
communicating with you and others, and creating a product or developing an outcome.
Here, they are TAKING ACTION. You will be evaluating them on how well they take action.

The action that occurs throughout the PP involves the students making individual
choices that extend learning beyond knowledge/understanding to include socially
responsible attitudes and thoughtful and appropriate action. This action is initiated and
applied by the student as a result of the learning process. Students are expected to
change their behaviour in response to their learning. They should recognize that
they are able to make a difference through the decisions they make and the things they
do.

While principled action may not always be clearly or immediately visible or measurable
in the context of the PP, it is important that students record and reflect on how what they
have learned during the PP has impacted their attitudes and behaviour. The process of
reflection should be carried out throughout the project, not just at the end.
Students should be encouraged to reflect regularly on their inquiry process and on the
actions they have taken at various stages of their project.

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4. Reflection
This leads us to the fourth element of the inquiry cycle. Students will be evaluating the
product/outcome and REFLECTING on their project and their learning. You will evaluate
the student on how well they reflect.

Despite how it is written above, the stages of investigating, planning, taking action, and
reflecting are not linear processes--they do not happen in that order. All four are on-
going and dynamic. Based on reflection your student may take an action that requires
further investigating and planning, that will lead to a new reflection.do you see it?

A few more things:

The Report

Students will use the report of the PP to demonstrate how they have addressed each of
the above four objectives. We expect them to communicate clearly, accurately and
appropriately. The PP report demonstrates a students engagement with his or her PP
by summarizing the experiences and skills recorded in the process journal.

The report should be no more than 3500 words in length and should be presented in
identifiable sections (aligned with the PP objectives)Investigating, Planning, Taking
Action and Reflecting. The report must include evidence for development of all the
strands of all criteria. The report, however creatively developed and presented, does not
replace the product/outcome of the personal project. If the product/outcome of a
personal project is in written form, such as an essay or novel, this is considered as
distinct from the report.

It is the students who must ensure that the report meets the assessment criteria and
conforms to the structure as outlined above but you may want to guide them, so you
need to know what you are looking for.

When submitting the report for assessment, students must include:

the personal project coversheet

the completed academic honesty form
process journal extracts
any supporting visual aids used during the presentation, if applicable
bibliography/sources.

Is it their work or not?

Students and their supervisors must use the academic honesty form provided by the IB
to note their meeting dates and the main points discussed and to declare the academic
honesty of work. A form will be provided by your student.

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 Dear Diarynot!
The process journal is a generic term used to refer to the record of progress maintained
by the student throughout the project. The journal is evidence that something is
happening. A complete stranger should be able to pick up a students process journal
and see how and why the project developed in the way that it did. The following chart
helps you to understand what it is and what it is not.

The process journal is: The process journal isnt:

used throughout the project to document its used on a daily basis (unless this is useful for the
development student)
an evolving record of intents, processes, written up after the process has been completed
accomplishments additional work on top of the project; it is part of
a place to record initial thoughts and and supports the project
developments, brainstorming, possible lines of a diary with detailed writing about what was done
inquiry and further questions raised a static document with only one format.
a place for recording interactions with sources,
for example teachers, supervisors, external
contributors
a place to record selected, annotated and/or
edited research and to maintain a bibliography
a place for storing useful information, for
example quotations, pictures, ideas, photographs
a means of exploring ideas and solutions
a place for evaluating work completed
a place for reflecting on learning
devised by the student in a format that suits his
or her needs
a record of reflections and formative feedback
received.

Students are required to select evidence from their process journals to demonstrate
development in all four criteria and submit these extracts as appendices of the report.
This is NEW.so even those of you who have done this before, you need to be aware of the
change.. It is probably a good idea that students include documentation from all stages
of their project (beginning, middle, end) in these samples.

An extract may include:

visual thinking diagrams artifacts from inspirational visits to

bulleted lists museums, performances, galleries
charts pictures, photographs, sketches
short paragraphs up to 30 seconds of visual or audio
notes material
timelines, action plans screenshots of a blog or website
annotated illustrations self and peer assessment feedback.
annotated research

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Where do the students get their information for their PP?

Students should select relevant and reliable information from a variety of sources to
develop their project. The number and type of resources will vary depending upon the
nature of the project; however, to reach the highest levels of achievement through
investigating, students must select a range of sources and a variety of source
types. A student who only relies on Youtube videos as sources is not going to able to
reach the highest level of achievement.

It is also important to note that although students may include their prior knowledge as a
source, prior knowledge alone does not provide sufficient depth or breadth of inquiry for
the project. During the whole process, students will keep a record of their research and
source decisions in their process journals and should use this as a resource to help
them produce the project presentation or report.

ASSESSMENT

Your student will be assessed by you based on detailed criteria specific to each of the
four objectives. Your student is not expected to be achieving the highest levels in the
earliest stages of the project,.they are expected to progress. You will be doing interim
assessments based on the following rubrics so that they know how close to (or how far
from) the mark they are.

A PP must address all strands of all four assessment criteria. (The strands are indicated
as subheadings i, ii, and iii ) With your guidance, the student should ensure that the
project and the report shows (either implicitly or explicitly) how ALL of the STRANDS are
addressed.

Do yourself (and your student) a BIG favor: Read all the information on the next four
pages.. Dont just glance at the charts that follow and skip to the last page. It is
tempting, I knowbut if you read about the strands you will be infinitely more clear about
what your student really has to produce for their project.

Remember, your role is to support them so that they have the potential to obtain the
maximum of 8 for each of the four objectives/criteria. They may not all get there, despite
your best efforts and intentionsbut you will have provided the support they need

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Here are the rubrics for the objectives that you will use for assessment during and at the
end of the PP.

Objective A: Investigating
Students should:
i. define a clear goal and context for the project, based on personal interests
ii. identify prior learning and subject-specific knowledge relevant to the project
iii. demonstrate research skills.

Achievement Level descriptor

level
0 The student does not achieve a standard described by any
of the descriptors below.
12 The student is able to:
i. state a goal and context for the project, based on personal
interests, but this may be limited in depth or accessibility
ii. identify prior learning and subject-specific knowledge, but
this may be limited in occurrence or relevance
iii. demonstrate limited research skills.
34 The student is able to:
i. outline a basic and appropriate goal and context for the
project, based on personal interests
ii. identify basic prior learning and subject-specific
knowledge relevant to some areas of the project
iii. demonstrate adequate research skills.
56 The student is able to:
i. define a clear and challenging goal and context for the
project, based on personal interests
ii. identify prior learning and subject-specific knowledge
generally relevant to the project
iii. demonstrate substantial research skills.
78 The student is able to:
i. define a clear and highly challenging goal and context for
the project, based on personal interests
ii. identify prior learning and subject-specific knowledge that
is consistently highly relevant to the project
iii. demonstrate excellent research skills.

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Objective B: Planning

Students should:
i. develop criteria for the product/outcome
ii. plan and record the development process of the project
iii. demonstrate self-management skills.

Achievement Level descriptor

level
0 The student does not achieve a standard described by any of the
descriptors below.
12 The student is able to:
i. develop limited criteria for the product/outcome
ii. present a limited or partial plan and record of the development
process of the project
iii. demonstrate limited self-management skills.
34 The student is able to:
i. develop adequate criteria for the product/outcome
ii. present an adequate plan and record of the development process of
the project
iii. demonstrate adequate self-management skills.
56 The student is able to:
i. develop substantial and appropriate criteria for the product/outcome
ii. present a substantial plan and record of the development process of
the project
iii. demonstrate substantial self-management skills.
78 The student is able to:
i. develop rigorous criteria for the product/outcome
ii. present a detailed and accurate plan and record of the development
process of the project
iii. demonstrate excellent self-management skills.

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Objective C: Taking action

Students should:
i. create a product/outcome in response to the goal, context and criteria
ii. demonstrate thinking skills
iii. demonstrate communication and social skills.

Achievement Level descriptor

level
0 The student does not achieve a standard described by any of the
descriptors below.
12 i. create a limited product/outcome in response to the goal, global
context and criteria
ii. demonstrate limited thinking skills
iii. demonstrate limited communication and social skills.
34 The student is able to:
i. create a basic product/outcome in response to the goal, global
context and criteria
ii. demonstrate adequate thinking skills
iii. demonstrate adequate communication and social skills.
56 The student is able to:
i. create a substantial product/outcome in response to the goal, global
context and criteria
ii. demonstrate substantial thinking skills
iii. demonstrate substantial communication and social skills.
78 The student is able to:
i. create an excellent product/outcome in response to the goal, global
context and criteria
ii. demonstrate excellent thinking skills
iii. demonstrate excellent communication and social skills.

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Objective D: Reflecting

Students should:
i. evaluate the quality of the product/outcome against their criteria
ii. reflect on how completing the project has extended their knowledge and
understanding of the topic and the global context
iii. reflect on their development as an IB learner through the project.

Achievement Level descriptor

level
0 The student does not achieve a standard described by any of the
descriptors below.
12 The student is able to:
i. present a limited evaluation of the quality of the product/outcome
against his or her criteria
ii. present limited reflection on how completing the project has extended
his or her knowledge and understanding of the topic and the global
context
iii. present limited reflection on his or her development as an IB learner
through the project.
34 The student is able to:
i. present a basic evaluation of the quality of the product/outcome
against his or her criteria
ii. present adequate reflection on how completing the project has
extended his or her knowledge and understanding of the topic and the
global context
iii. present adequate reflection on his or her development as an IB
learner through the project.
56 The student is able to:
i. present a substantial evaluation of the quality of the product/outcome
against his or her criteria
ii. present substantial reflection on how completing the project has
extended his or her knowledge and understanding of the topic and the
global context
iii. present substantial reflection on his or her development as an IB
learner through the project.
78 The student is abl
i. present an excellent evaluation of the quality of the product/outcome
against his or her criteria
ii. present excellent reflection on how completing the project has
extended his or her knowledge and understanding of the topic and the
global context
iii. present excellent reflection on his or her development as an IB
learner through the project.

A student will be successful on the PP if they have earned a

combined score of 10 (or higher) out of 32.

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And now for a few new things.
What is a Global Context?
Your students will talk to you about a global context and you may not be familiar with
this phrase. The IBO has established 6 broad contexts within which the project can
develop. Using the world as the broadest context for learning, each PP should develop
meaningful explorations within one of the following:

identities and relationships Who am I? Who are we?

orientation in space and time What is the meaning of when and where?
personal and cultural expression What is the nature and purpose of creative expression?
scientific and technical innovation How is everything connected?
globalization and sustainability What are the consequences of our common humanity?
fairness and development How do we understand the worlds in which we live?.

Students must identify ONE of these global contexts through which they will develop
their PP. Ideally the global context should help the student to establish the relevance of
their inquiry (why does this project really matter, in the big picture?). It is best to
discuss this with the student to determine within what framework and with what focus
they will do their project. The global context is a part of the rubric and must be
addressed in the reflection in order to meet the criteria. The student and you should
have a clear understanding what that global context is.

Standardization

As in the past, you will be paired-up with a buddy to standardize the assessment of the
PP for your (and their) student. However, the plan this year is to team you up at the
beginning of the year so that you have someone to talk to throughout the year about
your students progress. This should provide you with a little extra support throughout
the year. It will also make the standardization of the PP assessment a little easier in
March.

Moderation is a MUST!

Beginning next year, Heritage must register all students in MYP year 5 for external
moderation of the personal project. This year is our dress rehearsal before the big
show. We are learning together and we can all help each other. If you have questions
(surel, you will), if you have epiphanies (ideally, you will), if you have constructive advice
(mercifully, you will) we want to learn from you and with you. Let us know how we can
help.

Now, put this away and enjoy the rest of your well-deserved summer vacation!

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