Each year students in the Middle Years Programme (MYP) embark on the milestone learning journey that is the Personal Project. As a culmination of their knowledge and skills from the Grade 6 to 10 programme, students are tasked with creating a learning goal on a topic of their choosing, produce a product to showcase that goal, and write a report and reflection about the experience.
This year’s Grade 10s stepped up to the open-ended challenge in a variety of ways, showcasing their Approaches to Learning (ATL) and personal interests. Here are just a few of those projects that demonstrate the range of this year’s cohort.
Kajal — Stop-Frame Animation
“For my Personal Project, I made a stop motion video about mental health, specifically anxiety. I was really interested in learning about stop frame animation as an art form. Through this project I’ve focused on highlighting the importance of having a form of expression as a way to take care of your mental health. It’s easier to manage the feelings when you have somewhere to put them.
“The project was definitely a challenge. If I were to expand on my project in the future I’d focus on learning more about anatomy and movement, to make my stop frame sequences more realistic. Organization was a really important ATL for me, especially when a stop-frame takes a lot of time to create even a short piece. I really enjoyed getting to see my skills improve as the project went on.”
Orest — Music Mixing
“I created an original music album. It has 14 songs, 30 minutes in total, and features six different artists. My own vocals are on all of them, which I mixed myself, and the beats were provided by my friends. I also created the cover art myself, which I’ve then used for CD covers, t-shirts and vinyls. I learned a lot about creating a brand through this project, and the work continues because in a few months I’m performing in my first concert.
“The biggest challenge for me with the Personal Project was that I ended up starting from scratch in September, pivoting from producing music to mixing my own original tracks instead. My supervisor Mr. Walker was a big help in the process and really supported me in organization. The ATL I used the most was easily creative thinking. I’m looking forward to building on what I’ve learned through this project.”
Elsa — Cosmetic Marketing
“My learning goal was to examine the business side of the cosmetic industry, specifically focusing on how their marketing strategies influence consumer behaviour. I really utilized my research skill for this project. I conducted my own research from a range of ages, genders and countries to get a strong data set to better understand consumer psychology and how they interact with beauty product advertisements.
“Overall I found that the marketing efforts of cosmetic companies can be very manipulative and exploit insecurities in order to encourage stress purchases and artificial urgency in consumers. Considering the rapid spread of information, especially with social media, the results of my project have helped me look at advertisements more critically which I think is a good skill for everyone to have.”
Remi — Shoe Deodorizing Bag
“The idea for my project came from trying to solve a problem in my own life. As an athlete, I’m no stranger to having sweaty and smelly gym shoes. The smell also impacts my family, and my mom was pretty supportive of the idea of creating something to combat it! And I know this is a common challenge with athletes, so I decided to try and solve the problem. I started by researching natural deodorizers and found that charcoal was a common effective one. It took about three iterations before I found a prototype that worked well.
“For future Grade 10s, my advice would be to choose a topic that you have a personal interest in. The Personal Project is a long process, so having something you’re interested in helps maintain motivation throughout the project.”
We also heard from Michelle, who combined her interest in pottery to create a porcelain teapot using pottery techniques from Qinghua, China. Check out her story on our Instagram.
Congratulations to all our Grade 10s for their hard work in completing this milestone project!
