Skip to Main Content

MYP Personal Project: Supervisors

Use this guide as a starting point for learning about the personal project.

Sample Email to Request a Meeting With Your Supervisor

Student Responsibilities

The Role of the Student

  • Request for a teacher to serve as supervisor
  • Develop a learning goal
  • Develop an intended product 
  • Maintain a process journal
  • Develop product criteria (also referred to in the guide as "success criteria")
  • Create a plan and timeline that include short-term and long-term deadlines and tasks
  • Write a report that includes all required elements
  • Organize and attend AT LEAST THREE meetings with supervisor
  • Link all relevant documents (timeline, process journal, notes) in Managebac
  • Evaluate sources
  • Record all sources used in MyBib 
  • Cite properly using MLA8 conventions

 

 

The Role of the Supervisor

The supervisors' responsibilities are to:

 

  • ensure the chosen MYP 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, ensuring that the chosen topic satisfies the appropriate legal & ethical standards
  • give advice on how to manage the process 
  • emphasize the importance of personal analysis and reflection
  • provide formative feedback on the process, report, and product
  • record all communication and update student's status in Managebac regularly
  • ensure that requirements for academic integrity are met
  • confirm the authenticity of the work submitted
  • assess the MYP project using the criteria in the guide
  • provide personal project grades to the MYP coordinator to enter in IBIS 
  • participate in the standardization of assessment process established by the school

 

Students should receive from their supervisor:

  • guidelines about the MYP project
  • 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
  • formative feedback
  • requirements for academic integrity 

 

 

Supervisor & Advisee Meetings Discussion Prompts

 

  • Have a friendly chat and get to know each other's interests.

  • Go over the learning goal and possible product ideas.  The student should understand how their learning goal and possible product will add value to themselves / community / world.  The goal must be challenging!

  • Make sure that the project is ethical and does not violate any of IB's Guidelines for Ethical Fieldwork and Research (on home page of Personal Project Libguide)

  • Do an orientation "tour" of Managebac. Highlight these Personal Project pages:

    • Worksheet Tab: To-Do's, Notes & Interviews to record supervisor messages to students (supervisors should also copy any email communication to student / parents on this page so there is a running record)

    • Journal Tab: student should provide a shared link to any Google Doc for notes as well as Process Journal. Both items should be viewable by supervisor and Personal Project Coordinator(s)

    • Academic Honesty Tab: student should summarize meetings with supervisor here. The summaries should be fairly detailed.

  • Ask the student to reflect on what he/she needs to know in order to complete the project - this will lead to what research is needed. You might use the “To Do” option in Managebac.

  • Ask the student how the research is going and celebrate any progress

  • Student should be scheduling interviews / observation sessions as needed for research. Student may need help with formulating interview questions and writing letters of introduction to request interviews.

  • Ask how he/she is planning - should be documented in a timeline within their process journal (students should add the date and include their “to do list”)- timeline could be a table but discuss choices and what might work for them

  • Remind the student to look at the Objective B: Applying Skills tab and look at the "ATL Skills at a Glance Doc." Encourage the student to reflect on specific ATL skills they are developing. They should record these reflections in their process journal. 

  • Generate a list of next tasks & action items in the To-Do section of the Worksheet Tab in MB

  • Ask student to give you an update on the research connected with the learning goal

  • Have student provide an update on creating the product

  • Ask student if there is any particular area where he / she needs support

  • Help student understand the report criteria; unpack the descriptors of the report's assessment criteria

  • Update the To do’s section in MB on the "Worksheet" tab

 

Depending on where the student is with the process, here are some suggested meeting topics:

  • Review the student's timeline to see if he / she is keeping up with deadlines
  • Review the student's process journal
  • Review components of the report
  • Assist with integrating quotes / paraphrasing / citing as needed
  • Practice "Elevator Pitch" together for Personal Project Sharing
  • Check that the student has done ample background research for learning goal
  • Check to see if there are any other concerns
  • Check to see if the student is managing stress related to completing the report / product