The personal project provides an opportunity for students to undertake an independent and age-appropriate exploration into an area of personal interest. Through the process of inquiry, action and reflection, students are encouraged to demonstrate and strengthen their ATL skills. The personal nature of the project is important; the project allows students to explore an area that motivates and interests them. Students choose what they want to focus on, which can be an existing or a new interest, choose how to achieve their goal, and create their own success criteria for the product. The project provides an excellent opportunity for students to produce a truly personal and often creative product and to demonstrate a consolidation of their learning in the MYP.

The personal project provides students with an essential opportunity to demonstrate ATL skills developed through the MYP and to foster the development of independent, lifelong learning. The independent nature of the project equips students to pursue meaningful goals in life, education and the workplace.

The MYP personal project is a culminating example of inquiry because it reflects students’ abilities to initiate, manage and direct their own inquiries.

The inquiry process in MYP projects involves students in a wide range of activities to extend their knowledge and understanding and to develop their skills and attitudes. These student-planned learning activities include:

• Deciding what they want to learn about, identifying what they already know, and discovering what they will need to know to complete the project

• Creating proposals or criteria for their project, planning their time and materials, and recording developments of the project

• Making decisions, developing understandings and solving problems, communicating with their supervisor and others, and creating a product

• Evaluating the product and reflecting on their project and their learning.

As students become involved in the self-initiated and self-directed learning process, they will find it easier to construct in-depth knowledge on their topic as well as to develop an understanding of themselves as learners.