Personal Project Assessment Criteria Checklist 

BIS 2018-2019  
edited version of the ‘​MYP Further Guidance for Projects’ May 2016 
 
The  personal  project  report  should  be  presented  in  the  following  4  sections,  following  the  MYP 
projects objectives. The report must include evidence for all strands of each criterion. 
Email your supervisor or Personal Project Coordinator (e.henshaw@bis-school.com) for more info! 
 
 
Section 1—Criterion A: Investigating 
 
This is like an introduction. You started the project by investigating, but you may have 
followed the inquiry cycle (inquiry, action, reflection) more than once in order to 
strengthen, extend or refine your inquiry. 
Define a clear goal  In my report: 
and context for the  • I  give  the  precise  meaning  of  the  goal  of  my  project;  I 
project, based on  explain  “what  I  wanted  to  achieve;  when,  where,  how  and 
personal interests  why I wanted to achieve it”. 
• I  describe  and  explore  what  makes  my  project  ​personal​:  the 
experiences,  interests  and  ideas  that  make  it  important  to 
me. I describe what I hope to learn through this process. 
• I  justify  my  goal  as  highly  challenging  (what  did  you  need 
to  know/  find  out in order to create your product - how did 
this  change  as you researched) and explain any changes and 
problems I encountered and made to my goal in the process. 
Explain how your 
• I  define  and  explore  how  one  global  context  applies  to  my 
chosen global context 
project  and  analyse  its  connection.  You must ‘meaningfully’ 
links to your project 
relate it to a global context - don’t be vague - go into detail.  

Identify prior  • I  analyse  what  I  already  knew  about  this  topic/project  and 
learning and subject-  the  sources of my knowledge and explain how I worked out 
specific knowledge  what I needed to know in order to create my product.  
relevant to the project 
• I  evaluate  what  I  learned  in  MYP  subject  groups  before 
the project started, and how this was helpful. 
• I describe the research skills I had when I started the project. 
Demonstrate research 
• I  analyse  the  research  skills  I  developed  through  the  project  - 
skills (see ATL tasks)
who I went to for help etc.  
• I  refer  to  my  process  journal  entries  as  evidence  of  my 
research skills (source evaluations, extensive evidence). 
 

 
Example Investigating Section: 
 

INVESTIGATING

The Goal

The purpose of my personal project is to create an outfit that is inspired by three different cultures I

have lived in for the past sixteen years: Hong Kong, Sweden and Germany. I wanted to create an outfit

which related to a common event in all three cultures which led to the decision of basing it on wedding

dresses from these different cultures. This would help to show that the different cultures can come together

to inspire an outfit which celebrates a common special event in peoples’ lives. I intended for the outfit to be

more of an art piece than a piece of clothing. Alos, I wanted to easily be able to design and create the dress

all by myself at the comfort of my own home. This means that I had to draw and think of designs which

incorporate each culture equally, as well as find material which would fit the culture, and sew it all together

within three months.

My Global Context

I chose the global context “personal and cultural expression” since I wanted my product to be

something which shows who I am and where I come from. I interpreted the global context as a message to

show other people what I think and what I believe. This global context applies to my project since it

illustrates what I wanted to express from my dress in a personal way with the main idea circling the different

cultures I have lived in. A wedding is typically one of the most important events in a person’s life regardless

of what culture you come from. Each culture has its own wedding traditions and typical outfits.

My Personal Connection

My personal connection to my culture started when I was 11 and I moved to Germany. I then

realised how fortunate I am to have had the opportunity to live in three completely different places. Because

of that I can easily make new friends and adapt to new and different cultures quickly. The idea of sewing

my own clothes has fascinated me since my mother told me that when she was a young girl she would sew

her own clothes instead of buying them: this adds a sense of nostalgia for me. Putting my two strongest

traits together, creativity and culture, by creating this dress is something that really inspired me.
Prior Knowledge

The Swedish, Chinese and German culture I have learnt about through living there and by attending

schools in these countries. When I lived in Sweden I was quite young so I do not really remember

everything. However, since I come from Sweden and my relatives live there I am always visiting and

celebrating Swedish traditions regardless of where I’m living: therefore I feel more familiar with exploring

these and can turn to relative for help. When I lived in Hong Kong we had to take Mandarin as an extra

language and in those lessons we learnt about the different traditions and festivities: therefore I have a

basic understanding - I would like to add to this through research on costumes used within these festivals. I

am still learning about the parts of the German culture whilst living here but I have learnt quite a lot during

my German lessons and through everyday life. Sewing, however, I have not had as much experience with

before. I have made a skirt once three years ago and I also used to enjoy crocheting and knitting in my free

time: this will be helpful as a base for designing the dress but as I have never made a dress before I will

need to find out how to incorporate a zip or corset structure as this is unfamiliar to me.

Research Skills

I have been a part of the MYP since grade 6, MYP1, this means that my research skills throughout

the years have developed from the very basic to more advanced in grade 10. I understand how to cite the

sources in MLA format since we learnt that in 7​th​ grade. I also know it is important to use different websites

to validate the accuracy of the information. Something I learnt during this process is to evaluate the different

sources by researching about the author, judging the objectivity and assessing how current the information

is (appendix h). In this process, through close contact with the librarian, I also learnt about primary source

research skill - this was something I needed clarification on. Before this project I was unsure about what the

best way was to reach out for an interview, and what the most effective way to have an interview with

someone in a different country. I personally decided the best way to get in contact with my source was to

send a polite email and ask her if she had the time to answer some questions I had. When she had agreed

to interact with me I followed up with another email with the exact questions.
  
Section 2—Criterion B: Planning 
 
This includes all the work you did to plan and organize your project towards a 
product/outcome. 
Develop criteria for  In my report: 
the product/outcome 
• I  explain  how  I  developed  the  criteria  I  designed  to 
evaluate  the  project  product/outcome  and  show  how 
they are informed by my research.  
• I  indicate  that  the  criteria  I  have  created  has  specific, 
detailed  dates  (short  and  long  term)  and  the  criteria  is 
measurable. 
• I  explain  the  changes  I  made  to  my  project  and  justify  (give 
reasons behind) why I made them. 
Plan and record the  • I  provide  evidence  of  my  planning  through  timelines, 
development process  milestones or other tools/strategies. 
of the project 
• I  present  a  record  of  how  the  project  progressed  from  start to 
finish  (ie:  action  plan)  and  put  it  in  my  Appendices  (with 
changes described and justified). 
Demonstrate  • I  outline  the  self-management  skills  I  had  when  I  started the 
self-management  project (some learnt from the MYP). 
skills (see ATL tasks) 
• I  discuss  the  self-management  skills  I  developed  (including 
weaknesses/  limitations  found)  throughout  this  process  and 
show how they were very effective. 
• I  refer  to  my  process  journal  entries  as  evidence  of  my 
self-management skills (organization and affective). 
 
example Planning Section 
PLANNING
The Criteria (​ Appendix 5)
Develop Criteria
In order to create a detailed and precise success criteria I analyzed other financial literacy
websites (​Appendix 2​), and consolidated the topics needed for my website during my interview
with Elizabeth Bieler. To create the criteria I considered which aspects of the website were most
important (​Appendix 2​). I applied my criteria and found that:
Strand i.
The social media link made a clear connection between finance and the Global Context, providing
easy access to ​global​ markets.​ ​Students can also interpret financial information from the media to
create their own, individual perceptions. User navigation of the website was made simple, and the
personal connection that I share with finance is clear to students.
(​The student continues to apply her criteria and rate her product - omitted from this example​)

Planning Skills
I followed my Action Plan almost exactly when creating my product (​Appendix 8​). However there
were a few adjustments I had to make. On Friday, December 5​th​, I planned to add ​maximum​ three
Extra Resources to each of the twelve topics. However, the ​minimum​ ended up as three, and
some topics, like Personal Budgeting, had ​up to​ ​five​. I added more because I felt that there were
more than just three informative (yet fun) resources for some topics. That same day, the social
media feed for the ‘Home’ page had to be made. The free WordPress plan did not allow this
(despite promising so beforehand), so I made a Twitter page for Financial Literacy for Teens that
students could easily access via the Twitter icon throughout, and ‘Social’ page on, the website.
That way, the global connection my website was intended to have with social media was not lost.

Self-Management Skills
I have always made plans to effectually, consecutively-organize tasks, in classes like Design
where I created a plan of how to create a product for a client which included short and long term
dates. However, Personal Project is work in much larger volume than Design. In November, I was
not fully ​effective;​ I displayed perseverance, self-motivation, and resilience, but wasn’t mindful of
my emotions, mainly stress. Realizing this, I fixed it, creating my extensive Research Plan
(​Appendix 7​), with four research questions, organized by four Research Journal Entries. My
Action Plan and Research Journal Entries display my ensuing effective use of time.

The creation and execution of my Action Plan was much simpler, meaning the research and
execution of my product was much more efficient. My independent time and task management
continued when I created an Action Plan that addressed each aspect of my product. I broke up my
plan into small chunks, and even with the complexity and lengthy duration of the task, I wasn’t
stressed or overwhelmed anymore.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
Section 3—Criterion C: Taking action 
This is the main “doing” part of your project - the action part of the inquiry cycle - where the 
product/outcome is developed and completed. 
Create a  In my report: 
product/outcome in 
• I  discuss  the  product/outcome  as  the  result  of  the  process 
response to the goal, 
and show how it was successful or very good quality. 
context and criteria 
• I  analyse how my product was achieved in response to my 
goal, global context and whether it meets my criteria. 
Demonstrate  • I  analyse  the  thinking  skills  I  had  when  I  started  the  project 
thinking skills (see  (and known limitations). 
ATL tasks) 
• I  evaluate  the  thinking  skills  I  developed  through  the  project 
(how  did  transfer  the  skills  from  my  research  into  create  new 
ideas for my product?). 
Demonstrate  • I  evaluate  the  communication  and  social  skills  I  had  when 
communication and  I started the project. 
social skills (see ATL 
tasks)  • I  discuss  the  different  communication  and  social  skills  I 
applied and developed through the project. 
• I  analyse  how  I  have  shared  my  ATL  skills  to  help  peers 
who  needed  more  practice  at  any  point  in  the  process  or 
how  I  worked  effectively  with  others  in  order  to  create  a 
successful product/ research method. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
e.g. 
TAKING ACTION
Achieving the Goal
To successfully create the “Financial Literacy for Teens” website to educate teens on financial
literacy, I had to do three main things. Firstly, I had to use research sources that challenged me.
For example, Suze Orman’s (32) financial literacy website is intended for adults to use, but I still
used it as a source. I learned, evaluated, and synthesized complicated topics, furthering my (and,
eventually, other teens’) understanding. Secondly, I ensured that my product met my success
criteria. I thoroughly analyzed (​Appendix 2​) websites like Suze Orman’s (32) to infer what
elements contributed to their success. Aspects of aesthetics, information, and external resources
from the research all contributed to my final Product. Thirdly, I created the website using software
(WordPress) that I extensively analyzed (​Appendix 4​). WordPress almost prevented the
execution of my second point (specifically, strand vii of my criteria), by not allowing me to create a
social media feed. But through my flexible thinking, I created a Financial Literacy for Teens Twitter
page, which I connected to my website, creating a similar effect.

The Global Context then extended past the topic of financial literacy, out to the ​global​ platform of
the media, to teach users how to build a​ globalized​ financial portfolio. Therefore, each step,
despite its hurdles, was vital to the successful creation of the Product.

Thinking Skills
Before, my best thinking skills were planning ahead and prioritising key information such as
preparing for summative tasks in English where I prepared vocabulary words and revision note
sheets.
The majority of the sources I used were difficult for me to comprehend, but as the very purpose of
my project was to simplify such information so that teens could easily understand it, I had to
persevere. One example was how I overcame my own limited understanding of the financial
vocabulary which often appeared in the sources I was using for my research through reading the
both the context and dictionary websites. Many of the same words were used across multiple
financial literacy websites and books, so I decided to collect the words which I noticed most often.
I did this regardless of whether I understood them or not, as everyone’s comprehension is
different, and I recognize the bias I have, being a native speaker in a very global community.

Communication & Social Skills

Upon beginning the project, I listened to other people’s perspectives and ideas, working effectively
with my supervisor. For example, when I was considering making a book as my product, my
supervisor, Brett Meuli, he noted that a website would be more attainable in the provided
timeframe (25 hours). I listened to his idea and created a website. His advice was vital to the
success of my Product – I completed it in time (strand x.). I also had to effectively communicate
with Elizabeth Bieler, a Senior Consultant at My Finance Coach Stiftung GmbH​ ​(​Appendix 1​), so
that she would allow me to interview her as a primary research source.

 
  
Section 4—Criterion D: Reflecting 
This is the point when you look back over the project and evaluate your development. You 
may have reflected during the process of the project and you can refer to this here too. 
Evaluate the quality  In my report: 
of the product/ 
• I  evaluate  the  product/outcome  against  the  criteria  I 
outcome against 
designed and justify/explain any shortcomings. 
their criteria 
• I  identify  the  strengths,  weaknesses  and  possible 
improvements of the product/outcome. 
Reflect on how  • I  identify  challenges  and  the  solutions  I  developed  to  meet 
completing the  them. 
project has extended 
their knowledge  • I  demonstrate  how  I  achieved  a  deeper  knowledge  and 
and understanding  understanding of my topic and my identified global context. 
of the topic and the  • I  base  my  reflection  on  evidence,  including  my  process 
global context  journal (use detailed explanations and examples). 
Reflect on their  • I  identify  how  I  have  developed  as a learner (using the IB 
development as IB  learner  profile  as  appropriate)  and  extended  my 
learners through the  knowledge. 
project 
• I  analyse  my  overall  strengths  and  weaknesses  in 
completing the project. 
• I  predict  the  impact  the  project  could  have  on  my  future 
learning. 
  
e.g. 
 
REFLECTING
Evaluating
Strengths and weaknesses of the product
The website was highly successful, but did have some weaknesses.
A social media feed directly attached to the site would have been more readily accessible for the
user than my Twitter one. But, considering my options, I found the best solution possible, but in
the future, I would upgrade my WordPress plan, or replace WordPress entirely (​Appendix 4​). As
for the strengths, I thoroughly developed technical skill through applying my previous knowledge
evidenced through the extensive features of my product. To ensure the understanding of students,
the information and images that I included on the website was always relevant and informative,
and any topics which were difficult and important were elaborated on further. T​he vocabulary that
students struggle with can also be clicked on for definition.​ ​The website provides background into
the problem and why it is one, creating context. The website aesthetic is very professional, but still
attractive and appealing to teens (​Appendix 9​).

Extending Knowledge
My personal strengths, weaknesses, challenges, and solutions
My main personal challenge and weakness was stress, caused by the heavy workload, as my
Appendix 9 ​Journal Entry mentions. To fix this, I divided large tasks into small chunks, using
thinking and organization skills, a strength of mine, to create tables (​Appendices 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8)
– which made the workload much less overwhelming. For example, in my Action Plan (​Appendix
8​), I only had to format around five pages a day. Another example is my Financial Literacy
Website Analysis (​Appendix 2​), which divided the analysis of websites into small, manageable
sections – aesthetics, content, extra resources, etc. Operating WordPress software was another
weakness of mine, as mentioned in ​Appendix 10​, because strand viii. of my criteria required a
drop-down menu. I found two YouTube videos, but both explained old WordPress software. I had
to apply my ​thinking and​ existing​ ​technical skills​ to the unfamiliar program, troubleshooting it until I
figured it out.

Knowledge and understanding of both my topic and my Global Context

At first, I connected finance to “Scientific and Technical Innovation”, as I believed finance
consisted of ​understanding the world and its systems.​ ​ I realized that finance is one of the ​most
interconnected human systems in existence,​ linking local and ​global​ communities. It’s an
integral part of our society. For example, many people decide whether or not to get married
because of their financial standing. I found “Financial Intimacy” and “Life” as topics on all the
financial literacy websites which I analyzed. They discussed marriage and relationships from a
financial standpoint (​Appendix 2​). Finance, although we may not realize it, profoundly influences
our personal lives. In order to ​sustain​ our living quality, we need to maintain our finances at a
sustainable​ level, e.g. through budgeting. Finance highly ​globalized​, something that occurred to
me when researching stocks (13) and the stock market (14). Financial institutions, e.g. the NYSE,
greatly influences global trends, across all sectors. One person can change the financial state of
billions of other people. Through this project, I realized how important it is to sustain one’s
personal finances,​ being that finance is so easily influenced on a global scale – finance is so much
more than just understanding the world: it’s about understanding how everything in the world is
connected.

IB Learner
My learner development
Now, thinking skills allow me to create solutions, like my information tables in Appendices 2, 3, 4,
6, and 8, to my problems, like workload stress. I can concisely paraphrase complex topics, like
finance, in words that I understand. I have improved my ​evaluation​ of sources and ​analytical
thinking skills​ through the extensive source evaluations (​Appendix 6​) I had to conduct
(​Appendices 2, 3, and 4​). This links to the improvement of my ​research skills.​ For example, I
used exclusively Britannica Images, because they’re free of copyright. I learned that my
self-management, organization, and thinking skills (in the form of research tables) enable me to
collect, organize, and analyze information more extensively and effectively than if I were to just
use my research skills. I have realized that taking other’s perspectives and ideas into
consideration is integral to my own success – for example, when my supervisor questioned my
Global Context choice, which made me change it for the better (above). The implications of social
media platforms on people’s perception of reality was displayed by the Financial Literacy for
Teens Twitter page. I learned that using varied media to communicate with different audiences
(e.g. teens enjoy social media and images over paragraphs (​Appendix 9​), and understanding
cultural differences (e.g. avoiding exclusive cultural expressions) is extremely important in today’s
global society.

The impact of my product on my future learning

I will now be able to accomplish large, difficult tasks through the use of my
Personal-Project-developed self-management, thinking, communication, and social skills. As these
make up the IB Learner Profiles, they have improved me as an IB Learner. Not only this, but I will
also be able to apply my new skills to the workplace, which will set me apart from those who
haven’t experienced Personal Project. Every stage of the process, including the Investigating,
Planning, Taking Action, and Reflecting stages, have aided personal growth and will be a catalyst
for success in life.

Evaluation of the product against the strands I created in my success criteria

Strands i., ii., iii., iv., vii., viii, ix, and x., as well as part of v. and vi., were met (see above).
Strand i.
It includes the required topics (list in ​Appendix 2​).
Strand ii.
The topics which were most important had the most information, but were also paralleled with the
topics which were the most difficult to comprehend (list in ​Appendix 2​).
Strand iii.
It includes ​15​ statistics on its ‘Home’ page about teen financial literacy, the maximum number.
Strand iv.
It also indicates the terms which were found to be challenging to teenagers​ ​in red, linking it to the
definition of the term.
Strand v.
The website has a three hue color scheme of muted, toned down colors (red, black/grey, and
white) and a basic, clean, legible font, which is primarily round-edged, very similar to Raleway or
Comforta. The images are informative, yet still interesting. Perhaps these could have included
captions to help inform the reader more directly of their relevance.