Planning 

Develop Proposal: Topic, Goal, Global Context, Inquiry Question, Success Criteria, Process Journal

Presentation about Planning the Personal Project

Presentation about Planning the Personal Project from Managebac

9th Grade Rollout Presentation by Mrs. MacFarland and Mrs. MacFarland's Brochure

Handouts

Evaluating Sources

Research Document Template

Check out some helpful links for various topics

Link to information about the Process Journal

There are three main parts to the Personal Project.

Planning


Applying Skills


Reflecting



Personal Project Proposal

Step One

First step is to identify your topic, learning and product goals, global context (if applicable) and develop an inquiry question. 

Once you have filled out your proposal in your Google doc, then please copy and paste the learning and product goal in Managebac. Click on PERSONAL PROJECT and then EDIT GOAL under WORKSPACE.

Example

Step One

Topic: Housing for Domestic Abuse Victims

Learning Goal: My learning goal is to research what housing options are available in the Austin greater area for women of domestic abuse. I want to learn what services are available to help these women transition to a safer life. I want to understand the needs of these women in order to develop a model for what would be an effective safe house for these women. I will research what already exists for housing and will reach out to two to three Domestic Abuse organizations to better understand my target audience and their needs. 

Product Goal: My goal is to design blueprints and create a 3D model of a safe house for domestic abuse victims that will be able to house 20-30 women and children. For my goal, I will consider the function of the safe house, aesthetics to make it appealing, and  my target audience along with the budgetary costs for materials and layout/sizes all within the timeframe of the personal project to finish in February. 

Global Context:  I chose Identities and Relationships since designing a safe house  for domestic abuse victims reinforces the beliefs and values in society that everyone deserves to be happy and feel safe.  The safe house will focus on providing a home to help women and children connect to each other in a supportive environment and community, stressing the importance of social and mental well being. 

Inquiry Question:

What design elements are important to consider when developing a shelter for domestic abuse victims, specially women and children within a specific budget for 25-30 people that will most address the mental and social well being of the audience?

Step Two

Step two will be to develop the success criteria using this template. The success criteria measures the degree to which the product aspires to attain and which can be judged against at the completion of the project. 

Please see more detailed information at https://www.mrsmacfarland.com/personal-project/success-criteria 

Connect idea to a Global Context.

What are the Global Contexts and how do they impact the project?


Students must choose one of the six Global Contexts to provide a real-life context for, and a focus to their work. Though a student’s project may apply to more than one Global Context, he/she will have to decide which one works best. The six Global Contexts are:







Developing Success Criteria

Students create success criteria for their final product. This is a list of things that the product needs to do or have to be successful. Good success criteria should be based on research. Students should be able to gather evidence/feedback to help them evaluate each specification in their success criteria.

Students may wish to use skills learnt from writing specifications in their MYP design class or when writing a lab report in MYP science to help them write their success criteria. 


The success criteria, developed by the student, measure the degree of excellence to which the

product aspires or the terms under which the product can be judged to have been successful.



When creating your specifications ask yourself the following questions:


You need to create five-  seven specifications for your criteria.


Example of Success Criteria

Function: A 3-6 player board game / Teaches about London

Aesthetics: TFL Branding / Metal Characters / 

Safety: Toxic free dye, no sharp edges, warning label (not for age 0-3)

Size: 20 inches by 20 inches

Resources: Adobe Illustrator, product to be printed professionally on recycled cardboard

Cost: Between: $20-$35

Environmental Location: Indoor board game

Quality: Shop ready quality

Durability: Splash proof

Time: Prototype: November 14th. January: 5th


You will also add in information to gather feedback from the audience / client / user


What is Criteria?


Think of "criteria" as statements that describe the attributes you want your completed project to have. In Design class you will be familiar with the term ‘specifications’, well specifications are really the same as criteria.  


Your criteria should be a condensed collection of the most important information from your research.  Ensure your criteria reflect your research, and don’t forget to cite the sources where you found the information! Write concise statements that are to the point.

Tips when writing criteria for the PP


You should have between 5-7 specifications, based on themes such as:


Depending on the context of the project, some of the above themes may or may not be relevant, and some may be more important than others. Can you think of any relevant themes for criteria if you were creating a performance, or writing a book? 


It is good practice to place your criteria in order of priority.  Remember, the priority of your criteria will change depending on the context of the project.


Ensure that each criteria is SMART:


Specific   –   Measurable   –   Attainable   –   Relevant   -   Time-Bound


If you are designing something for your PP be careful not to write criteria that describe exactly how your solution will look or function, as this won’t give you much chance to be innovative or creative during the design stages of the project.



Examples

Here are some examples of well written, and not so well written criteria.


Function

When describing the function of your end product never write things like: 


These statements don’t state specifically what you want your end product to do.  The criteria should explain what you want your end product to do, though not specifically how to do it, as this may stifle innovation and creativity.


Write what you want your end product to do.  For example: 


Aesthetics

When describing how you want your end product to look never write things like this:


These statements mean very little.  You should write criteria like this:



Dimensions, Size

If you don’t have a measurement when describing the dimensions, then you may have forgotten some important research; particularly if you are storing or displaying a specific object.


When writing about dimensions never write the following:


These statements don’t have any numerical measurements.  You must write statements like this:


Time

If you don’t have a specific date for this criteria, or even better how many hours you have to create your end product, it is most likely wrong.  Avoid using statements like this:


As you can see there is no actual date specified for any of these statements.  Try to write statements like this:


Materials

When specifying the materials, the best thing to do is state the appropriate properties the materials must have for your device to function correctly, and be visually appealing.  So you should write statements like this:


You should also give suggestions as to the specific materials that have these properties. 

Safety

Safety can be very important when designing things for very small children.  It can also be important for adults too; think of all the safety features that your family car has? 


When writing criteria about safety, never write:


These statements don’t give any specific details about how you must make your solution safe.  This demonstrates that you have not completed any research on safety!  Your specifications must reflect the facts you gathered about safety during your research.  Try to write statements like this:


Justify Success Criteria

You must tell us why you have decided on your criteria AND use your research to back it up.


Example: “After reading Beth Williams’ article ‘Rad Music Videos’ (NME, 2015) she noted that Single Ladies is so successful, because it was shot in black and white. Therefore, I decided that my music video would also be shot in black and white”


Example: “After analyzing the cost of soccer balls on Target’s website (Appendix 5) I realized that they cost between $5 and $25. Therefore, mine would cost no more than $25”



Another example

MacFarland Photography Editing Success Criteria Student Template

Specifications

Criteria Template

Specifications for Your Criteria

Success Criteria for Personal Project.jpg

Research: Evaluating Sources


CARDS for website evaluation

 

Use this acronym - CARDS - to help you evaluate websites before you take information from them.


Note: The greater number of questions listed below answered "yes", the more likely it is you can determine whether the source is of high information quality. You can also use this guide to evaluate other sources too.


C - Credibility:

A - Accuracy:

R - Reliability: 

D - Date: 

S - Source: 

Additionally, recognize and take into consideration the internet address domain: 


Excerpt from  https://olympia.osd.wednet.edu/academics/library/research/website_evaluation 

Process Journal


Students are expected to document the process for the Personal Project and will need to have evidence to show they have developed the necessary Approaches to Learning skills as well as have shown academic integrity. Students have flexibility to choose how they gather evidence using media, written, visual, audio, digital, or a combination of mediums. 

Types of evidence

Rationale for collecting evidence

Evidence is gathered throughout the project in order to ...