Grade 10 Students Build Independence Through Personal Projects

Our Grade 10s have been hard at work bringing their ideas to life through their Personal Projects - a pivotal part of the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP). These projects give students the opportunity to explore their passions and strengthen their independent learning. 

“The idea is, by the time that students are in Grade 10, they can do an individual inquiry on a passion project that they have selected,” Personal Project Coordinator Mr Bill Tolley said. 

Preparation for the project starts in Grade 9, as students are asked to start brainstorming a topic of interest ahead of the next academic year. 

The project is split into three sections: making an action plan, applying skills, and then producing a reflective report.

“One of the things that supervisors and coordinators have to do is not feed them too much information. They have to come up with the idea on their own. They have to manage their own time, and then they have to write the report themselves and create their product.”

Students also take part in an exhibition where they present their work to other students and community members. Each project demonstrates a student's ability to research, communicate, and think both critically and creatively. 

“Students often surprise themselves with the authenticity of their learning. They’re always surprised by how much they’ve learned, how deep and meaningful their projects are,” Mr Tolley said. 

For her final product, Grade 10 student Meklit M. produced a podcast to achieve her learning goal of exploring "the social stereotype and misconceptions that surrounds sexual abuse and to understand how to use a podcast and journalism techniques," she said.  

Meklit started researching her topic during her summer break, consulting a variety of resources and preparing for the academic year ahead. 

"One of the challenges that I faced was making sure I don’t go off topic because my topic is very sensitive," she said. 

The process taught Meklit to stay on track with her goals to ensure she saw her project through to completion. 

“When I actually did the project, I realized how much of an impact journalism can have and it also gave me a place to voice my opinions," she said. 

Naomi Y. explored mental health awareness by producing an academic research paper and a series of photographs that portrayed different mental illnesses. 

“It’s [mental health] prevalent in our age group and I wanted to focus on that as a sophomore because there are different factors such as peer pressure, social groups and balancing education with your social life, this can lead to mental health illnesses that are often overlooked especially here in Ethiopia,” she said. 

“It was transformative, this project really pushed me to make something that matters to me,” Naomi said. 

For Naomi, the project also underscored the importance of leaning on your community and having a support system.

"I wanted to emphasize that you don't have to do anything alone, there are always people who can support you and people who will help you follow through with this project," she said.

A central focus of the Personal Project is the development of independent learning. From selecting their topics to setting goals and managing their time, students take full ownership of their projects. 

“The students have almost free rein. They can choose whatever they’re interested in, it does not have to be tied to an individual course or their coursework in any way. It shows that they can apply what they’ve been learning in all their classes in an independent project of their own choice,” Mr Tolley said. 

This independence also prepares students as they prepare for the final stretch of their IB journey.

“There has been research on this by the International Baccalaureate (IB). The success in the Personal Project is the greatest indicator of success in the IB Diploma Programme (DP), and it's because the DP is full of independent assignments."

“This is also what helps them when they go on to college, as well, because in college they’re going to be independent. Just as people always talk about how the DP is a great indicator of success in university, the MYP Personal Project is a great indicator of success in the DP," he said. 

Well done to all our Grade 10s for all your hard work this year!