In the fall of 2023, for the first time in Aspen High School history, Sophomores executed the Personal Project. The Personal Project is part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Program (MYP), where students are prepared for IB in their Senior and Junior years. This project requires students to find a passion they want to explore further and then create a final product, whether a piece of art, a book, a website, etc. The students must also show the meaning behind their project and utilize Approaches To Learning Skills, like time management, communication, and problem-solving. While this project was intended to be engaging and an opportunity for growth for students, a variety of factors caused these objectives to be lost.
The project sounds easy and fun, and while it could have been, being told to stick to strict IB guidelines and language took most of the interest out of the project for many kids. In my experience, I wanted to enjoy taking photos of anything I thought was interesting and seeing how they turned out, but according to IB, I couldn’t just do that. IB required students to have a deep meaning behind why they chose their topic, a specific goal for their project’s outcome, and then proof of how they grew as specifically an IB student and person while on the path to their end goal. These requirements couldn’t be applied to every project, and rather than forcing kids to think deeper, these rules caused most of them to lie because they weren’t engaged with the questions. If we as a school could allow leeway on some of these requirements or find a way to make them more appealing to students rather than an annoying step, I feel that students would enjoy the process more and show more creativity.
Given that this is our first year at an MYP school, there will be growing pains. In addition to the strict regiments, most of the teachers who were supposed to be guiding us and helping us along the way were as unprepared for this project as the students. SET teachers were the instructors for the project and were told to meet with students during SET each week to discuss their progress and give them lessons, but only a small fraction of teachers followed through with this. Many teachers were either under-informed or get bombarded by their other students coming in for SET, hindering their ability to attend to the MYP kids. This lack of structure forced kids who needed help to find other teachers like Kate Korn or the librarian who were more knowledgeable on the project. Almost all of the Sophomores coming to two teachers could get overwhelming and was difficult for both the students and Kate and Caroline. Some SET teachers became more involved as the deadline closed in, but by then, it was too late, and the kids needed clarification about what they needed to do. This lack of support was not the teacher’s fault but due to a lack of initial understanding by both teachers and kids alike. As we continue with this program, the teachers will become more informed on the task. Additionally, to improve the structure and help available for the students, I would recommend picking a day each week that an MYP SET teacher’s students from other classes are prohibited from entering their classroom to allow the teacher to give their undivided attention to the students working on their projects.
The timeline was the last major factor contributing to the project’s lack of success. Students were told that they had until Valentine’s Day to complete their project and were supposed to be given strict instructions by their SET teachers as to when they should have certain parts completed. However, as previously stated, not all teachers encourage their students to stick to a schedule or complete their project in the order it should be done. Furthermore, there was a miscommunication, and students found out during winter break that their final report of their Personal Project was due two weeks after they returned. Due to the teachers’ lack of encouragement and guidance, some Sophomores had done their project “wrong” because they didn’t format it the way IB wanted, and many hadn’t even started. This led to a grade-wide scramble of kids just trying to get enough done to turn their project in on time, defeating the purpose of growth and self-exploration that IB intended. Increased pressure on the students to stick to the deadlines, like graded progress checks, could help aid students’ lack of devotion this year towards their projects.
While the project was unsuccessful this year, that could change in the future with the right alterations. This project could be a fantastic opportunity for students to explore their passions and demonstrate their skills. Only time will tell what this project will become, and with each year that partakes in the project, the school will become better equipped to execute it.