THE INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE (IB) Year 10 Personal Project is one that involves planning, evaluation, research, action and reflection. It also provides value Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills, in preparation for Senior School and beyond, such as how to manage time and be balanced, yet a risk-taker.
Cranbrook’s new IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) Coordinator, Erin Munn, walks us through the student-driven Year 10 Personal Project and how it is a great opportunity for personal growth including linking their learning to real world applications and developing a global mindset.
“The Personal Project allows students to explore areas of personal interest over an extended period, helping them to consolidate learning and expanding skills by engaging in self-directed inquiry,” Erin explains. “It develops skills in research, communication, critical and creative thinking, plus self-management. This fosters personal growth by allowing students to explore topics of interest and setting their own success criteria.”
Project Planning and Criteria
THE CRANBROOK IB Year 10 Personal Projects are wide and varied. Whether it’s a tangible or intangible project, a goal to be achieved or something to be created, it is up to each student. Each project grows from an idea to deliver an outcome achieved through research, setting success criteria, detailed and accurate documentation and reflection on learning.
Each student is assigned a Cranbrook supervisor for support and guidance, ensuring project feasibility, goal setting and timelines (reviewed in a process journal); and to help identify credible sources and effective research strategies.
Periodically the students come together to discuss their projects with peers, “who are often each other’s best motivators and supporters,” Erin explains. Then there is support from their House, Year 10 mentors, plus parents and carers.
Projects are internally marked and externally moderated to the IB global standard, and the most engaged students are invited to prepare reports and products for an exhibition alongside the IB Diploma Programme Theory of Knowledge students in Term 1 2025.
Swingularity: An interstellar Golf Game
FOR YEAR 10 STUDENT, Hudson Woolford, his chosen project was development, programming and delivery of a video game. While Hudson is highly skilled in designing and programming, his project extended his learnings into full project scoping, including organisational skills, creativity and attention to detail in documentation.
As the main game designer and programmer for Swingularity, a single player interstellar golf game that involves orbital mechanics and navigating hazards such as celestial bodies, Hudson teamed with three other Year 10 Cranbrook students, Ted Boss, Kevin Chu and Mickey Chen, to bring his project to reality.
The team won the Years 10-12 open category at the Australia Council for Education Research (ACER) STEM Video Game Challenge 2024, announced in September. This gave them an invitation to the PAX gaming event in Melbourne in October, to showcase their game to the world!
For Hudson, his key learning objective was greater understanding of programming in C# and Unity, including graphics programming, game design, systems and simulations. He achieved this through his project’s heavy graphics content to create procedurally generated planets. But what was most challenging for Hudson, was the scoping and documentation. “I left the documentation to the last minute which meant several days of nonstop work to complete it for the competition. I have learned a lot about time management and to start on projects as soon as possible. Plus, the process of game development involves creating features that never work first try. They are usually unoptimised, full of glitches, or straight up non-functional. Most of my time was allocated to troubleshooting these issues – it’s a very iterative process,” he says.
Recreational Pilot’s Licence
FOR BENJU KLEIN, he is soaring towards his Personal Project of achieving his first solo aircraft flight for his Recreational Pilot’s Licence (RPL).
With a passion and fascination for aviation, Benji says he looked forward to school holidays just for flights. Now I’m at the age I can apply for a pilot’s licence and am actively pursuing that through Bankstown Aerodrome flying school as part of my ultimate career goal in the aviation industry.
When EQV spoke with Benji he was just one hour off his first solo flight, is on track to achieve his RPL by Christmas 2024, looking to achieve his Private Pilot’s Licence by the end of Year 12, and focussing on entering the aviation industry straight from school.
Apart from his RPL goal and learning both technical and practical theory to fly aircrafts, Benji says he has learned multiple skills such as the ability to learn from different instructors and their varying teaching styles and the importance of theory and practical application.
“It has surprised me how simple in construction a plane can be and how it uses physics to stay in the air. But the biggest learning challenge is having and knowing the very, very low margin of error rate that applies for safe aviation.”
Importantly, Benji learned that his goal cannot be achieved unless he has done all study and preparation first – without it he cannot fly.
“Through the repetition of doing training circuits of the aerodrome I’ve learned to handle a workload a lot more efficiently and effectively, how to problem solve and enhance my concentration skills and mental strength under pressure – these skills are very useful for my future and essential for a successful aviation career.”
Time management was also a call out for Benji. “The flying circuit at Bankstown is only three or four minutes during which time you must also do things such as radio calls, extensive landing checks and space management from other aircraft. There is a very low margin of error, so concentration, focus, application of theory and practical studies is required,” he explains.
Learning to Renovate for Profit
FOR ORLANDO IVANOVSKI, his eBook project, Learning to Renovate for Profit was inspired by his family’s interests in building and renovating. “Achieving success through property investment is not quick and easy – it’s a long-term investment,” he explains. Most challenging was composing the eBook to ensure the audience’s interest was maintained which meant considerable time simplifying content and making sure it is easy to read and understand.
Erin says that as the Year 10 Personal Project students set their goals, “they are the leaders of this experience”.
We look forward to exhibits of their projects alongside the IB Diploma Programme Theory of Knowledge students in Term 1 2025, Erin concludes.
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