From Passion to Product: MYP Grade 10 Personal Project 2023

Nanjing International School Grade 10 students put their personal passions into action with the 2023 Personal Project. The long-term, project-based exploration allowed students to engage in self-directed and independent learning, choosing their own topic and producing a creative product. The Personal Project is a requirement for all Grade 10 students at NIS and the culmination of the entire MYP before entering the IB Diploma Programme in Grade 11 and 12.

The Personal Project exemplified our Strategy goals of Student Voice and Student Choice and allowed student passions to be exhibited to parents and the entire school community.

“In Grade 10, all students get to direct their own learning and complete the Personal Project,” said Ms. Jade Bennett, MYP and Personal Project Coordinator at Nanjing International School. “They need to choose what their product's going to be, they need to choose their learning goal, and then what skills they're going to show as they develop that product. That is their voice and choice. They choose that product that they're going to make. They choose what they want to learn about. They even choose from a selection of ATL skills that will link to their project.”

From sustainable fashion to designing AI chatbots, students chose a learning goal and created a product based on their interests. The project was an opportunity for students to consolidate their learning and document the Approaches to Learning Skills they had developed through the MYP.

NIS Grade 10 students were excited to share their learning with the school community at the Personal Project Exhibition. The culmination of the project allowed them to not only produce a creative product but also reflect on the critical thinking and independent learning skills they gained. The diversity of project topics reflected the multicultural student body at NIS and demonstrated the importance of personalised learning.

“These students have worked hard. It's been seven months of doing this and they're here now,” said Ms. Bennett. “They're sharing with people of all different ages. They've worked with students of different ages; they've worked with communicating with universities in Nanjing. There's been such a diversity. Seeing this all come together, I'm extremely proud of what they've done.”