TFS - Canada's International School

throughout the year, who ensures that the class is equipped to complete each stage. As each project needs to demonstrate real-world connections, it must also relate in some way to a career of possible interest to the student. "The heart of the personal project is inquiry, which ties in beautifully with our growing understanding of academic ambition, because it all starts with a student's curiosity," says Khalid El-Metaal, Deputy Head of Teaching and Learning. He appreciates the impact that the almost year-long project has on students' love of learning. "When \RXÀQGVRPHWKLQJWKDW\RX·UHFXULRXVDERXW\RXJRRXWRI your way to learn about it, which helps it become a labour of love. The more you dig, the more questions you have, and \RXZDQWWRÀQGRXWHYHQPRUHµ This year, the entire Level III class shares a supervisor, Mary He, who teaches career studies, biology and Mandarin. She notes that the project lets students explore and discover themselves. "The project isn't strictly academic in nature, and so they can really ask, 'What are my passions and interests? What have my experiences been? What are my skills, and what do I not know how to do…yet?' " These questions lead naturally into an exploration of careers. Starting with self-exploration and self-assessment activities on the guidance portal, Naviance, students can then consider one of the suggested careers and better understand the courses needed to pursue it. While the project doesn't require students to choose a career path, it raises their DZDUHQHVVRIWKHSURFHVVRIÀQGLQJDUHDOFDOOLQJLQOLIH Students also need to identify the global context of their project, to reinforce their topic's relevance. Global context, which is unique to the MYP, refers to identities and relationships, orientation in space and time, personal DQGFXOWXUDOH[SUHVVLRQVFLHQWLÀFDQGWHFKQLFDOLQQRYDWLRQ globalization and sustainability, and fairness and development. To make those connections between the global FRQWH[WDQGWKHLUWRSLFVVWXGHQWVH[SORUHKRZRQHVSHFLÀF aspect of the career they are investigating can have an impact on society or even on humanity. "If a student is interested in medicine, they need to hone in on one aspect of it," explains Ms. He. "This could be clinical research, medical tools, the patient-doctor relationship, or rights and equality for patients in a certain region of the world. This gives them the chance to learn about careers that they may have never even considered." Nicholas C., LIII student, was just starting the personal project when Entre Nous spoke with him. He loves delving into a topic that he is already dedicating himself to in his free time – volunteering at Sick Kids Hospital in the rheumatology department, where his mother works. "I enjoy that the school lets us make our own decisions about our projects," he says. For his project, he is comparing types of drug trials, in this case, between randomized control trials and randomized placebo phase trials. He expects that his project will include a survey for researchers and physicians at the hospital, and research on how different trials work. "I really enjoy these types of projects," he says, "the creativity, the planning and the research." Having dedicated class time for the project is also useful, "and the teachers aid you towards that and support you in what you're passionate about." What exactly is the personal project? It's a self-directed practical exploration of a topic that students choose, to pursue over the course of approximately 25 hours, starting in September, with a showcase of projects LQ)HEUXDU\DQGDÀQDOUHSRUWVXEPLWWHG in April. By the end of the journey, students will have prepared a process journal, logging their progress and showing how their learning skills have developed, a meaningful product RUPHDVXUDEOHRXWFRPHDQGDÀQDOUHSRUW Students connect with their project supervisor 23 TFS ENTRE NOUS 2018

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