What is self-regulation?
According to Pintrich and Zusho (2002), self-regulated learning is an active constructive process whereby learners set goals for their learning and monitor, regulate, and control their cognition, motivation, and behaviour, which is guided and constrained by their goals and the contextual features of the environment. The MYP Personal Project provides a great opportunity for students to develop self-regulation and metacognition which prepares them not only for the DP study but also lifelong learning.
In the context of the MYP personal project, self-regulated learners exercise their agency; set personal learning goals to acquire knowledge and skills; demonstrate their consolidation of their learning through making a product. Throughout the personal project making process, students identify and practice strategies to develop their approaches to learning skills and make strategic steps to achieve their personal project goals. In the process of completing their personal project, they monitor their engagement, reflect on what worked and what did not work, and make adjustment of their actions accordingly. In order to achieve the desired outcomes, students will need to identify what approaches to learning (ATL) skills is needed and what a new learning strategy is effective to help them achieve their goals. I think this is where students can benefit greatly from the supervisor's guidance. We should not assume that MYP Year 5 students have all the necessary skills and learning strategies. The conversation about what skills might help you (the student) in achieving the learning goal(s) and product goal(s) must be deliberate. Although they are MYP Year 5 students, it doesn't mean all their subject teachers have explicitly taught them ATL skills and provided them with specific strategies to develop particular ATL skills.
In the context of the MYP personal project, self-regulated learners exercise their agency; set personal learning goals to acquire knowledge and skills; demonstrate their consolidation of their learning through making a product. Throughout the personal project making process, students identify and practice strategies to develop their approaches to learning skills and make strategic steps to achieve their personal project goals. In the process of completing their personal project, they monitor their engagement, reflect on what worked and what did not work, and make adjustment of their actions accordingly. In order to achieve the desired outcomes, students will need to identify what approaches to learning (ATL) skills is needed and what a new learning strategy is effective to help them achieve their goals. I think this is where students can benefit greatly from the supervisor's guidance. We should not assume that MYP Year 5 students have all the necessary skills and learning strategies. The conversation about what skills might help you (the student) in achieving the learning goal(s) and product goal(s) must be deliberate. Although they are MYP Year 5 students, it doesn't mean all their subject teachers have explicitly taught them ATL skills and provided them with specific strategies to develop particular ATL skills.
Personal Project Objectives & ATL Skills (2021)
In the new MYP personal project guide (2021), students select the most appropriate ATL skills for each stage of their project. Previously, students were required to demonstrate specific ATL skills specified by the MYP at each stage of the process. I believe this new change will further empower students to monitor and control cognition, motivation and behavior in order to achieve their personal project goal. In the student-supervisor meetings, it's is important to ask students in each stage about what skills they would like to apply or practice in order to reach their goal. Help them to visualize what it looks like when they demonstrate the skill and what example might be included. Even better, guide students to elaborate what IB learner profile attribute they will be demonstrating by applying a specific ATL skills.
Here are some examples of how ATL skills might be applied in different stages of completing the personal project:
Here are some examples of how ATL skills might be applied in different stages of completing the personal project:
In the planning phase:
In the process of making the product:
Here is the poster that I have created to support the student-supervisor conversation. Click the image to download the PDF version.
References
- Pintrich, P. R., & Zusho, A. (2002). The development of academic self-regulation: The role of cognitive and motivational factors. In A. Wigfield & J. S. Eccles (Eds.), Development of achievement motivation (pp. 249– 284). San Diego, CA: Academic.