Personal Project Cover Sheet

Student Name Ethan Tsang

Student Number
School Name Renaissance College
School Number 0 0 2 7 8 6
Supervisor Jrgen Mortensen
Name

Title of the Project:
MYP Survival Guide Magazine

Goal of the Project
To design and produce a creative piece that deconstructs the different aspects of a
typical teenage or middle school students life in an international school. I desired to
create a magazine or infographic material based on a source crossover of personal
experience assisted primary and secondary research.

Included when submitting the project

A completed academic honesty form

Process journal extracts

Any supporting visual aids used during the presentation, if applicable

Bibliography/sources

 PERSONAL
PROJECT
2017-2017 MYP5 PP REPORT
WORD COUNT: 3680

Ethan Tsang
MYP Survival Guide Infographic Magazine

Student No.:

Project Supervisor: Jrgen Mortensen

Renaissance College Hong Kong

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

PERSONAL PROJECT REPORT

A Investigation
i) Goal and Global Context 1
ii) Prior Knowledge 1
iii) Selecting and Applying Sources (ATL Research Skills) 2

B Planning
i) Criteria and Developing Criteria 2
ii) Plan 3
iii) Research (Record the Development) 3
iv) Self-Management Skills 4

C Taking Action
i) Planning and Developing Stage 4
ii) Transfer Skills (Contextual) 4
iii) Manufacturing and Feedback (Communication and Collaboration) 5
iv) My Product: Response to my Goal, Global Context and Criteria 5

D Reflection
i) Evaluation of Product 5
ii) Topic of Knowledge and global Context 6
iii) Development as an IB Learner 7

BIBLIOGRAPHY 8

APPENDICIES

I Topic and Global Context 9

II Initial Ideas and Brainstorming 10

III OPVL Analysis Extract 11

IV Personalized Timeline 12

V PP Feedback Day Responses 13

VI Process Journal Extracts 14

VII Research Document Extract 16

VIII Interview Response Extract 16

IX Extract on Data Collection 17

X Learner Profile Reflection 17

Investigation Criterion A:
Goal and Global Context
The ultimate goal of my personal project is to design and produce a creative piece that
deconstructs the different aspects of a typical teenage or middle school students life in an
international school. I desired to create a magazine or infographic material based on a source
crossover of personal experience assisted primary and secondary research. Furthermore,
transcribing life skills and advice will allow myself as a writer to turn my own lessons into
my readers lessons. For uprising juniors, I will be able to guide, give options and provide a
clearer path on the complex and confusing journey of middle school.

I was inspired by the book How to quit your day job and live your dreams by Kenneth
Atchity. (Ref. App. III) The writer creates a balances of subjective opinions and researched
facts, resulting in an undeniable guide to achieving what the majority define as success in
life. Similarly, the objective of this project is to effectively gather factors mutually inclusive
to the contribution to academic success, presented in the form of a survival guide to the IB
Middle Years Programme. (Ref. App. I) It is evident that my project relates to the Identities
and Relationships Global Context, due to the content coverage of a broad range of topics
such as personal expression, social relationships, and community, converging into a concise
and compact resource exploring the teenage life of middle school students. (Ref. App. I)

Prior Knowledge
Prior to the beginning of this project, I have been studying as the first class of Year 1 students
since the school was built. Therefore, the rich experience in the an IB Learner environment
serves as a solid foundation and basis for a reliable and relatable source of knowledge.
Moreover, as an active all-rounded student and taking a role as one of the Academic Scholars
in the Class of 2019, my participation in a range of activities as well as considerably broad
connections within the campus should allow my research stage to excel and reduce in
technical difficulty.

Additionally, utilizing my considerably broad range of connections, in the fields of athletics,

academics and socializing, I am reinforced with the ability to consult a range of individuals
for area-specific opinions and different perspectives relative to each topic of interest.
Maintaining close relationships and interactions with experienced staff members of the
RCHK community also allows the acquirement of an authoritys or in contrast, a more
objective viewpoint of the investigated topics. (Ref. App. VIII)

Selecting and Applying sources (ATL: Research Skills)

I began my research process by the incorporation of brainstorming and project planning
skills, which lead to a clear direction of the product structure and content organization.
Instead of transitioning directly to contextual and content-based research, I decided to start
with the core or basics of the nature of my product. I went on multiple databases and
slideshows created by professionals to learn about the CARP Design Principles. I was able to
identify the style of design for my magazine material, as the research removed all
infringement between my lack of artistic background and talents against the demand for basic
design knowledge concerning the product creation process. This gave me a sufficient head
start in terms of content structure and style for my creative written material. (Ref. App. VII)

The content of processed data and local research material highly depended on the
implementation of primary sourcing activity such as interviews and surveys. Specifically, the
surveys conducted were formulated mostly by mass-response and quantitatively reliant
questions. Constructing and deploying a large range of questions, from topic specific to
 generic, enhanced the flexibility of my results controlling the type and amount of results
suited for the flow of my magazine. For example, in the topic of sleep and rest, I surveyed
fellow students on the hours of sleep they average on a daily basis. Through precise analysis
and elaboration, the hours achieved was compared to the hours recommended, fulfilling the
purpose of a factual section, in which the data reiterates the importance of sufficient rest, as
well as raising awareness or triggering an alarm towards the concerning situation, calling
upon change and response to the current situation. (Ref. App. IX)

Additionally, the aforementioned content was also strongly connected to the acquiring of
perspectives and opinions from longer interviews and discussions. I selectively analyzed and
compared students interests and expertise in various areas of middle school life, and finally
gathered responses in the areas of leisure, sports and social. The results were surprisingly
detailed as they took their time and effort into providing area-specific advice. This overall
shaped the direction of my content, and in some cases, changed my perception into the
handling of multiple problems in my life. Instead of fully quoting the interview, I picked out
minimal parts that were direct and effortlessly understandable for junior students and
embedded the others into the sub-topics or branches of my written material. (Ref. App. VIII)

One of my favorite resources which participated in major contribution to my product was the
YouTube channel named Charisma on Command. The creator Charlie often uploads videos
and posts articles on his website pertaining to the subject of advice and tips on socializing.
Taking interest in both fields of psychology and philosophy, he often creates content that are
neutral and suggestive towards personal mental development and improving interactions in a
social atmosphere. Much of the written material in my product was inspired by the channel,
referencing psychological concepts that relate to the audience (Secondary Students), further
emphasizing the connection to the identities and relationships global context. (Ref. App. III)

About a quarter of my research depended on knowledge from secondary sources from the
internet. Specific areas of research required information beyond the constraints of subjective
personal experience, which is why I have sourced a range of reliable websites as my
secondary resources at hand. For example, I had a much heavier use of online resources
typically from health organizations in my sleep and rest section, which allowed my sub-
topics such as caffeine versus exercise, sleep stages to hold content of much higher value and
reader interest. The necessity of including researched information enables content to fluctuate
from subjective to objective from time to time, capturing audience attention and enlarging the
area of effect upon different type of readers. (Ref. Bib, App. III)

Planning Criterion B:
Criteria and Developing Criteria
My criteria were written during the beginning of the personal project, but developed and
changed throughout the process, as my understanding and perceptions of the global context
radically evolved during extensive research and inquiry.
Criteria Description Purpose
1) Produce a creative written Criteria 1 forms the backbone of my project, emphasizing the
magazine styled guide that product objective in clear and concise wording. I looked deeply into
deconstructs the multiple aspects of my target audience and decided to alter the topic into the survival
teenage life in an international aspect, while extending and cover a broader range of topics that
school through a series of chapters may appeal to the intended audience.
or sub-topics.
2) Compose written material using a Criteria 2 actively tackles the content coverage of my product,
resource combination of personal setting boundaries and ranges for the information and data collected,
experience, quantitative surveys, processed and implemented into my product. Criteria 2 mainly
qualitative interviews and ensures my product to be resourced and constructed through a range
secondary researched information of perspectives along with a balance of factual and subjective
to generate content variety and gain content.
multiple perspectives on a single
topic.
3) Investigate and apply basic design Criteria 3 simply correlates to the layout and artistic factor of my
principles and concepts in written material, providing an expectation to the basic aesthetics and
contribution to an artistic approachvisual appeal aspect of the magazine. This ensures an artistically
to the layout of my product. acceptable design layout, which plays a crucial role in developing
reader interest and capturing audience attention.
4) Acquire audience feedback to avoid Criteria 4 basically reduces bias and confronts the informative
explicitly subjective content and purpose of the product. Due to the implementation of personal
unnecessary controversy in order to opinions and experiences, advice may not be perfectly applicable to
adjust and reach maximum reader all scenarios and should be adjusted to suit the majority instead.
suitability and interest.
5) I have reflected on the connection Criteria 5 serves as a reminder to consistently and frequently
between my project and the Global consider the Global Context of choice, applying the content of my
Context of inquiry into identities project to the connection towards an inquiry into identities and
and relationships. relationships. This further prevents off-topic research and correlates
my product to the goal, in order to enact on the original purpose and
effect on the targeted community.

Plan
For my project, I created a personal timeline customized to meet my own research and
product requirements. I decided to effectively and evenly split the time given into four main
parts, including planning, researching, product and report writing. In order to balance my
strengths and weaknesses, I decided to dedicate more time to the content creation part
(product manufacturing) since it was the most challenging and time consuming. On the other
end, I compensated by reducing and minimalizing the time intended for planning and
research which was less important for the big picture. Overall, the timeline was quite tight
during the transition of between product and report stages, whilst maintaining and following
my personalized plan in helped me accomplish tasks within the suggested timeline. (Ref.
App. IV)

Research (Record the development)

I started my research development by initial brainstorming. I considered a few factors
including time limits, feasibility, research material available and also reader interest when
filtering my areas of investigation. (Ref. App II//topic change, Product)
1. Gaming and Entertainment
2. Sleep and Rest
 3. Social and Community
4. Academics and Student Life in General
These four topics served as anchors for my main idea or theme of deconstructing the life of a
teenage student in an international secondary school. This emphasized the importance of
accumulating a flow pattern for research in order to efficiently gather resources and data for
my written material. I further took advantage of a research document to collectively record all
my findings, categorized into quantitative and qualitative before branching into the specific
areas of interest. Combining the explored designed principles and concepts, I merged the
processed information with the artistic layout and structures I had in mind to increase appeal
and visual attractiveness of my final product. I spent the majority of my creation time
considering the layout formats suitable for my target audience and positions of the elements
that would commence in an active delivery of content influence and the portrayal of the
Global Context as a whole. (Ref. App. VII)

Self-Management skills
The personal project explicitly challenged my organizational and time management skills.
Along with studying the academic course of Year 11, I kept a stable meeting record with my
supervisor and took initiative in setting up and attending regular meetings. Though at times, I
may fall slightly behind schedule, the feedback and development advice received morphed
into motivation to catch up to the progress expectations. Furthermore, I created a
personalized timeline in addition to suit my specific needs and requirements of my project, as
I effectively moved dates back and forth with conditional goals in order to keep on track.
Lastly, I documented all stages of my research and product development in order to reference
to my criteria and global context. Increasing productivity also resulted in a higher quality and
quantity of work produced, as this unexpectedly allowed me to focus on multiple
commitments and activities at the same time, developing self-control and constructiveness.
(Ref. ATL Skills Sheet)

Taking Action/Product Development Criterion C

Planning and Development Stage:
One of the most important skills during the development stage was to consider ideas and
interpret data and responses collected. As part of my information processing stage, I widely
stretched and utilized thinking skills such as breaking down or disassembling concepts,
recognizing bias statements, identify obstacles and challenges, as well as formulating
problem-specific solutions. (Ref. App. II) Being able to thoroughly and completely
understands the concepts and ideologies to explore contributed to the success and fluency of
my content creation. Moreover, understanding bias and reforming statements, allowed me to
effectively identify problems and tackle them with suitable solutions pertaining to the topic of
interest. Furthermore, as part of my creative thinking and flexible planning skills, I have
incorporated skills such as alternative consideration, application of existing knowledge and
creative ideas, along with presenting active thinking and strategizing skills. (Ref. App VI)
This particular section of skills allowed me to balance my worded content versus the artistic
part of my product, converging and combining into a creative written piece of rich
information and visual appeals. (Ref. App. VII)

Transfer Skills (Contextual):

As a branch under thinking skills, I took advantage of my ability to draw connections
between different global contexts and a variety of subjects and topics throughout my project.
My product despite mainly exploring the area of identities and relationships, the sections of
Socializing touched upon personal and cultural expression, while the sections of Gaming
and Entertainment showed evidence of scientific and technological advancements. (Ref.
App. I) Additionally, combining knowledge, understanding and skills while exploring
different perspectives was a technique I heavily relied on. The fair balance and mixture of
subjective opinions from discussions and interviews, factual analysis from filtered websites
and books, while implementing combination skills was the key to product manufacturing in
my project. (Ref. App VIII)

Manufacturing and Feedback (Communication and Collaboration):

The manufacturing and feedback skills are closely connected, because feedback and advice is
actively and frequently collected during the product creation stage. First and foremost, I have
used different appropriate forms of writing during my project, keeping a process journal as
well as building up my formal report was the conditional expectations throughout the project.
I further used different forms of media, including statistics and data, personal experiences
reflections and factual and analytical explanations. (Ref. App. III, IX) This further connects
to the demand of skills such as paraphrasing, structurally organizing information logically,
and taking effective notes, mainly shown through the research and planning stage. Moreover,
it was crucial to negotiate ideas and knowledge through the engagement in discussions with
stakeholders of certain areas, as I have critically collected and dissected feedback from the
product feedback day. (Ref. App V, VI) I worked effectively with others despite being a
personal project, and trusted my morals and values to listen and contribute both ways in the
improvement and development of several projects. (Ref. App. V, VIII)

My Product: How it Responds to my Goal, Global Context and Criteria

The goal of the project in summary is to deconstruct the teenage life of an IB MYP learner,
and provide suitable advice and knowledge for juniors approaching this course for a less
confusing and more successful middle school experience. The main action taken in response
to the goal is the transcription of personal experience, processed data and peer opinions into a
written piece influenced by artistic layouts, and CARP design principles. (Ref. App. VII,
VIII) Youths and parents will benefit from the product in countless ways, including the
increase in knowledge and understanding towards the multiple challenges an active learner
will encounter during the journey through their pre-mature years of schooling.

The global context explored within the project is the inquiry into identities and relationships.
The product surrounds the multiple aspects of the life of the intended audience, also acting as
a tool to explore personal identities and encourage social development. (Ref. App. I) The
magazine proposes personal development through the influential exposure of several traits
including persistence, commitment, motivation, reflection, critical thinking and open-
mindedness, which all fuel a common objective of academic success. Moreover, identities are
tackled through the active recognition of social status, self-awareness. One part of my
product discussed the importance of investing attention and efforts towards personal
character and truly figuring out who you are before expanding and constructing stronger
bonds and relationships in society.

The criteria created truly conditioned and guided by the assembly and manufacturing of my
final product. Criteria one was achieved through the completion of the electronic copy of my
magazine, with references to primary and secondary sources. (Ref. App. III) The second and
third criteria guided the research and construction process, mutually inclusive towards the
fields of design principles application and content range or variety. The fourth criteria
reduced the existence of controversy and unsuitable content, ensuring a clear link towards the
global context in criteria five and appealing to the interests of the targeted readers. (Ref. Crit
B.i.)

Reflection Criterion D
Evaluation of Product
Overall, I am able to recognize the completion of my product and overall acknowledgement
of the satisfactory quality of my magazine. Throughout the process of the project, I was able
to conduct personal expression through the transcription of prior knowledge and experience
in both academics and life in general. Also, I developed electronic design skills, while further
coming in contact with multiple perspectives and gaining an understanding of different
peoples opinions and thoughts on specific topics and subjects. Considering the sensitivity of
certain topics, the sharing of advice from respective alumni in the RCHK community was an
extremely effective resource, as the learning process of product assembly was vigorous and
challenging. (Ref. App. VIII) Some of the areas of immediate improvement would be the
quality of the magazine. Certain aspects such as design layout and organization of
information can be elevated to the next level, as well as the content coverage can be more
immense and extensive. (App. VII) This creates an overall effect on expanding the areas
elaborated on and also provide a more in-depth review to life of an MYP teenage student.

The outcome of my project satisfies most of my criterions, but there is certainly a wide gap of
improvement and further development. (Ref. Crit. B.i.)
Criteria Reflection on achievement
No.
1 Product was electronically produced and assembled within the given time,
fulfilling the basic requirements. Considering the exceptional length of the
text, topic variety can be further developed, whilst quality and finesse will
strongly boost the impact and influence of the product.
2 Met through the vast range of resources and materials considered during
content assembly for creative final piece. Also seen through the range of
resources incorporated into the development of the magazine.
3 Met through the exploration of artistic design principles and concepts during
the planning and researching stage. This has evidently been implemented in
the design and global context delivery of the electronically produced written
material.
4 Met through the breakdown and composition of a research gathering and
analysis document. Comments and discussion notes filters and questions the
understanding and acceptance towards newly introduced and perspectives
that may raise controversy.
5 Met through the emphasized links between product and global context.
Magazine explores and dissects enclose society within the RCHK
community, as the content mostly covers the global context of identities and
relationships, with the social and leisure branches touching on personal
and cultural expression and science and technological innovation
respectively.

Topic of Knowledge and Global Context

It is clearly evident that my knowledge of the topic discussed by my product quickly
expanded and grew during the project timeframe. My original understanding of my Global
Context extended out towards my own point of view and what I have learnt so far in my life.
I have never really taken the time to investigate our society and what a community actually
means. The project allowed me to grasp onto many different research and planning skills in
terms of content creation and structure, but more importantly, being able to analyze
researched and factual information, and putting it against subjective opinions was the most
demanding but interesting part of the whole project. I believe that it is a fortune to be able to
stand in others shoes and widen your point of view, I have truly identified the methods and
techniques required to be a successful teenager, taking the roles of a student, a child, and a
friend. Many of the information proposed may be bias, but can potentially take you very far
in life, which is why I am starting to appreciate the different identities of people in my
community, as well as the bonds, connections and relationships built upon that makes RCHK
a compelling and motivating place to educate, learn and engage in self-development within
all areas of life. (Ref. App. I)

Development as an IB Learner
The research and planning stage has effectively shown that I am both an inquirer and a
thinker in multiple ways. Originally, I thought that secondary research was sufficient for
material gathering for my project, until I realized the urgent need and the impact of turning to
primary sources. I analyzed different perspectives and point of views on certain topics, to
combine with factual resources to generate a result neutralizing both ends and deducing the
amount of bias for a clear and constructive content background. I had to not only gather the
raw information, but to further inquirer into them and think critically and flexibly in order to
process the materials acquired and merge them into my final product.

I also used traits such as open-mindedness and displayed examples showing the skills of a
knowledgeable and reflective person. I was able to recall my own experiences and morph
them into words, as well as give and receive feedback, showing the characteristics of an
open-minded and reflective student. The feedback went both ways and was beneficial for
both sides, but I took the skill further and engaged in discussions and questioning session to
concisely but fully understand the reasons and justifications behind certain perspectives.

Some of the IB Learner Profiles that I could improve on are being balanced and
communicative. Though minor, I could possibly fix and develop the ways I present and
convey information through my product for a larger and more influential impact on the
audience. I could also balance my time and show more self-management and time
management skills, since due to time constraints, the publishing and opening to public access
stages may have to be complete near the end or potentially after the project. Despite
completing all tasks and staying on track, I expect myself to continue developing as a person
and build on my own productivity and constructiveness when organizing and planning work,
evidently showing a lack of preparation during the project at times.

References/Bibliography (APA Citation Format):

Advantages and disadvantages of playing video games (2016) Available at:
http://www.careerride.com/view/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-playing-video-games-12910.aspx
(Accessed: 21 February 2017).

FutureofW (2016) 10 advantages and disadvantages of violent video games. Available at:
http://futureofworking.com/10-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-violent-video-games/ (Accessed: 21
February 2017).

Klosowski, T., Glance, D. and Lui, S. (2017) PCs vs consoles: Why Im A console Gamer. Available at:
https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2015/08/why-im-a-console-gamer/ (Accessed: 21 February 2017).

Teach ICT - GCSE ICT - computer gaming (no date) Available at: http://www.teach-
ict.com/gcse_new/entertainment/games/miniweb/pg8.htm (Accessed: 21 February 2017).

The best PC games of 2017 (2017) Available at: http://www.pcmag.com/article/344190/the-best-pc-games-of-

2016 (Accessed: 21 February 2017).

Villas-Boas, A. and Insider (2015) 10 reasons why playing games on PC is better than consoles. Available at:
http://www.businessinsider.com/reasons-why-pc-gamers-prefer-pc-2015-11 (Accessed: 21 February 2017).

Brett, McKay, K. and Manliness, A. of (2016) How to become an early Riser and the benefits of early rising | the
art of manliness. Available at: http://www.artofmanliness.com/2010/09/07/never-let-the-sun-catch-you-
sleeping-why-and-how-to-become-an-early-riser/ (Accessed: 21 February 2017).

Chelak, L. (2017) The Chinese Body Clock pathways for health. Available at:
http://pathways4health.org/2010/03/04/the-chinese-body-clock-energy-patterns-through-24-hours/
(Accessed: 23 February 2017).

Flam, F. (2014) Earn better grades - pg.2. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/pictures/gglg45gfd/earn-

better-grades/#439bb56c5302 (Accessed: 21 February 2017).

Foundation, N.S. (2017a) How much sleep do we really need? Available at: https://sleepfoundation.org/how-
sleep-works/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need (Accessed: 21 February 2017).

Foundation, N.S. (2017b) National sleep foundation recommends new sleep times. Available at:
https://sleepfoundation.org/press-release/national-sleep-foundation-recommends-new-sleep-times
(Accessed: 21 February 2017).

Hodgekiss, A. (2013) 30 seconds of exercise gives you more of a boost than a cup of coffee. Available at:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2517464/Whats-effective--coffee-exercise-Writer-discovers-30-
seconds-push-ups-twice-effective-caffeine.html (Accessed: 23 February 2017).

STRUDWICK, D. (2013) Perk up without your morning coffee. Available at:

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/why-exercise-will-perk-you-up-better-than-coffee-every-
morning/news-story/005e910bd60c3dd6b1a98340c50db8a1 (Accessed: 23 February 2017).

Charisma on Command (2016a) 3 jokes that make people instantly like you. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRjRgT8QQ3c&t=339s (Accessed: 23 February 2017).

Charisma on Command (2016b) How to shut down haters. Available at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhRlABcFxvc (Accessed: 23 February 2017).

Network, R.C., Australia, C. of and non-government (2014) Teenage relationships: Romance & intimacy.
Available at: http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/relationships_teenagers.html (Accessed: 23 February 2017).
Topic initial/final:
My topic is based on investigating how you can excel and be a successful teenage student. The goal
of my project is to design and produce a creative piece that deconstructs the different aspects of a
typical teenage or middle school students life in an international school. I desired to create a
magazine or infographic material based on a source crossover of personal experience assisted primary
and secondary research. This has potential in being appealing to the audience category intended and
may be somehow influence and beneficial to the advising and the educating to juniors reaching their
middle-school-stages in life.

In this project, my research and presentation covers a sensible range of subtopics under the
deconstruction of the life of a secondary school student. I will be discussing a few topics related to
how academic success is mutually inclusive towards maintaining a healthy and balanced lifestyle. had
developed and shown improvement in different perspectives.

I will be creating a magazine, possibly a few series to ensure many of the subtopics have been
exposed and explained thoroughly.

Aim: Produce a creative written magazine styled guide that deconstructs the multiple aspects of
teenage life in an international school.

Global Context: Inquiry into Identities and Relationships

Who am I ? Who are we?

An inquiry into identity and relationships explores the following areas: Identity, Beliefs and values,
Personal health,Physical health,Mental health,Social health,Spiritual health,Human
relationships, including families, friends, communities and cultures, What it means to be human

Initial Ideas Brainstorming (Topic of Magazine has changed during early stages)

This is a mind map that I used to

brainstorm the different subtopics that I
will use for my project. My magazine will
in total cover four big parts, discussing
several areas about the development of
technology in the current and past century.
The first is based on an introduction and an
overall view on how technology upon our
community has changed throughout time
and impacted our society. The second
branch reaches out to how has
technological advancement shaped the
world throughout time, backing evidence
up, showing improvement and increase in
effectiveness across different areas and
industries. The third branch explains and
investigates the different perspectives of
generations experiencing the modern
improvement in technology. And the final
branch discusses the drawbacks of rapidly advancing technology.

OPVL Analysis Extract:

Origin
Charisma On Command
YouTube Video:
How to Shut Down Haters
How To Quit Your Day Jobs
and Live Your Dreams
Kenneth Atchity
How much sleep do we
really need?
https://sleepfoundation.org/how-
sleep-works/how-much-sleep-
do-we-really-need
Interview with multiple
students
Dorothy Lau, Samantha Lau,
Matthew Tsang, Sabrina
Chan, Jack Oh
Personalized Timeline:
Purpose
The purpose of this YouTube video
is to give spiritual and
psychological guidance in terms of
social context. When a person is
being passive aggressive, the victim
may respond in a violent or
defensive way, but this video
teaches you how to act in an
effective and respectful manner that
does not cause any harm to yourself
or the person who is hating. It
involves psychological and mental
breakdowns of the way people
interact and think in a social
environment, and really helps
stretching your mind and being an
open thinker.
This book has given me inspiration
for my idea on this project, because
the content and the information of it
is really engaging and suitable for
my target audience as well. The
book combines personal experience
with researched facts and life logic,
which is why the content is so
appealing and is great at capturing
the readers attention through a
series of discussion-style chapters.
This website from the national
sleep foundation is a secondary
source. The website gives insight
into the amount of sleep needed
versus the amount of sleep actually
achieved at different ages in our
society. This is backed up with
large-scale research and displayed
processed data for analysis.
I have conducted interviews and
surveys with multiple students to
gain different perspectives and
insights of different topics of
interest. The purpose of this source
is to gain feedback, advice and
multiple point of views that student
are knowledgeable in to create an
all rounded review of secondary
school. I was able to compare and
combine my past experience and
others to formulate a advice panel
with bias to the lowest degree
possible.
Value
The source has a really high
value because the creator of
this channel is an expert at
psychology and philosophy,
and is known for his
expertise through this
exposure on media, being
educative and active in the
community by contributing
his knowledge in a societal
context. The source is very
trustworthy due to the use of
reasoning and data to back
points up, which is why the
source is accurate and
reliable though being a
secondary resource.
The value of this source is
that it is a book similar to
guide. The author is really
educated and has many
personal opinions, but
conveys it in an engaging
way. Also, the book uses
many primary and secondary
sources, increasing the
reliability and accuracy of
the information provided.
I found this resource
particularly interesting due to
the informative and
educational aspect of it. It
has used many graphs and
data to present information
and I think it is clear,
organized and concise.
This source is quite valuable
because there are different
opinions and subjective
thoughts from different
people, so I can have
multiple perspectives and a
more in-depth analysis for
each topic in my product.
The source is the only way to
acquire third-person opinions
and perspectives.
Limitations
The video is quite vague
and does not have much
of real life examples of
when situations occur. It
is an animated video with
a voiceover so it may not
appeal to all audiences,
but other than that, the
informative aspect of the
video is excellent. Still,
some parts of the videos
are opinionated and
driven by personal
thought, which is why
there may be existence of
bias to a certain extent.
(not fully believable)
The few limitations of
this book is that it lacks
some visuals so it may
not be aesthetically
indulging to the audience.
Also, the book is not too
famous, so it may be hard
for readers to find and
accept the content of the
text.
Some of the limitations of
this resource was that it is
purely factual and quite
length to read. However,
other than that, it serves
its purpose and there is
nothing much negative
about this resource.
The only limitation of this
resource is the bias and
controversial statements
that may occur in the
interviews. This can be
overcome by follow up
discussions and
questioning to certain
viewpoints mentioned.
The source could be bias
and unreliable due to
influence of personal
feelings and thoughts.
 Date Task Explanation
May
16-20,
Topic
Selection
Individual
Brainstorm different topic ideas and possible
2016 meetings
(w/PP
Coordinator):
investigation points. Select topic that is most
discuss
goal
and
Global
Context feasible and most reasonable and determine global
Meeting
1-Goal
&
global
context
context and clarification.
clarification

May 30-June discuss timeline/ project Discuss the feasibility of the project and also set
3, 2016 criteria/preliminary bibliography some dates for timeline. Start project criteria and
bibliography.

June 10, Skills for the Summer Attend and sign up for different skill sessions for
2016 PP research day and take notes for assistance and
some skills to research and build up pp project.

June -August Collect, record and evaluate Start researching during the summer holidays and
2016 research develop the different ideas of the project. Plan the
layout of the magazine and the different areas of
investigation and research.

Aug 15-19, Meeting 3 show supervisor Start conducting necessary research on basic
2016 holiday progress (May need to do information and multiple branches on leisure and
over 2 meetings) entertainment.

August 29- Meeting 4 discuss progress on Transition to sleep, rest and healthcare branches
Sept 2, 2016 Product & application of sources and extend on multiple subtopics.

September Meeting 5 discuss progress on Transition to socializing and community branches

19-23, 2016 Product & application of sources and extend on multiple subtopics.

October 24- Meeting 6 show finished Product Gather up statistics and images related to the topic
28, 2016 and areas of investigation, conduct any required
interviews or surveys for final data collection.

November 7 th Work in Progress Fair Your Assemble magazine using electronic tools,
product/process journal on organize text and information as well as visuals to
display create a fully lined up magazine.

November 14-18, Report Writing Introduction - PP Assemble magazine using electronic tools,
2016 Coordinator organize text and information as well as visuals to
create a fully lined up magazine.

Nov 28-Dec 2, 2016 Meeting 7 Report outline discuss Complete Criterion A global context, prior
progress knowledge and researching strands, add to the
appendices at the same time.

January 9-13, 2017 Meeting 8 Draft 1 of Report Due Complete Criterion B planning and criterions,
(draft of report, initial video, draft of Criterion C product and skills evaluation and
oral script) Criterion D evaluation, add to the appendices at
the same time.

February 7-10, 2017 Meeting 9 Draft 2 of Report Due Check on progress of PP report, considering
(draft of report, initial video, draft of shortening the report and lowering the amount of
oral script) words if exceeding word limit.

February 24, 2017 Meeting 10 Final Report Due Finalize on feedback received from supervisor and
(Completed written report, Oral PP project guiding senior students, while print and
presentation, multimedia) assemble the product in hard copy.
 February 27, Display & present projects at Exhibition day semi-formal attire with
2017 Personal Project Exhibition printed versions of product.

PP Feedback Day Questions and Responses:
Question 1: Do you think the topics are controversial and broad enough to analyse the life of
a middle school teenager?
I dont think its very controversial, as all the points stated are already accepted in society.
Question 2: Could you comment on the design and aesthetics of the magazine layouts?
All the aesthetics are very pleasing, but theyre not very cohesive (theres no one set
design).
Question 3: Are the information and statistics realistic and convincing?
The statistics and graphs shown are very confusing and have too many topics/categories.
Question 4: How do you think I could add/improve my magazine content wise?
Write less so the reader is pushed to have a better interest in it.
Question 5: Are there any improvements related to the descriptions and illustrations of the
product?
Again, have a more cohesive style and write less (or use a more understandable/smaller
font).

Dorothy:
Question 1: Do you think the topics are controversial and broad enough to analyse the life of
a middle school teenager?
I think these topics all mentioned in the infographics are very suitable to discuss.
Question 2: Could you comment on the design and aesthetics of the magazine layouts?
All the text is easy to read and your image use is very colourful.
Question 3: Are the information and statistics realistic and convincing?
I think that the layout of your statistics can be more bold and stand out instead of blending
with the other text.
Question 4: How do you think I could add/improve my magazine content wise?
I think you should have less text and be more concise when analysing the results.
Question 5: Are there any improvements related to the descriptions and illustrations of the
product?
I think you should try to use the same layout for all of your pages for example the one
comparing the phones should not have a black background

Karen
Question 1: Do you think the topics are controversial and broad enough to analyse the life of
a middle school teenager?
I wouldnt consider it as controversial, but they are topics that are worth discussing
Question 2: Could you comment on the design and aesthetics of the magazine layouts?
I think that the design is aesthetically pleasing, and the layout is suitable
Question 3: Are the information and statistics realistic and convincing?
I think the graphs are useful and easy to understand
Question 4: How do you think I could add/improve my magazine content wise?
You should write less as it is a magazine so that the readers would find it more engaging
and easier to follow
Question 5: Are there any improvements related to the descriptions and illustrations of the
product?
I think there should be a theme that goes throughout the whole magazine so that the design
would be similar all on pages
Yacine
Question 1: Do you think the topics are controversial and broad enough to analyse the life of
a middle school teenager?
Definitely, as the topics have enough room for debate and discussion
Question 2: Could you comment on the design and aesthetics of the magazine layouts?
Nice modern design that is simple yet aesthetically pleasing
Question 3: Are the information and statistics realistic and convincing?
Yes, they are very believable and contribute to the magazine
Question 4: How do you think I could add/improve my magazine content wise?
No in text citation.
Question 5: Are there any improvements related to the descriptions and illustrations of the
product?
No, it is not lacking in this area

Process Journal Extracts:

Process Journal 1:
Today, I have went on my first PP meeting with Mr.Mortensen to discuss about my topic of how
Social Media and technology has changed the lives of the teenagers nowadays. We have brainstormed
some initial ideas and possible ways we can improve and change/modify the idea to create a possible
PP project direction and also a clearer aim. The product was also discussed but we would want to find
sources of information and make a solid plan before continuing to the final product.

Process Journal 2:
Today , I have went to my second PP meeting, I have updated Mr.Mortensen with more ideas and also
development of my plans and possible directions of my project. I have also created a little experiment
by using my twitter account to find out about the functions. Since this is the social network I am least
familiar with, I will grasp control of its powers to find out more about it and possibly collect
information and data from it in the future. We have also discussed about other platforms and
applications that would certainly help my data and research of my personal project, and we came to a
conclusion where forums and also blogs will help me collect data, and outreach to the public using
followers and discussions will create more fluent and effective researching opportunities with some
connections across the world. (Mr.Mortensen connections in Brazil)

Process Journal 3:
Today, I have completed the spider web diagram for my brainstorming and reseraching activity. I
have drafted notes on a blank piece of paper about the topics and subtopics I would like to cover in
my magazine. And according to the feasibility and categouries, I have group them together and
modified them to fall under some branches. I have finally concluded by planning on four main
subtopics, outreaching to three others each. I have made use of the online mindmapping tool
www.mindmup.com/ and it really helped me electronically create my brainstorming diagram.

Process Journal 4:
Today, I have kicked off my research with some information covering the largest video sharing
platform called Youtube. I have mainly used the reliable educaitonal source Britanica to assist my
research. I will yet to continue with other video and media consumption platforms eg.Netflix and
other app and games with an overview, some history and brief descriptions on them. I have found
out some background information on Youtube and explained its current status and operation until
today, being the first most popular platform globally.

Process Journal 5:
Today, I have slightly changed my global context and the magazine topics. The product will still
remain the same, as creating a magazine has always been my ultimate goal for this project. I will still
be aware of the design concepts and artistic backgrounds needed for my magazine to be assembled
and be visually appealing to my audience. This can only be achieved through the research of
concepts such as CARP, which I will focus on implementing onto my own product, considering the
design layouts, structures, this will highly assist the assembly of my product as I can now focus on
creating the content and typing up the written information instead.

Process Journal 6:
Today, I have discussed with Mr.Mortensen about changing my global context to an inquiry into
identities and relationships. I think that it is an interesting topic to explore and part of the
researching and communicating skills is to touch upon and investigate the relationships of multiple
topics and contexts, therefore I think it will be the case that my magazine will be related to multiple
global contexts, but mainly focusing on the identities and relationships exploration. This will be an
interesting shift for me because the project focus is slightly altered and my topic is also changed
pertaining to the content of my magazine. Now, I will be focusing on giving advice and formulating a
written piece that revolves around my new goal and objective mainly based on the survival
process of the MYP.

Process Journal 7:
Through the Christmas break, I have managed to finally complete my product, during this stage, I
conducted many interviews and also did a lot of secondary research. This gave me both primary and
secondary sources to resource from, and it really allowed me to look into different perspectives and
approaches towards different topics. Overall, I think there is still some room for improvement of my
magazine, but the quality satisfactory though no exceptional. During this time, I may make some
changes and probably some improvements to make the content of my magazine more engaging for
the audience, as well as more visually appealing to the targeted reader group.

Process Journal 8:
I have completed half of my personal project report today, up to Criterion B. I think my criterion A is
a bit too long but I have shown Mr.Mortensen. The use of vocabulary is a little too complex and the
researching part is a bit overwhelming and flooded with ideas. Since the length of criteria B is fine, I
think I will have to rephrase paragraphs in Criterion A to shorten the length and reduce the word
count for the remaining half of the report (criteria C and D).

Process Journal 9:
I have nearly completed my PP report, I think I am a bit behind on my appendices but I will sort that
out once I am done with criterion D. I think I am a bit over the word count of 3500 and I can
exchange the proportions of criterion C and D since D should be a reflection-style section and could
be interchanged with C (a bit too long) to improve my report.

I have also met with a student volunteer Natalie Law. I have asked her some of the questions I am
not so sure about the PP report and she has given me useful advice and feedback as to how I can
improve my report. I have also sent her my report to check on and she has returned it with detailed
notes and comments to improve upon.

Process Journal 10:
Today, I have finally completed my process journal, but I still need to print my product and get a
hard copy of my magazine. I have reviewed with my supervisor Mr.Mortensen about my PP report
and he said its completely fine and he enjoys reading it. I will put some final touches in my product
as well as my report and be ready to submit the files by the due date.

Extra Journal Extract - PP Research Day:

The Personal Project Research Day was a good opportunity to
develop many skills required to assist the process of product
manufacturing. I decided to sign up for 4 out of the 5 time slots
available, so I could have a break in the middle of the 4
periods/classes. I signed up for photography and image session
learning about visual placement and design, a writing session
to sharpen my skills for my magazine, novel session to look at
examplars of different books and resources and finally a
mandatory bibliography session to learn about researching and
citing skills required for my source documentation and extract
referencing. The day was considerably exciting and useful. Although there were times where the
content from the sessions didnt really apply to my project, I still learned a handful of new skills to
assist the making of my PP product. I am grateful for signing up for the sessions I have attended as
they were really constructive and productive.
Research Document Extracts:
CARP Design Principles
 Contrast
Contrast is achieved by creating differences in
visual elements. This can be in the form of different
sizes, textures, colors, orientations, or anything that
sets off an element from the rest of the page. The
bullet list above illustrates this principle. The first
letter in each word is bolded to emphasize the
CARP acronym. By using a judicial amount of
contrast, the designer can bring focus to a particular
concept; one must, however, be careful when using
contrast or risk a jumble of confusing elements.
Alignment
Graphical components can be aligned on the left,
center or right of the display space. How these
elements align with each other is also a major
consideration. Alignment occurs on an imaginary
line, either horizontally or vertically. By aligning
certain elements, the designer can create visual chunking of content that eases reading and helps the learner see
connections in the material. Alignment is critical since even slight variations of elements can jump out and
cause distractions to learners.
Repetition
Repetition of elements, such as fonts, colors and shapes, creates a uniformity that promotes design harmony. It
has long been known how a single font or color conveys a feeling and emotion. Without the unity that comes
from repetitive elements, a learner will recieved mixed signals and struggle to find organization within the
piece.
Proximity
Proximity involves moving items that relate to each other near to each other. It not only reduces clutter on the
page, but also helps the learner instantly see the relationship of learning objects. Conversely, objects that are
otherwise unrelated, yet near to each other, create confusion as the learner struggles to determine what elements
match up.

Interview Extracts:
Samantha Lau:
a) yes, as long as you have good time management, and able to balance between education and
dating
b) benefits: always have an accompany, happy whenever u see the person, can share anything, can
talk about anything, always have support from each other, helping each other through difficulties,
always feel loved, and it's nice to love someone as well?
drawbacks: sometimes distract you from studying, have lesser personal time, have lesser time with
friends and family

c) when you love someone wholeheartedly, and u know that person does as well. Always trust each
other no matter what, and respect as well. If you're in relationship without any of those, and it's only
for pure affection then it's not truly in a relationship

d) love, honesty, respect. it requires both person treating each other the same way. If one does not
have love or honesty or respect for the other person, then there's no point of a relationship.

Sabrina Chan:
a) student athlete is a full time student that also have the roles of a full time athlete
b) benefits is that the student can experience what it is like to be a professional athlete but at the
same time still recieve education. drawbacks is probably they will not experience the "average" life
of a student
c) 5-6 training sessions a week and coaching ? does that count ?
d) it is definitely difficult to manage the time between sports and academics. not only does the
extra curricular activity take up time but traveling between places also takes a lot of time. I usually
have to do homework while traveling around and also organizing my time very well so that I can use
the time i have free very efficiently.

Extract on Student Sleep Times Data Collection:

Students
<5 13 5-6 29 6-7 64 7-8 45 8-9 17 9+ 5

Infants 1-2 3-5 6-13 14-17 18-25 26-64 65+
Minimum 12 11 10 9 8 7 7 7
Maximum 15 14 13 11 10 8 8 9

Learner Profile Reflections:
Many of the Learner Profile Traits have been demonstrated during the whole process of the
personal project. In my project, I mainly used a few because my goal was centered around creating a
written piece (magazine) and exploring the topic/theme/global context of social and personal
identities and relationships.
I have mainly used the learner profile trait of thinkers and inquirers during the research stage.
Researching during my personal project was unlike researching for an essay in a normal school
subject. Although I incorporated the use of secondary sources such as books and websites, which
was for factual content and data, this time I had many opportunities to make use of primary sources.
The most time consuming and demanding part was to come up with interview questions and survey
panels for discussions. They required intense and critical thinking because I wanted all content to be
efficient and effective, that means that I would not ask for anything not applicable or
unnecessary/unrelated to the topic and content of my magazine. It took a lot of inquiring to analyze
feedback reflecting multiple perspectives and point of views, while figuring out how to avoid
controversy and filter out bias and unthoughtful statements incorporated into my researching stage.

Moreover, I also developed profiles such as being open minded, reflective and knowledgeable.
When incorporating my personal experiences with factual and researched content, I often reflected
on myself and how I could have done things better, to transcribe my personal lesson and
successes/failures into words, which was concise, understandable, readable and thoughtful to the
targeted/intended audience. I also had to recap on a lot of knowledge I had, so that I could pass on
tips to the younger students. I was open minded through stages such as asking question towards
interviewees on sensitive topics. Overall, I made use of an array and combination of skills that really
allowed myself to spread and reach across the all IB Learner Profiles. The personal project process
was quite demanding and required a lot of time management and organizational skills, but it was an
educational and constructive experience which allowed me to develop running big-project and
multitasking skills, also what it means to really work around a core goal and global context which
was the most interesting and memorable part of the personal project for me.