Slideshow used with the Personal Project students.

1. +
MYP Personal Project
2012 Guide to AOI and
SPECIFICATION

2. +
GUIDANCE for AOI and
SPECIFICATION.
 Now we have looked at the General PP requirements and
information it is time to examine the specifics that will help you
to get started.
 The following slides will help you to decide which AOI to focus
on, when you have two, through an example.
 The PP comprises the Goal, the AOI and Specification which
are all linked to each other.
 A more careful look at writing a specification is included. You all
write a specification in Technology classes but may need a
refresher.
PP 2012 KW

3. +
Areas of Interaction - reminder
 Approaches to learning
 How do I learn best? How do I know?
 How do I communicate my understanding?
 Environments
 Where do we live?
 What resources do we have or need?
 What are my responsibilities?
 Health and social education
 How do I think and act?
 How am I changing?
 How can I look after myself and others?
 Human Ingenuity
 Why and how do we create?
 What are the consequences?
 Community and service
 How do we live in relation to each other? How can I contribute to my community?
How can I help others?

4. +
AOI and Goal
Last year, when my homeroom started their PP I decided to do one
with them. I chose to lose weight and I wanted to involve another
aim that of collecting money for charity.
 What AOI is involved and can you help me to write a goal that
involves both? Is there more than one way of doing this? Does it
depend on what I actually wish to do as my main focus?

5. +
AOI and Goal
Last year, when my homeroom started their PP I decided to do one
with them. I chose to lose weight and I wanted to involve another
aim that of collecting money for charity.
 What AOI is involved and can you help me to write a goal that
involves both? Is there more than one way of doing this? Does it
depend on what I actually wish to do as my main focus?
AOI = Community and Service
 I want to raise money for charity (cancer research and MND –
motor neuron disease) as both of these worthy causes mean a lot
to me, and in order to do that I will lose weight.
AOI = Health and Social Education
 I want to lose weight to improve my health and to raise money for
charity by reaching my goal weight.

6. +
THE CHOICE OF AOI DEPENDS
ON THE FOCUS.
 My focus for the PP was dual but my main aim was to lose
weight as that was what I really wanted to do.
 Therefore my AOI is HSE not Community and Service as my
primary focus was to lose weight.
 My secondary aim was to raise money and this would also
serve to help me stay motivated to lose weight.
* I hope those of you with more than one focus have got the idea
of how to choose the right AOI, as this affects the next stage the
specification.
PP 2011 KW

7. + Creating specifications:
- to guide the making of the product
- to evaluate the outcome or product
The outcome or product might be an original work of art, a
model, a business plan, a campaign, a blueprint or architectural
drawing, an essay, a course of study, a debate, a film or some
other work.
You must define realistic specifications to guide the making
of the product or outcome at the start and measure the quality
for the project’s final outcome/product.
Working with your supervisor, you must define what constitutes
a high-quality outcome or product. Some appropriate tools for
setting standards and assessing quality include checklists or
rubrics. You should document the specifications in your
Process Journal and use them to assess the final
outcome/product.

8. +  In order to achieve my goal I will then need to write a specification that fits my AOI and my goal.
I will start with more general statements and then try to be much more specific.
 Method A:
Criterion Statement Reason Testing Method
Function How much money have I Not necessary to write now but it
(purpose / job) raised for the two may help to think about it.
charities?
 Method B:
Function I need to lose weight to be more healthy and protect my knees. I went on the Xian trip and
damaged my right knee, therefore I need to strengthen it. Testing – weigh myself before I begin and once
each week?
Weight I must lose 10 lbs. This will mean there is less pressure on my knees.
Form My body shape will change. I will look better as I will not only be thinner round my middle but also other limbs
will be slightly thinner too.
Testing – measure waist, upper arms, upper legs and record at the beginning.
Time I will start in August 2011 and lose 10 lbs by February 2012.
Support Join Weight Watchers group.
Money Ask people to sponsor my weight loss for cancer research and MND.

9. +It may help you to get started to ask yourself different
questions in order to define the specifications.
The questions you ask might change depending on the type of
outcome or product.
 What will my outcome or product look like?
 What type of materials will I use?
 What techniques will I use?
 What type of information will I include?
 How will I present the information?
 Will I include visuals?
 Do I need to consider any copyright or intellectual property
issues?
 Who is the audience?
 How will I get feedback?

10. + Specifications (students all experience this
in Technology)
Product Specifications
have a criterion i.e.
Function and are then
followed by a connected
statement.
Function
My hiking guide must
help people find the trail I
decide to use.
Safety
The guide must contain
information about
weather and what to do in
a typhoon or rainstorm.
It should include the
equipment needed for a
safe hike such as water,
hat, sunscreen etc.

11. +
Specifications cont.

12. +

13. +
E.g. 2

14. + Goal: To design a collection of seasonal
lingerie for girls aged 14-17.

15. + Goal: To design a collection of seasonal
lingerie for girls aged 14-17.
Human
Ingenuity

16. +Goal: Raise awareness about dog cruelty by
writing a story based on real life experiences of
a dog at HKDR.

17. +Goal: Raise awareness about dog cruelty by
writing a story based on real life experiences of
a dog at HKDR.
Community &
Service

18. + Goal: To learn how to take care of an
Alzheimer’s patient and demonstrate the
knowledge I have gained.

19. + Goal: To learn how to take care of an
Alzheimer’s patient and demonstrate the
knowledge I have gained.
Health & Social
Education

20. + Goal: How can I create a painting which
portrays the disparity of wealth in India?

21. + Goal: How can I create a painting which
portrays the disparity of wealth in India?
Human
Ingenuity

22. + Goal: To collect and send educational items to
the Jimma Primary School in Guilin, China.

23. + Goal: To collect and send educational items to
the Jimma Primary School in Guilin, China.
Community & Service

24. + Goal: How do I create my own high protein
energy bar?

25. + Goal: How do I create my own high protein
energy bar?
Human Ingenuity

26. + HI: To create Dak paper dolls that display Korean
traditional dance.
HI: To design and present an iPhone wallet case
concept to a company.

27. C & S: To create a documentary aimed at raising awareness of
+ the personal impacts of the earthquake and tsunami on Japan.
HSE: To express my emotion of fear through an original piece of
artwork.

28. + HSE: To show the evolution of beauty trends in history
through make-up.
HI: To create a book for cooking without a kitchen in
college.

29. +
AoI = ?

30. +
Human Ingenuity

31. + Goal: To bring to attention the disappearing culture of
Hong Kong to my high school peers through
contrasting photographs using Picasa.
Environments

32. + Another example of Goal, AOI and Specification
interconnectedness.
RAISING AWARENESS
The goal may be to raise awareness of some issue (through a poster
campaign).
* You cannot at this stage decide on a poster as this may not be the best
method to raise awareness. How you raise awareness will need to be
researched as how do you know the best way.
Your specifications need to include some raising awareness aspects.
How do I know if I have raised awareness and how do I test this?
The poster must be attractive, bold print and eye catching…..
It is most likely that you will not be able to define the specifications until you have
spent some time researching the goal and this aspect is determined once you have
begun your investigations. Once you are clear on what you want to achieve and the
outcome or product of your project, you will be in a position to determine the
specifications. You will then use these specifications to evaluate the quality of the
outcome or product.
VERY IMPORTANT:
 You need to test the awareness before and after the product is seen as
how do you know you actually have raised awareness if you don’t know
people’s level of awareness at the start!