Criterion C: Personal engagement
💡 Criterion C: Personal Engagement (3 marks total)
This criterion assesses how much your voice, ideas, and thinking are present in the IA—not just whether you followed a method, but how much you engaged with the mathematics in a personal and original way.
✅ What Does “Personal Engagement” Mean?
It means:
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You chose a topic that genuinely interests you.
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You asked your own questions, tested ideas, or made predictions.
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You explored mathematics in your own way, not just repeating textbook examples.
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You showed curiosity, creativity, or initiative in how you approached the math.
🌟 Ways to Demonstrate Personal Engagement
You can show engagement through things like:
✔️ Original Thinking
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Creating your own models or extending known formulas
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Trying different approaches to see which works best
Example: “Instead of using the standard compound interest formula, I derived a new version that accounts for irregular deposit intervals.”
✔️ Real-World or Personal Relevance
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Connecting the math to your interests, hobbies, culture, or surroundings
Example: “As a music student, I explored the mathematical patterns behind chord progressions and frequency ratios.”
✔️ Predictions and Testing
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Making mathematical predictions and checking them against data or logic
Example: “I expected that increasing the angle of projection would increase the range of a projectile, but my calculations and graph showed a maximum at 45°, which led me to revise my hypothesis.”
✔️ Asking “What If?” Questions
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Exploring the problem from multiple angles
Example: “After modeling the traffic flow on one-way streets, I wondered how the model would change if streets were made two-way and tested this alternate scenario.”
❌ What Does NOT Show Engagement?
Avoid:
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Simply copying formulas or steps from textbooks or online sources
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Doing a common topic with no personal twist
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Using standard problems with no commentary or reflection
Example (to avoid): “I used the quadratic formula to find the roots of these equations. Here are the calculations.” (No insight, no explanation, just mechanical steps.)
✅ How to Reach Higher Levels
| Level | Description | What You Should Do |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 (Some engagement) | Occasional signs of interest, but not driving the exploration | A basic real-world connection or one moment of original thought |
| 3 (Significant engagement) | Clear evidence in a few places that personal interest shaped the work and helped drive it forward | You explain your reasoning, test ideas, or make the math your own |
| 4 (Outstanding engagement) | Strong, repeated evidence of independent thinking and originality, woven throughout the IA | Creative exploration, thoughtful reflections, deep understanding, and a personal connection throughout |
✅ Summary Checklist for Personal Engagement
| Have You… | Example |
|---|---|
| Shown why the topic matters to you? | “As a skateboarder, I wanted to explore projectile motion to understand jump height.” |
| Asked your own questions or tested ideas? | “I predicted that doubling the side of the square would quadruple the area, then modeled it mathematically.” |
| Made personal choices in approach or presentation? | “I created my own method to approximate the curve instead of using software.” |
| Reflected on your thought process? | “I realized my initial method was flawed, so I modified my equation to account for…” |