Genius HourGenius Hour
“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”
-Walt Disney
What is Genius Hour?
We will be implementing Genius Hour in our classroom! Students will spend some time each week researching something that they want to learn more about. In this role, the students play a much more active role in how the content and knowledge is acquired. During Genius Hour, teachers provided resources, ask questions, and suggest projects for students to explore their content. This is a student-centered project rather than a teacher-centered project.
How did Genius Hour come about?
The idea for Genius Hour comes from GOOGLE. They give their employees 20% of their time to work on pet projects. The idea behind the movement is that when you give someone time to work on what they are passionate about, productivity and morale goes up. This concept has spread to schools and classrooms around the country. Many times in school settings, children might feel like they are not given many opportunities to learn more about what really interests them. Student motivation and accountability can be improved by giving students choice and a chance to explore their interests and/or passions.
What are the goals of Genius Hour?
*to promote, support, and model creative, innovative thinking and inventiveness
*to allow students an opportunity to discover/investigate one of their passions, and reflect and share their learning with an audience
*provide students and teachers an opportunity to develop skill sets that are valuable in any learning *situation, such as, research, experimentation, collaboration, creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking
Click on this link to learn a little more about Genius Hour – Introduction to Genius Hour
How does Genius Hour work?
» Brainstorming
At the beginning of the project, students will begin brainstorming ideas for a project proposal. While brainstorming, students will focus on something they are passionate about and want to learn more about.
» Project Proposal
Once the student has zeroed down on one passion to focus on, they will begin writing a project proposal. This will be their guiding question while researching.
» Audience
I hope parents will play a role in offering advice, provide leadership, and help keep the child on the right track to make sure their work is completed by their presentation day.
» Genius Hour Days
An hour every Wednesday will be set aside for students to work on their Genius Hour projects. Students are more than welcome to work on projects at home as well.
» Final Presentation
Each student will be assigned a day in the month of May to present their passions to classmates. Parents will be invited to attend their child’s presentation.
» Assessment
I want students to be inspired by the project and not by the grade they’re going to get.
° The Proposal (Is it handed in on time?)
° The Impact (Do you have something to show on your presentation day?)
° Productivity (Are you spending your time working actively?)
° Final Presentation (Are you prepared and well rehearsed, and are all required components
completed by the presentation day?)
Example of a Genius Hour project – Caine’s Arcade
“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”
-Walt Disney
What is Genius Hour?
We will be implementing Genius Hour in our classroom! Students will spend some time each week researching something that they want to learn more about. In this role, the students play a much more active role in how the content and knowledge is acquired. During Genius Hour, teachers provided resources, ask questions, and suggest projects for students to explore their content. This is a student-centered project rather than a teacher-centered project.
How did Genius Hour come about?
The idea for Genius Hour comes from GOOGLE. They give their employees 20% of their time to work on pet projects. The idea behind the movement is that when you give someone time to work on what they are passionate about, productivity and morale goes up. This concept has spread to schools and classrooms around the country. Many times in school settings, children might feel like they are not given many opportunities to learn more about what really interests them. Student motivation and accountability can be improved by giving students choice and a chance to explore their interests and/or passions.
What are the goals of Genius Hour?
*to promote, support, and model creative, innovative thinking and inventiveness
*to allow students an opportunity to discover/investigate one of their passions, and reflect and share their learning with an audience
*provide students and teachers an opportunity to develop skill sets that are valuable in any learning *situation, such as, research, experimentation, collaboration, creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking
Click on this link to learn a little more about Genius Hour – Introduction to Genius Hour
How does Genius Hour work?
» Brainstorming
At the beginning of the project, students will begin brainstorming ideas for a project proposal. While brainstorming, students will focus on something they are passionate about and want to learn more about.
» Project Proposal
Once the student has zeroed down on one passion to focus on, they will begin writing a project proposal. This will be their guiding question while researching.
» Audience
I hope parents will play a role in offering advice, provide leadership, and help keep the child on the right track to make sure their work is completed by their presentation day.
» Genius Hour Days
An hour every Wednesday will be set aside for students to work on their Genius Hour projects. Students are more than welcome to work on projects at home as well.
» Final Presentation
Each student will be assigned a day in the month of May to present their passions to classmates. Parents will be invited to attend their child’s presentation.
» Assessment
I want students to be inspired by the project and not by the grade they’re going to get.
° The Proposal (Is it handed in on time?)
° The Impact (Do you have something to show on your presentation day?)
° Productivity (Are you spending your time working actively?)
° Final Presentation (Are you prepared and well rehearsed, and are all required components
completed by the presentation day?)
Example of a Genius Hour project – Caine’s Arcade
