Thursday, November 17, 2016
Genius Hour = Genius Hour
So I felt like a genius when I started this, but I quickly realized I am an amateur. I decided to literally do Genius Hour for my genius hour assignment. I started researching, attended an hour long webinar (in which I was offered the opportunity to take an online Genius Hour course for the low low price of $120 - offer good for one hour only!), had my kids brainstorm, and promised them 20% of the time we have left (only 3 weeks) to work on their genius ideas. Needless to say, I feel like I'm drowning and am now only hoping that maybe I have sparked one kid's interest and maybe this will stick with him/her. I truly hope to give them 20% of our time to work on these projects (one wants to make stuffed penguins??? several want to make online games, one wants to make his own jeans, and one is learning calligraphy along with me, etc.) as many really seem interested. This will be a one and done project with this semester's group, but upon reflection over the Christmas holidays, I may try it again next semester or maybe more. It is definitely a lot of work and seriously needs to be it's own course at our campus! So, wish me luck, pray for me, but maybe don't ask me how it went because I afraid it may be an epic fail. To be continued...
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Hi Karen,
ReplyDeleteYour introduction made me laugh out loud! I am glad that you didn't pay for the Genius Hour course. While I learned from the one hour free webinar, I didn't pay for the course either as there are a lot of great free resources available. In fact I just read a great article this evening on the teachthought website: http://www.teachthought.com/learning/6-principles-of-genius-hour-in-the-classroom/?utm_content=buffera43e3&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
I appreciate how you provided your kids with the opportunity to work on their genius hour ideas. From your post it sounds like they have some pretty innovative possibilities - making their own jeans, learning calligraphy, etc. I am excited about the budding entrepreneurial possibilities as well. Let me know when they do their presentations, I would love to come. Also, keep me posted on the challenges and road blocks that surface as I'll be glad to provide you with support. I saw where you included your certificate of professional development from the genius hour webinar. The only thing left is to add evidence of student application of the project. This can be pictures of their work in action such as their research and pictures/examples of student products.
My kids fuss about the time limit, but I found that by limiting them they actually get more done than if they had a much larger span of time with which to work. One of the other things I've found with doing Genius Hour (I've implemented four of them so far) is that it's probably better to not leave it 100% open as to what they work on. They have a lot of choice, but within a set of parameters. That keeps them from getting overwhelmed with too much choice.
ReplyDeleteI love the creativity of your students and your willingness to allow them the chance to shine. Once you get the general process down, it'll be a continuously intriguing breeze. The kids do get into it and are eager to share their findings with you (at least in lower grades). Hang in there!
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