Ashley Blackwelder Blog Post 4: Genius Hour

I have really enjoyed, and continue to enjoy, my experience with the Genius Hour project. I have been working with a 3rd grade class, and it has been challenging, eye-opening, and a great reminder of ALL that goes into managing an entire class of extremely diverse learners. While I have become pretty comfortable with the idea of "organized chaos" in my own classroom, I know that this idea of learning about WHATEVER you want is very foreign to most of our teachers as well as students. We have grown by leaps and bounds in terms of student choice and authentic inquiry, but many of our students are still overwhelmed by the idea of having complete control over their learning, despite the fact that they are excited about having that kind of freedom and time. In order to let them know that this was actually expected to be a productive time--and to provide some guidance to the students who were completely stuck on an idea--I started them off with a Symbaloo of websites that are great for questioning or related to specific topics and gadgets that I knew they would want to explore. Once they had chosen a topic, I gave them a proposal form and Design Process handout that they would use to plan their projects. It's been fun to see them explore their interests, and also a great reality check for me, as I am reminded that 3rd graders are needy and not necessarily comfortable with taking risks on a project like this. It's been very difficult to conference with an individual or small group without having the rest of the class start to cluster around me as they wait for help. I've spent a lot of time saying, "Just give it a try...I promise it's going to be OK!"
My goal is to have them ready to present some works in progress the week before Christmas Break, and allow them to share their (likely unfinished) product, as well as information on what they have learned and where they want to go next in their investigation. I've provided one checklist for the classroom teacher so far, so she can see how to get valid grades from all this work time (and also to hopefully help her see that her kids are actually getting something out of this). It has taken longer than I had hoped, but with only 45 min. a week, with a class that doesn't know me as THEIR teacher, and a lot of insecurity that they are trying to overcome...progress has been slow. But I think they're going to have some things to be really proud of--and hopefully some things that they are inspired to continue learning about--once we present to our audience.
I'm attaching all of the handouts we've used so far, in case they can be helpful to anyone:
Symbaloo Link
Design Process
Project Planning
Planning Checklist:

Name ____________________

Genius Hour Checklist: Planning and Research

I have written WHAT I want to learn about on my proposal form.
I have explained WHY I am interested in this topic.
I have written an idea for how to share my learning on my proposal form.
I have clearly DEFINED my challenge.
I have written clear and relevant research questions to guide my learning.
I have written my resources on the frame of my circle map.
I have written my topic and important information/ideas in the appropriate places on my circle map.

Total: _______ Points           Grade:

Grading Scale:

7 Points = 100        6 Points = 90         5 Points = 80         4 Points = 70         0-3 Points = 60