Genius Hour Project- Reflection
By:
Tina Sanders
I
was really anxious about this project. I don’t think I really understood it
before I felt like I had to get into it. Researching the process itself, made
me a little intimidated because it seemed like most places I found projects
were in older student settings. But,
when I started talking it over with Alana, it began to make a little more sense
and a plan began to form. It is very
helpful to have someone to bounce ideas off of. That is one reason I fell in
love with the IB program and once our school decided not to renew it, I began
to search for some other inquiry based teacher method.
Each
year that we share with students about what trash does to the animals when it’s
left in their habitats, they take it to heart. They are saddened by what it
does to the animals. They become very aware of their footprint on the
environment. (We often hear a tale or two about their parents throwing trash
out the window while going down the road.)
Then, we discuss how everyone makes mistakes and what we do next, is
just promise not to do it again. We take a walk around the school and pick up
trash to show how they can make a difference in the lives of living
things.
Then,
we introduced the idea of them bringing in recyclable items to reduce our
footprint on the environment. They really got into bringing things in so much
so that we had to stop it early because
of the ant issue (due to parents not rinsing things out) we talked about
in class. Once everything was in, the
creative process began. Students chose which pieces they wanted to use and the
masterpieces came to be. Students shared their creations with their classmates.
Then, they proudly took them home. I
believe this made a difference in their lives and the lives of the animals that
could have been impacted by trash they could have thrown away.
Tina, I absolutely loved the Genius Hour project you and Alana co-created. The experience was developmentally appropriate for early childhood students and I like the way you turned it into a STEAM challenge where in addition to educating students about the harmful impacts litter and pollution have in our environment and particularly to the animals/wildlife that come into contact with it, you provided them with an opportunity to be a part of making a positive difference by taking "trash" and not only recycling it but "upcycling" it where they turned it into new creations that had purpose even if it was to play and invent. This really was part of the Engineering and Design process that undergirds the science and engineering standards for each grade level. I loved seeing students' creations in your Google folder and I know the kids went home and showed and told their parents about what they learned. This doesn't just inform it transforms. Thank you! Sincerely, Dawn
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