S'More From The AP
Week Ending January 23, 2015
Genius Hour - With Mrs. McGhee
What would I choose if I could learn anything? Anything? Yes, anything. This is what genius hour is all about! Google first started this with their employees. They allowed them to spend 20% of their work week researching new ideas or practicing skills they wanted to improve on. The results have been outstanding and the company has continued the practice.
So much of our day at school is dictated to us. The units of study in each curricular area do not leave much room or much time for venturing off in different directions. Genius hour gives the students the freedom of choice and puts the power of learning in their hands. They get to select a question they want to know more about. They then do the research to answer their question. Lastly, they create a presentation to share with the class about their new area of genius.
There are a few things your students need to know prior to starting your genius hour. The biggest thing is how to do research. They need to know safe sites, how to navigate search engines and how to locate the information they are looking for. Another thing they need to know are copyright laws. This goes hand in hand with how to do proper research. I learned this the hard way when students were copying word for word out of the book or website they found. Lastly, they need to have some presentation skills. It is a true skill to know what is the best tool to use, be it technology presentation tools, posters, booklets, oral presentations, and so on. The students need to evaluate what is the best tool for the job.
You will find there are tons of resources available to get you started. I have chosen not to use a formal format for the children to use to work on their genius hour. There are many out there that provide time lines, planning, recording and etc. In the lower grades I have stuck to them proving their question or wondering to me as the first step. Then I guide them a little on how to do the research. They are then set free to take notes, learn and come up with a final product to share with the class. They are responsible for their own learning and they are also responsible for teaching the class all about their passion.
Let me tell you, I have 0 discipline problems during genius hour. My kids are 100% engaged the entire time. They look forward to it and beg for more time. I have had kids study a wide variety of things. One student wanted to figure out what the best recipe for apple cake was. The benefit to that research was we got to eat the end product! They have learned to juggle, sew, knit and cook. They have learned the anatomy of a pig, where the fault lines are in the US, all about a state, tornadoes, how Christmas is celebrated in other countries, various animals, scores, stats and information about favorite sports teams and figures, what pennies are made of, and even why skunks smell bad. Every ability level in my classroom is able to do these projects. Their ease in pulling up safe research sites, taking notes and making sense of what is the important information blows me away! They are 7 year olds learning that anything they want to know is at their fingertips and they have the power to learn it.
Perhaps even more important, hidden amongst the many TEKS that are buried in these activities, camouflaged in the hard work they put in, is the fact that they have learned that learning is fun! They are on fire for learning something new and sharing their genius with the world. They now want to grow up and be engineers and inventors because they see the connection between their research and these careers. They are willing to get their regular school work done in a timely manner so that they get their full hour. They have learned that they are capable of self-directed learning and following their passions. These kids have true joy in their learning and wonder in their eyes.
So, is it hard to find an hour and give up precious time? NOPE! Not when you see these kind of results. We look at Wonderopolis at the end of each day after packing up and see what the world is wondering about and what the answer was. Their curiousity has become contagious. We ask lots of questions about everything we do all day long. (Just ask my team about the penguin chick story and how I skirted around a reproduction conversation) We are engaged and learning to love learning. One hour is worth my time and it is worth theirs.
Take a risk and allow them to find their true passions and inner genius. We may have the next Bill Gates, Ben Franklin, Julia Child, Walt Disney, or Steve Jobs sitting right here at Old Settlers!
The Principal Ponders
Have you thought about Genius Hour? Maybe you have and your thought was “I don’t have 5 MINUTES, let alone a whole HOUR to what?? Let kids CHOOSE what they want to learn about?? I don’t have an hour to waste!” Let me assure you, nothing will be wasted in this hour – no class time, no TEKS, no tutoring opportunities. In fact, some students will probably gain more in this hour and they won’t want to stop. However, in order for your genius hour to be successful, you are going to have to modify the way that you are currently spending your time. Making a few changes will allow you to free yourself from the feeling that you are “wasting” something, whether it be time, TEKS or tutoring. Here are just a few of the benefits of having Genius Hour in your classroom:
You aren’t losing instruction time – By possibly revising your daily schedule, focusing your teaching and utilizing every minute of class time, you will be improving your teaching if the actual curriculum.
You are creating life-long learners - Genius Hour is intended to create a love for learning. Offering students a choice in what they learn, helps them understand there is more to school than just regurgitating information. Allowing them to explore their passions could lead them down a future career path. According to Dave Burgess, author of the book Teach Like A Pirate, schools today lead students down, “a standardized path of suckiness.” Sad, but true in many cases.
Genius Hour gives students an alternate route to go where they’ve never gone before.
You develop relationships with students – This hour provides you time to build relationships that you might not otherwise have had the chance, or time, to develop. By building and cultivating trust with your students, you will see your students perform for you in ways you could have never imagined.
You are teaching 21st Century Skills – Every grade level contains technology TEKS, and while Genius Hour does not have to include technology, today’s students use it consistently in their everyday lives, especially at school. Genius Hour is the perfect opportunity to introduce new technology and skills AND to have students teach YOU about technology that maybe you did not know about!
One hour – for students to explore their passions, to collaborate, to learn from each other, to be engaged in relevant learning. Try it – you have nothing to lose and your students have EVERYTHING to gain!