Genius Hour is taking place in classrooms across the world, inspired by an initiative Google use with their employees. It is a great way to ease in to Project Based Learning.
Genius Hour allows students to explore their own passions and ignite their creativity. There are minimal deadlines and students spend time researching and then creating to share with the classroom and possibly the whole world. Deadlines are used sparingly to allow students to go as deep as possible into their passion field.
How:
During Term 4 of 2013 I introduced Genius Hour to my year 3 class. To begin with students were taking safe options by researching and presenting a poster to the class. After a few weeks of suggesting there are other ways to share findings, there was a breakthrough. A student was studying how to become a better singer, she had a poster and told us all about how to become a better singer, but then, to top it off she banged out a couple of lines. This girl can sing, amazing I was nearly in tears I was so proud!
This encouraged others to present in different ways and experiment with other areas of interest. We had students singing, dancing and showing us computer games they had made online via the interactive white board. devices they have. It will be chaos at times, just embrace it and be amazed by the learning, engagement and creativity of the students.
During Genius Hour the class of 30 had access to 6 Ipads and 10 laptops, the lack of devices was never a problem as students worked schedules out for themselves. I would encourage people to give it a go no matter how many
In 2014, Belinda and I will be continuing with Genius Hour. All our students will have their own Weebly to be able to share their work with the WORLD!
Nathan
Genius Hour allows students to explore their own passions and ignite their creativity. There are minimal deadlines and students spend time researching and then creating to share with the classroom and possibly the whole world. Deadlines are used sparingly to allow students to go as deep as possible into their passion field.
How:
- Students choose their field.
- Teacher provides set class time for students to work on their projects.
- Students create a product that is presented to the class and beyond.
- Throughout the process the teacher is a 'guide on the side' providing assistance and ensuring students are on task.
During Term 4 of 2013 I introduced Genius Hour to my year 3 class. To begin with students were taking safe options by researching and presenting a poster to the class. After a few weeks of suggesting there are other ways to share findings, there was a breakthrough. A student was studying how to become a better singer, she had a poster and told us all about how to become a better singer, but then, to top it off she banged out a couple of lines. This girl can sing, amazing I was nearly in tears I was so proud!
This encouraged others to present in different ways and experiment with other areas of interest. We had students singing, dancing and showing us computer games they had made online via the interactive white board. devices they have. It will be chaos at times, just embrace it and be amazed by the learning, engagement and creativity of the students.
During Genius Hour the class of 30 had access to 6 Ipads and 10 laptops, the lack of devices was never a problem as students worked schedules out for themselves. I would encourage people to give it a go no matter how many
In 2014, Belinda and I will be continuing with Genius Hour. All our students will have their own Weebly to be able to share their work with the WORLD!
Nathan