Genius Hour

Purpose:  The purpose of Genius Hour was to allow students an opportunity to explore their own self interests that was not dictated by curriculum.  It is structured research that keeps students on track and accountable for their own learning. Students are given a lot of freedom during this time to discover new things that interest them and reach out to others and use different platforms and resources to collect information that helps them understand their questions.  Students originally begin the project with a quality question they want answers to, and as they continue to research, they blog and record what progress they’ve made and what new questions they generated throughout their research.

Challenge:  The challenges that I experienced with their first Genius Hour experience, was having students find things they genuinely have interest in beyond the classroom walls.  Some students continued to find topics that I would deem as “aligned with curriculum” or they would ask to research something we as a class have already investigated. I believe because students are so used to being told what to learn and when to learn it, that when they are given this creative freedom, they genuinely are lost and confused by that directive. With some guidance, students were able to locate more quality topics to research. Some students still need to find something with more depth, however, I believe that as they start to see their classmates interests come together in presentation, students will be less apprehensive about their own genuine likes.

How it was use in the classroom:  This was utilized in my classroom the last few weeks of PARCC testing. Students test for hours in the morning, and trying to teach students curriculum in the afternoon proves to be an uphill battle...but, can we blame them? Their brains are fried from high stake testing.  However, providing them an opportunity to investigate and explore things that genuinely interest them allowed students to take deep interest and accountability in their own learning. There was a bit of a rocky start, but as students continued throughout the week to dedicate time to their own interests, they began to ask me for more time to complete their research. It was really refreshing to hear...especially after a week of exhausting tests!

Reflection & growth:  I really appreciated the examples provided in the USF documents and the examples Mrs. Morgan showed our class. It provided me guidance when manufacturing and creating my own Genius Hour, or as I call mine, “Daly Dedication Hour”.  I feel that as my students continue to experience this “Genius Hour”, that it will only feed their curiosity and that over time their presentations are going to become far more compelling. I also believe that students of all levels are going to be able to bring something to the table that will help enlighten all their classmates.  Unfortunately, districts must align with and follow curriculum, but during static weeks it Genius Hour would be a great tool to implement to ensure students are still learning, even though they may be burnt out from normalcy of curriculum.