Here’s an infographic that Gallit developed to summarize our process:įirst, we help students become inspired. We have several steps we take to get the students prepared. We know from experience that it will take some students a couple rounds of Genius Hour to get comfortable with the idea of open inquiry. So we feel it is important to give students the time to get used to the idea that they are being given unconditional freedom to learn what they want. This is a new way of learning for many of our students who are mostly used to being told how and what to learn.įor that reason, Genius Hour can be challenging for some kids in the beginning. Over the years we have found that it really pays off to introduce Genius Hour properly. Joy Kirr student – Global Cardboard Challenge How Genius Hour works in our classrooms As one girl said in her ePortfolio reflection, “Genius Hour isn’t a subject. This precious 60 minutes of time has become the best part of our week, not to mention our students’. We are giving our students not only the chance to explore their passions but to find meaningful ways to make a difference in their world. Reading and listening to what these cutting edge thinkers have to say confirms why Genius Hour really makes sense.
TOOL REFLECTION GENIUS PROFESSIONAL
Genius Hour is a sensible way to begin that transformation.Īs lifelong learners we are always on the lookout for ways to improve our pedagogy and responsiveness to our students, and Genius Hour has just fit so well with the direction we have both been moving in our professional practice. But we believe as our teaching changes and the ownership of learning shifts more and more to the students themselves, we can accomplish all we have to do in new and better ways. We realize that an hour a week of “undirected” learning may seem extravagant and even intimidating to hard-pressed teachers who worry they’ll never catch up with all the curriculum and instruction they already have on their plates. Here are some of the many descriptions out there to designate time set aside for wonder.įrom The Genius Hour Guidebook by Denise Krebs & Gallit Zvi Really? 20% of our teaching time?! This is a form of teaching that we have been using since the 2011-2012 school year, and our students just love it!Īre they all geniuses? Find out why we call our special time “genius hour.” But you can call it what you want. In the model we’ve developed for our classes, students form their own inquiry questions based on their interests, wonders or passions. These things are true for adults, and they’re true for children too. And mastery results when students are given enough time to actually master and become an expert on what they are learning.Purpose arises when students have a reason for learning what they choose to learn.Autonomy comes when students are entrusted with choice and the freedom to make decisions regarding their learning.Indeed, according to Daniel Pink and educational researchers like Alfie Kohn, rewards have an adverse effect on motivation, in school and at work.Įxperienced teachers know that student motivation is enhanced when autonomy, purpose and mastery are present. We do Genius Hour in the classroom because human motivation does not come from the teacher telling students what they must learn and then rewarding them with smiley faces and good grades. We (and many other Genius Hour teachers) accomplish this by setting aside time in our weekly classroom schedules when students are able to learn about and create whatever they want, unencumbered by teacher control.
Genius Hour is an inquiry-driven, passion-based classroom strategy designed to excite and engage students through the unrestrained joy of learning.
0 kommentar(er)
