The idea for Genius Hour was inspired by Google's 20% time for their employees. Basically, the company found that by allowing their staff to explore their own passions one day a week, productivity actually increased. Many of the apps we take for granted were born during this 20% time!
Which brought teachers to start thinking, "What would happen if we let our students explore their passions?"
I think great things could happen, so I've decided to pilot Genius Hour in the upper grades of the elementary. Telling students that they really can learn about whatever they want can be a shock to their system. Therefore, we are currently working on submitting driving questions.
There are three rules to Genius Hour:
- The project must be approved by me before research may begin.
- The project must be researched; meaning that if you can find the answer immediately on Google, you really aren't doing "research".
- You must share your findings. You can share this however you would like (website, book, iMovie...) but it will need to be shared.
If you would like to learn more about Genius Hour, check out the link and video below.
Smore.com: Genius Hour
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