Student creativity and inquiry through exploration of their passions.
The search-engine giant, Google, allows it’s engineers to spend 20% of their time to work on any pet project that they want. The idea is very simple: allow people to work on something that interests them, and productivity will go up. This way of working has inspired innovative ideas in a range of companies that have lead to significant improvements to the way we live and work. Sticky notes from 3M are one, the Google DriverLess Car another.
How would Genius Hour / 20% Time work in a school environment?
Student project ideas need to reflect their own interests or passions. These project ideas need to be realistic, but not necessarily achievable. Students can experience failure, in a supportive environment. And when they have experienced that failure, they are able to use reflection to plan for improvement.
- Brainstorming a list of things that students are good at, excited about, or want more information on.
- Driving Question: a question that enables deep thought, research. An UnGoogleAble answer. A question that takes time to answer.
- Independent work: The role of the teacher is not to guide the student work, but to support the choices they make and enable the opportunities. Initially students work individually, as they become more competent, collaborative projects can be introduced.
- Incorporate expertise: you’re not going to know enough about everything to help your students, this is where an outside expert comes in. Support students in making connections.
- Authentic Audience: students need to present their work to an authentic audience. How they do this is up to the individual, with teacher support to realise the opportunities.
As the teacher in a Genius Hour environment, rethink your role to become facilitator. Provide the advice, support needed to have students develop their own thoughts and ideas into a viable project.
Allow students to make some mistakes.
Know what your students are working on, know their plan, know their intentions. Facilitate their progress.
Students use a range of 21st Century skills to create their Genius Hour project. Using their passions as an initial guide, they become experts in something and produce new knowledge to share with their audience. They don’t have to get it right the first time. They wont complete it in a week or two, it takes time and deep learning to achieve. Students provide the ideas and the resources.
The most important thing to is innovate. Innovation on a grand scale, or innovation on a small scale. An UnGoogleAble question is one that hasn’t been answered anywhere, every. It’s a big thing to come up with the UnGoogleAble, and an even bigger thing to answer it successfully.
Links and Resources