Genius Hour 20 Day Challenge! Day 1: What is Genius Hour

DAY 1: What is Genius Hour? 

As we mentioned earlier....Genius Hour is where passions come alive! Students are given the opportunity to pose their own questions, problems, or challenges. With support, students will plan, manage, and reflect upon their learning. Students will switch roles from learner and teacher throughout the process. They will have the freedom to think independently and interdependently, take risks, and learn from their attempts. You and your students will not be able to get enough of it!


To begin Genius Hour, the most important thing is getting the little nuggets excited! Show them how cool it is that they are given the opportunity to research, and become a genius on    A N Y T H I N G   they want! 

I started by showing them a video about Genius Hour. This (Genius Hour LiveBinder) is the best website I've found for inspirational/motivation videos relating to Genius Hour and creativity. Find one that's engaging and/or informative, and play it for your students. This is the time to explain what Genius Hour is all about -- researching your passions, then creating an appropriate product to share what you've learned. This is a time for students to ask questions and get excited about this! If you've done this before, you might show pictures or videos of past projects to get the students inspired! 

Side note, I also found it helpful to play one of these videos during my curriculum night to keep parents informed (and on board).

If you haven't checked out Caine's Arcade, DO it! This is a fabulous video to show your students to get them thinking!

Generate excitement by dedicating a part of your classroom to Genius Hour. Instill common language with this We Are Geniuses bulletin board, and encourage collaboration with this Help Wanted  

bulletin board.

Lauren's True Confession: Genius Hour didn't go so hot the first time I tried it. 

When I first tried Genius Hour (4 years ago), I jumped right in by having them write a question, and gave them free reign on how to research and share their information. Sure, they enjoyed it, but I knew it could be better.

• Their questions didn't require much (if any) research. They weren't challenged. That doesn't mean they didn't want a challenge, they just didn't know how to write questions TO challenge themselves! 
• Many students were off task. They didn't know how to find the answers. They didn't know how to distinguish the good websites from the bad. If they came across a problem, they didn't know how to overcome it. 
• It was difficult to manage! I didn't have a good system, central location, and didn't really know what to expect or even how to help. 
• Students bounced around with topics rather than sticking with one and delving deep. This goes along with the off task students. If they couldn't find the answer, their reaction was to try something else instead. 

I can't say that we have the magical cure to make all Genius Hour issues go away, but we have seen that with the proper preparation (what this whole challenge is all about), students can do amazing things! 

SPOILER ALERT! 

Here are just some of the questions that FOURTH GRADERS asked -- and successfully answered!

• How can I create a simulator that teaches the fundamentals of basketball? 
• How can we teach first graders Common Core algebraic thinking, and how do we make a lesson? 
• How does 3D printing work, and how can I build my own 3D model?
• What are the different parts of the brain? How can I find out weaker parts of the brain and create exercises to improve those weaker parts? 

3-D Printed M (For Ms. Miller) 

Basketball Target Practice Simulator using Makey Makey and Scratch