Genius Hour in Action: Planting the Seed (Part 1)

If you had one hour every week to work on exploring an area of interest to you, what would you do with it?  And how would you share what you've learned with others?

These are the questions at the heart of something called Genius Hour.  The basic idea is fairly simple and is based on the notion that choice is an essential component of engagement in learning.  Giving people time and support to work towards their own interests produces learning.

Last spring, I introduced the idea of Genius Hour to teachers at Berlin Elementary School using this presentation (click here if you can't see the Prezi):

I drew from my belief that choice is central to every powerful learning experience, and also from watching my own children navigate Crossett Brook Middle School's version of Genius Hour dubbed "Brainado" for several weeks last spring.

As I gave the presentation, Berlin Elementary teachers were facing a renovation that would have them off site for the last two days of school.  Their principal, Carol Amos, was open to providing teachers with time during those days to work on an area of interest to them.  In effect, they were getting "genius" time for teachers.

One team of Berlin teachers (Jane Boucher, Kim Knapp and Tyler Smith) decided to use their time to plan out their own version of Genius Hour that they would roll out with the fourth through sixth students on their team in fall 2017.

Recently, students created this video to share their experience with the school board:

Berlin's version of Genius Hour was inspired by others, but is entirely their own.  Rather than approaching it as a special event, the teachers wanted it threaded throughout the year, a part of their class culture and woven into the fabric of their students' school experience.

This will the first in a series of blog posts that I will use to highlight the amazing work of these teachers and students at Berlin Elementary School getting Genius Hour off the ground, shaping it to meet the needs of students and teachers, and also sustaining it throughout the year.  

I'm so excited to be able to share their story with you!  Next time, I will describe how the team got started.  If you have any specific questions you'd like me to address, please feel free to email me (edorsey@u32.org).  

For more general information about Genius Hour you can go to www.geniushour.com.