What is Genius Hour?
Genius Hour is the story of my life. It is an opportunity to take the time to learn or create something you are passionate about. It is a part of living life to the fullest. It is a regular practice for lifelong learners. Genius Hour is now trending in education. Imagine that.Angela Watson shares the following from her blog:
Genius hour is a movement in schools that allows students to explore their own passions. The concept for Genius Hour is derived in part from the idea of “20% Time.” This is Google’s work structure for its employees, who are allowed to spend 20% of their time on projects they design and are interested in. The idea is that when people are allowed to work on things they care about, their motivation for the job as a whole will increase. So that’s sort of the idea with Genius Hour, as well: empower kids to uncover their passions and skills and strengths–their genius, if you will–and their motivation and creativity and achievement will increase across the board.
I wish school districts provided Genius time for teachers! Teachers are professionals. No less than employees at Google. Dream with me for a moment. What ills in public school education could be cured with Teacher Genius?
My Turn to Practice What I Preach
What are you going to make?
I am going to make a screencast introducing myself in English and Spanish.
Why?
I want to practice Spanish. I want to take a risk and share with my learning community.
I never have time to practice my Spanish. I feel vulnerable when I practice my Spanish publicly. I know that struggle is a part of learning and I want to model what I expect of students.
I want to connect with the Spanish speaking community I serve and across the diaspora.
How are you going to do it?
I will practice the Spanish language using Rosetta Stone, Duolingo, and my class textbook.
I will create a slide introducing myself in both English and Spanish.
I will capture the introduction using a screencast.
My Genius Hour Product
My Genius Hour Planning Document
Please Share your Feedback!
Veronica,
ReplyDeleteOnce again you are so inspirational. I love that you are willing to take the risk of speaking another language and aren't afraid to fail. I think you did a great job (not that I know if you said it correctly or not) lol, but just trying and putting yourself out there is inspirational to me. Well Done.
I love your video! Way to put your words into practice. I am so very impressed with your dedication! Really you are correct, our lives are a bunch of Genius Hours as we learn to do things.
ReplyDeleteYou fill my bucket! Thanks!
DeleteYou make my heart so, so happy!! Your dedication to speaking the language of student population is evidence of the amazing teacher you are!!! I will gladly help you practice your alphabet sounds.
ReplyDeleteSuch a fun and inventive way to model the joyous side of risk-taking! Using the Genius Hour to explore possibilities is something I hope we can start to embed in our professional lives as well as our classrooms.
ReplyDeleteHola! Soy la Senora Machota de la esquela Hufford.
ReplyDeleteI am overjoyed with your excitement and willingness to connect with our families.
I agree with you, I would love for our district to see the important and possible impact on student achievement. If we gave students the time to create and explore- I agree with you it would cure many ills.
Muy bien amiga!