Thoughts on Genius Hour

Late last year, I was introduced to the Genius Hour movement that was developed from one of  

Google's business practices. After talking with several educators, I decided to try it out in one of my Scout Time classes. What the students learned and produced through the course of this class completely blew me away.  

What is Genius Hour? 

I'll be honest here. Giving students free reign to create, investigate, and explore basically any topic that they want is mildly scary. Giving MIDDLE SCHOOL students this freedom is down right terrifying. Or, so I thought. 

When I introduced this idea, many students were really confused. "So, what do you want me to make?" "Do you want me to write a paper?" "Is this a powerpoint thing or something?" These were just some of the many questions that students had for me. Many of them could not grasp the concept that the only thing I required of them was CURIOSITY at its purest form. I wasn't going to tell them to write a paper, to create a presentation, or even FINISH what they started. I simply wanted them to figure out something that they were passionate about and let that passion guide them. 

It took a few weeks for students to feel totally comfortable with this idea, but once they really started to understand this concept, they soared. 

I had students teaching themselves how to play instruments, taking a dabble in coding, designing websites, photographing different things, writing letters asking businesses how they make products, raising money for a charity, etc. 

Not a single student chose to write a paper. Interesting. 

Of all the things I hope to carry with me into this new year, this concept of Genius Hour is definitely something I do not want to leave behind. This is one of the many reasons why I LOVE my profession!