It’s no secret that learning is an integral part of your everyday life. Whether you’re a student or not, there are many opportunities to learn something new – this can take the form of watching news or documentaries on a regular basis, reading books, and taking part in various activities such as sports, arts, or reading a novel. But what if there was one hour a day that you could dedicate to learning something new? One hour where your only responsibility would be to absorb knowledge from experts. That is Genius Hour.
What is a Genius Hour?
A Genius Hour is a school-sponsored, hour-long, after-school learning activity that can be focused on anything from coding to cooking to photography. The goal of the activity is to take people who might not have had many opportunities in school and give them the chance to explore their creative side.
Benefits of a Genius Hour
A genius hour is a special time of the day where students can use the opportunity to take a break and apply their skills. People who are passionate about their talent often find that they need at least an hour per day to think and work out issues they have with their talents. A genius hour can be especially beneficial for people who are struggling in school because it gives them time to do something else, like relax or study, that’s not required of them in class but is still important for them. It’s a time when students can learn more about their own strengths and passions. Some schools even offer the Genius Hour as early as kindergarten to help students find what they love without having to wait until high school. The benefits of this are many as it allows children to explore their potential in their natural learning style. It also encourages them to stay on track with grades, homework, and extracurricular activities that they love.
How to set up a Genius Hour for your classroom
Genius Hour is a way to get students to contribute ideas on how to make your classroom more innovative. Here are some guidelines for how to run a Genius Hour in your classroom:
– Have students come up with ideas such as new ways to teach math, routines they want the teacher to try out, or anything else they can think of.
– Get each student’s idea on a sticky note and put them on the board.
– Collect all the ideas into one big list and share them around the room.
– Take votes for which ideas people think should be implemented first.
– Keep voting until you have a winner!
How to run a Genius Hour with students
Genius hours are a way for students to work on anything they want in groups of 10 or less. They can be run by teachers, librarians, parents, and other community members who are working at the school. They are a great way to satisfy a project requirement for an individual student, or provide extra time for students who need it.
Tips for Getting Student Feedback during the hour
A common question that comes up during the Genius Hour is how to get student feedback? Much like a comment section, some attendees may be hesitant to share their thoughts. In order to encourage participation and put students at ease, here are some tips:
1) Bring your students in groups. This ensures everyone has a chance to participate
2) Make it short and sweet with your introduction
Conclusion
The Genius Hour is an ongoing project that aims to improve learning at schools. The project does this by finding students with more specific talents for the school and adapting their lessons to use those talents.