Recently, I walked into our school library and discovered a class of students buzzing with serious work, all students intent upon their work. Some students were working at a table; some were on websites; some were on presentation software; others were on word processing documents creating a written product.
My curiosity was immediately piqued. I had to know what had all of these students so completely enthralled. I searched for the teacher and saw her bent over one of the students in a deep and serious discussion. When she straightened to see me standing, she walked over and began sharing her students' work. Her excitement was palpable.
"Welcome to Genius Hour!" she exclaimed. "Each Monday my students work on a project of their choice for an hour. They can choose any topic that they want, but they must produce a product. This student is creating a website to share her faith. This one is researching the best way to care for his pet. This student is creating a brochure to pass out to gain support in her fight against homelessness in our town."
Her enthusiasm was contagious. I wanted to see every child's project. I wanted to encourage their serious and important research. I wanted to lean in and take part in this work to change their worlds. This was a beautiful picture of learning -- real learning -- in action.
My curiosity was immediately piqued. I had to know what had all of these students so completely enthralled. I searched for the teacher and saw her bent over one of the students in a deep and serious discussion. When she straightened to see me standing, she walked over and began sharing her students' work. Her excitement was palpable.
"Welcome to Genius Hour!" she exclaimed. "Each Monday my students work on a project of their choice for an hour. They can choose any topic that they want, but they must produce a product. This student is creating a website to share her faith. This one is researching the best way to care for his pet. This student is creating a brochure to pass out to gain support in her fight against homelessness in our town."
Her enthusiasm was contagious. I wanted to see every child's project. I wanted to encourage their serious and important research. I wanted to lean in and take part in this work to change their worlds. This was a beautiful picture of learning -- real learning -- in action.