What is Genius Hour?

Let's watch...

You will spend time...

• researching information
• learning by doing
• collaborating with experts
• designing a product that can be shared with an authentic audience.

You are....
our world changers, inventors and innovators

You are the FUTURE!

The 6 P's of Genius Hour

Passion

Passion

• What do you want to learn about?
• What do you think is interesting?
• What can you get excited about?
• Check out...Wonderopolis.org
• Check out DIY.org
• Check out DOGO News
• WHAT GETS YOUR WHEELS TURNING?

Plan

Let's go on a vacation....

without a plan....

Types of Projects

Ask yourself...

• Is your work a service project?
• Is your work a learning project?
• Is your work a design project?
• Is your work a maker project?

Let's Explain...Service Project

• A service project is a project that will serve others in some way.
• Ex: Collect scarves for the homeless...

Learning Projects

• This is a project that involves you learning information about a specific subject.
• Ex: writing a digital book about black holes

Designing and Making

• This is a project that results in something that is designed and then made by you.
• Ex: model of the International Space Station

Your guidance system

• What am I trying to accomplish?
• Who is my audience?
• Who can help me as I work toward my goal?

Plan who your project will be shared with (authentic audience)

Plan to get some help/advice from an outside expert

Pitch

Pitch Day

What's in a Pitch

• Everyone pitches their project
• Discuss the info on your planning sheet
• Create a video presentation, talk in front of the class, make a podcase, create a QR code, use google slides
• 3 - 5 minutes in length
• Get CONSTRUCTIVE and PRODUCTIVE feedback from peers - give advice, suggestions, and ideas

One more example

Project
Igniting the Flame

What's this part?

• gather information
• find out how to do things
• ask questions
• meet with outside experts
• accountability (aka reflection)

Accountability

• You will be held accountable for what gets accomplished each day.
• You will see state standards being accomplished without a teacher's instruction!
• High-level reflection of your learning with blogging
• Digital portfolios

What will you reflect?

• When something got hard, what did you do to help yourself?
• If you were the teacher, what comment would you make about yourself?
• How can you use what you learned today outside of school?
• What did you learn about yourself today?

Reflection - continued

• How would you explain this topic to someone else?
• How can you apply what you've learned to another subject or class?
• What did you find most engaging about today's lesson of learning?

Product

What is a product?

• It is something that represent the project and can be shared out with the world.
• Ex: a video game created on Scratch, a model of a volcano, a digital book about wolves, classroom outdoor workspace, a garden, blankets for babies, new ice cream flavors

How long?
Perhaps 3 weeks, 1 month, 9 weeks, a semester....we will guide you through the process...time on task and reflection accountability...IMPORTANT!

You will share your product

Presentation

How to Present...Choice

• Share out in front of class
• Google Slides
• Book Creator
• iMovie or othe video tools
• Powtoon
• Vidra
• Spark video
• Model or a maker

Presentation length - 3-5 minutes

What will you include?

• What you learned?
• What action you took?
• What questions do you still have?
• Info about product
• Who was your authentic audience?
• What roadblocks did you have to work through?

You are simply sharing

We're here for you...kinda

• We will help you through the 6P's process

We won't

• help you clean up (help each other)
• have all the answers
• make this homework
• grade it but we will assess your development of important skills
• we won't solve your problems and sometimes not even suggestions. It will be okay to experience opportunities to fail AND then grow (into problem solvers a skill necessary for life)

Credits due: