"Many teachers are raving about the autonomy that students are finding in their classes [...] A goal of every teacher should be to create lifelong learners. Genius hour projects are a huge step towards that goal." –geniushour.com

Teachers all over the country are joining the movement to transform their classrooms into places of inquiry and students into life-long learners. I’ve joined the movement… will you?

“Genius hour is a movement that allows students to explore their own passions and encourages creativity in the classroom. It provides students a choice in what they learn during a set period of time during school.” –geniushour.com

When students are given a choice in their learning, the intrinsic motivation and creativity that we want our students to project into their academic experiences become a natural extension of themselves.

“The teacher provides a set amount of time for the students to work on their passion projects. Students are then challenged to explore something to do a project over that they want to learn about.” –geniushour.com

With inquiry as the foundation, Genius Hour requires students to develop a question related to their passion that they can research and turn into a project.

“They spend several weeks researching the topic before they start creating a product that will be shared with the class/school/world. Deadlines are limited and creativity is encouraged. Throughout the process the teacher facilitates the student projects to ensure that they are on task.” –geniushour.com

Products can be multi-media based or something physical they build, design, or create. The purpose of the product is to share their passions with the class, the school, and the world.

“The search-engine giant, Google, allows it’s engineers to spend 20% of their time to work on any pet project that they want. The idea is very simple. Allow people to work on something that interests them, and productivity will go up.” –geniushour.com

For our schools and classrooms, it means setting aside only one hour a week for students to research, plan, and design their passion projects. That’s it!

By committing to the Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM), schools are also committing to designing opportunities that encourages the creative productivity of young people and the exploration of various areas of interest beyond a prescribed curriculum.

This whole school approach not only incorporates ascending levels of intellectual demand, but also encourages all students to become active discoverers of knowledge rather than passive recipients of information.

The School Enrichment Model has one main goal: to develop the talents of all children, regardless of academic label or level. With the notion that ALL students possess talents and gifts, the SEM pushes students to cultivate their unique natural talents.

For gifted students in particular, the SEM allows both schoolhouse and creatively gifted learners to move beyond the standards-based curriculum to a more personal exploration of their own interests.

The three main types of enrichment encouraged by the School Enrichment Model are:

Type I: Students are exposed to a wide variety of learning experiences that are not found in the standards and that provide an authentic experience, such as field trips and guest speakers

Type II: Students have the opportunity to work in enrichment cluster groupings to build thinking and processing skills through the exploration of a problem or issue, usually with the culmination of a product

Type III: Students pursue an individual, self-selected area of interest in which they commit to a long-term process of conducting research, creating a product, and sharing it with an audience

The foundation of SEM is student interest. From the cluster groupings that transcend age groups and academic levels to the exploration of a self-selected project, student interest is the guiding force.

The key is to motivate students to become active learners by bringing their passions into the school building and transferring those passions into the classroom. When student interest is put at the center of learning, students can't help but to have an interest in their learning.

Dr. Joseph Renzulli and his colleagues at the University of Connecticut presented the educational world with a comprehensive gifted education curriculum model that strives to meet the needs of all students.

Although a complex model, it is nothing short of effective. Through the application of acceleration, differentiation, and enrichment, the SEM provides a deep connection to real student interests within and beyond the curriculum… and isn’t that the whole goal of education, anyways?

When student interest is put at the center of learning, students can't help but create a CURIOSITY and LOVE for learning.

When students are given time to develop their PASSIONS, their passions become TALENTS and talents become FUTURES.

When students are ENGAGED, schools become the place for personalized learning and classrooms the place for INNOVATION.

When students are MOTIVATED by their interests, students are EMPOWERED and VALUE their learning.

So, what does it mean for our gifted students?

When Genius Hour and SEM are embraced by our schools, OWNERSHIP of their PASSIONS will be discovered by our students.

Sources:
"Genius Hour - Where Passions "Come Alive - Genius Hour."
Genius Hour. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 July 2014. .

"Google Books." Google Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 July 2014. <http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=xwltY5f35ZMC&oi=fnd&pg=PA367&dq=...;.

"Schoolwide Enrichment Evaluation - ★★★★ - Models for the Gifted." Schoolwide Enrichment Evaluation - ★★★★ - Models for the Gifted. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 July 2014. <https://sites.google.com/site/modelsforthegifted/customization/schoolwide-e...;.

"Schoolwide Enrichment Model." Presently Gifted. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 July 2014. .