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A Letter to Students and Parents About Our Upcoming Genius Hour

Dear Students and Parents,

We will soon begin the Genius Hour Project in Language Arts. This is a major project-based-learning assignment that spans the entire second semester and encourages students to pursue a creative interest they would otherwise not experience in our academic program.

 

Before I get into the details of the project, I want to explain why we’re asking students to participate in this activity. For more than 20 years, a trend in education has been gaining momentum that suggests the role of the teacher ought to shift away from an industrial model where the teacher stands in the front of the classroom to dispense knowledge through lectures, and the students sit to consume the information. Rather than being the “sage on the stage” as some experts maintain, teachers increasingly ought to play the role of the “guide on the side.” In this role, the students play a much more active role in how the content and knowledge is acquired. In this model, teachers provide resources, ask questions, and suggest projects for students to explore their content. Put simply, this is a student-centered project rather than a teacher-centered project.

Another crucial element in designing this project is the book Drive: The Surprising Truth About what Motivates Us by Daniel Pink. I can’t recommend this book enough. You can get a taste of it by watching this twenty minute video in which he argues for providing employees more autonomy in business. The book explains why the same principles apply to education.

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How does the Genius Hour Project Work?

 

Brainstorming

At the beginning of the project, students will begin brainstorming ideas for a project proposal. Students may work alone, but I encourage them to work in small teams, no larger than three students. While brainstorming, I will encourage students to make the project “Product Focused.” At the end of the projected time, I want them to have made something that is a completed product. It could be a physical product like a graphic novel or a balloon that takes photos from the stratosphere. My point here is that I want to quickly move from the idea phase of this project to the producing phase.

 

Proposal

Once the team has an idea of what project they want to pursue, they begin writing the proposal. This is how the team will “pitch” the project to me and the rest of the class. In this proposal, students will answer the following questions.
 

  • What is your project?

  • Who will work with you on this project?

  • Who is the audience / user base / client base for this project?

  • Why is this project worthwhile?

  • What do you expect to learn from this project?

  • What PRODUCT will you have to show at the end of the year?

  • What sort of expenses will be involved in your project and how will you cover them?

  • What sort of equipment will you need and where will you get it?

  • What is your timeline for completing (or launching) your project?

 

The Blog

Each cycle (weekly), every member of every team is required to write a public blog post where students discuss their progress as well as address the topic in various writing forms. They write about what happened over the past cycle, what they learned, what challenges they faced, and what they anticipate in the future. Each blog post must be at least 150 words written in Standard American English and contain a related image that is posted without infringing on anyone's copyright.
 

Mentors

I would like to see each team find an adult mentor who can help guide and inspire it. I hope parents will play a role in finding an appropriate mentor for this project. The mentor will serve to offer advice, provide informal leadership, and follow the progress blogs.

 

20% Days

Throughout the semester, students will have one day a week to work on their projects during class time.  However, the project can always be visited outside of the classroom at any point.

 

The Final Presentation

At the end of the semester, each team will give a presentation to students, teachers, and community members where they will show off their work. This will be carefully written, choreographed, and rehearsed to produce the best presentation they’ve ever given. These TED-style presentations will be delivered and recorded during our Spring Open House.

 

Assessment

Many students and parents understandably ask me about how I’m going to grade the Genius Hour. I try to de-emphasize the grade because extrinsic motivators like grades tend to discourage the innovation and creativity I’m looking for in this project. Read Drive by Daniel Pink for more on this. I want students to be inspired by the project itself, not by the grade they’re going to get on it.

That said, I am going to assess students on the objective elements of the project. A significant portion of their Language Arts grade for this project will be dependent on the following elements:

  • The Proposal (Is the proposal on-time, and does it address the required questions appropriately?)

  • The Blog (Does the post meet the required length, address the required topic, and submitted to the form on-time? Do you post regularly?)

  • The Product (Did you successfully move from idea phase to production phase, and do you have something to show at the end of the year?)

  • Productivity (Are you spending your 20% time by actively and passionately working on your project? If not, we need to quickly adjust the project so you are working on something that is intrinsically motivating. This is less objective, but if I see students not being productive, I will intervene.)

  • Final Presentation (Does your presentation meet all of the required elements?)

 

What if my project is a failure?

In this class, there is a place for perfection....review games and sentence mechanics come to mind. The Genius Hour is no such place.

The world’s best entrepreneurs embrace failure. Read Wired Magazine’s issue on the topic of “failure.”

The only truly failed project is the one that doesn’t get done. I want students to strive to show off a successful product at the end of the year, but I don’t want the quest for perfection to lead to an incomplete project. If you feel that your project is a failure, I want to hear about it. What did you learn about it? Think about your science fair project. If your hypothesis was wrong, was your project a failure? Watch Kathryn Schultz’s TED Talk: “On Being Wrong.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t strive for failure, but don’t be afraid of it either!

I am very excited about all of the different things we’re going to be doing this semester in Language Arts class, including reading great literature and exploring the writing process through both argumentative perspectives and informational perspectives. BUT! I can’t wait to be amazed, surprised, and inspired by the innovative projects this year’s 8th graders will produce in the Genius Hour. If you have any questions about anything, don’t hesitate to email me at BonnerS@husd4.org 

 

Sincerely,
Sarah Bonner

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