Genius Hour
What would you learn with an extra hour per week?
In 2010 IBM surveyed 1500 CEOs to learn what
companies were looking for in their employees of
the 21st century; the most popular attribute...
creativity. As educationalists we must reflect on
this and provide such opportunities for our
students - where there will
be fewer jobs requiring
mechanical
operation,
instead, we should place
greater
emphasis on
cognitive
ability
to
overcome
and
solve
problems.
The Genius Hour taps into
our learners? intrinsic
motivation to problem
solve by igniting passions. Evolving from Google?s
80/20 time, this term my class started their
journeys of discovery and decided to learn to
skateboard, knit, learn about aviation and become
a magician for a self-directed one hour a week.
All were curious and keen to choose something
new to learn. The breadth was incredible and the
challenge for me was to assist them in prioritizing
and managing their time. Their interest and
motivation grew as they began to learn more
about their subject and themselves.
In the final week students gave a 5-minute
presentation to the class to reflect on their
learning. They spoke about the Aztecs; a computer
app they made; a T-Shirt; designed and knitted
handbags. Who in their class has ever said ?Now
children ? put down your knitting needles and
look this way.?!
To find out more about Genius Hour and how you
can apply it to your own setting, check out these
great resources:
IBM Newsroom: Global CEO Study
Pink D. (2009) Drive: The Surprising Truth About
What Motivates Us
Pink D. The Puzzle of Motivation: TED
Luke Dart
Year 6 Teacher
The British School of Guangzhou