Third-grader Tanner Hopkins
presents her research on the
Red Velvet Ants.
Genius Hour
Showcased
Talented Students
200 Gifted and Talented students in grades 1 st – 5 th participated in a
Genius Hour Showcase in the cafeteria of Friendswood Junior High.
Genius Hour is a movement started in the business industry, also known
as the 20% Movement and Passion Project. The idea is 20% of our
'work' day should be spent learning something that is of interest to us
or something we want to know more about. Google most famously
incorporated this hour and these discoveries resulting in GMail, Google
News, and Google Class.
FISD began implementing Genius Hour in their SEARCH programs two
years ago after learning about it at the annual Texas Association for the
Gifted and Talented (TAGT) Conference. The GT Team also traveled to visit
teachers, in other districts, who were using Genius Hour in their classrooms.
Fourth-grader Charlie Tran and her
brother take a quick picture before
presenting her board game on the
Human Anatomy “Teeth” at the
Genius Hour Showcase in FISD.
“Genius Hour allows each student to explore their own passions and is
student-centered, allowing for student choice and student voice,” said Marianne Harner GT specialist at
Bales Intermediate and Genius Hour Coordinator.
Every student is expected to develop questions they want to answer in regards to their “passions”
and these questions will then guide their research. The students are taught and use the steps of the
Independent Investigative Method (IIM) for their research .
From their research, they design a Product Plan
that will demonstrate their learning. They then
share their questions, research, and products
with fellow classmates and then with the
community through the Genius Hour Showcase.
Parents walk around FISD’s Genius Hour Showcase to see the
over 200 projects created by GT students.
“I love to see the natural curiosity and creativity
of our students,” said Superintendent Thad
Roher. “The Genius Hour Showcase is the type
of authentic learning that we are all about in
FISD. Students have a choice in their learning
and families get to see the sparks of creativity all
in one room.”
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