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Knowing that people are naturally inquisitive but that they don’t always have an avenue to delve into their unique interests, I wanted to give students an area to explore, discover, and create. I have not felt successful with Genius Hour within my own classes as many students could not tap into their own passions and drive.
My solution has been an after school club.
Students can join me one afternoon a week to pursue any endeavor they wish. I encouraged them to come immerse themselves in a venture of their choosing - if they want to learn coding or how build apps, if they want to learn how to juggle, if they want to learn video creation techniques, if they want to explore electronics, if they want to test a hypothesis, if they want to learn knitting, they can join me.
I promised them that I would not be an expert on their passions but, instead, would be a support for them in their pursuits. I would help point them in a direction or help them find answers to their questions.
So far the response has been good - 10 to 15 students each week pursuing what they want to. A few are investigating computer animation. Some are looking into how to build smartphone apps. One girl has explored crafting her own music on the computer. A couple needed a break and took me up on some juggling instruction.
The students are engaged and enjoying themselves because they are driving their own learning and exploration. It is truly powerful to see how absorbed they are and how eager they are to share their excitement and insights with their peers.
I feel fortunate that I can offer students a space to pursue their interests. Academic standards can interfere during class, and some students seem to be rigid in their thinking and expectations, squelching their natural tendencies to question. The students that visit me on Thursday afternoons, however, clearly want to play with knowledge and gain greater understanding. They have questions they are pursuing, curious about the world just like an infant popping objects into her mouth to explore the world around her.
If you have #1CoolThing that has happened in your classroom this year or, if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share in the comments. I would appreciate hearing about them.
This post is inspired by Share #YourEduStory. The prompt from @teachfromhere was “Share #1CoolThing that has happened in your class/school/district this fall.”
What a great club idea!
ReplyDeleteI decided to use student blogs in a similar way this year. I will not be assigning blog posts. Instead, I will set aside time in class do students may blog about their passions.
It's been interesting. Many students seem to think that identifying their passion is enough. When I saw kids stalling out on blog day 3, I encouraged them to write about what they love. They replied, "I already did that."
We'll be working on digging deeper. :-)
Hit that same wall with Genius Hour. I do wonder if it is because they haven't been encouraged to explore what they want to in a school setting. Even when there is choice, there are parameters.
DeleteMaybe you can encourage them to write about whatever may be on their mind - something they are looking forward to, rehashing what they did over the weekend, something they tried that was a little more difficult than they though, describing their favorite meal/memory/family tradition, etc. or have them post a drawing or video commentary.
As long as they are writing or thinking or engaging others.