If you happened to pop into
my 3rd grade classroom at Grimsrud, at first glance it
may look like the classroom teacher is simply walking around observing while
the students are busily working on a some type of project. My hope is that you will see curiosity, collaboration,
communication, creativity and critical thinking as they have been working
diligently for the last 2 to 3 weeks on their own passion projects. Some of you may be more familiar with the
term, Genius Hour projects, but “passion projects” seemed to just fit in my
classroom. If you would take even a closer
look and ask these students what they are so actively engaged in, I am hopeful
they would jump at the chance to share what exactly they are curious about!
Two years
ago I participated in a book study that dove deeper into Harvey “Smokey”
Daniels book titled, The Curious Classroom.
From this book study I have
incorporated many ideas into my classroom to help not only inspire students as
well as hang on to the curiosity that our students already bring to the
classroom. The one idea that I feel has
made the most impact thus far is incorporating a Genius Hour into a portion of
our day/week. This first started with
simply having a “Wonder Wall” in the classroom where my students could share
their own wonders about anything that they were interested in as well as ideas
that they may want to dig deeper into. Many
ideas stemming from the “Wonder Wall” soon morphed into individual projects as
well as small collaborative group projects.
Interestingly enough, many students found that they wanted to learn more
about some of the same topics. This then
of course led to research and then creating different projects to eventually
present and share with our entire class.
While one small group has
been working on, Why volcanoes erupt?, which of course includes a demonstration
of a volcano that the small group crafted together, another individual has been
researching about Laura Ingalls Wilder. Our
entire class was pleasantly surprised when “Laura” visited us in full costume, which
included her favorite candy from the 1927 general store. She shared about her own life events on a
time line where she included many pictures from her life. That same week we were a lucky class as
another one of my students was eager to share all about the USA Women’s Hockey
Team experience in the 2018 Olympics. She was more than excited to share her
news report that she created with WeVideo. Last
year one my groups even discovered how to create the perfect bath bomb – hence
the pungent smell of lemons lingering throughout the entire wing of our small
school. These are just a few of the many
passion projects that have stemmed from this Wonder Wall/ Genius Time.
I
must admit that when I first implemented this new idea, I wasn’t quite sure where
this might lead to. What I am most
excited about is that it truly has given many of the students a voice and a chance
to learn about something that they are truly interested in. Having these structures in place for
student-directed inquiry has been amazing. I have seen some of my quietest students
explode with excitement when it is time for Genius Hour. Upon entering the classroom I have also seen
many students check our agenda in hopes that there will be time for Genius Hour
and then just beam when they see that indeed there will be time to work on what
they are passionate about. The biggest
struggle that I feel I have encountered is how to move some of my students
passed only wanting to learn about DIY projects rather than digging deeper into
learning about a new topic. For some I simply feel this is developmentally a
stage that some are just more ready for than others. I also believe that this has been an outlet
to share more of the student’s creative side.
My students and I have visited extensively about sharing our learning in
new and different ways and to not just use the same presentation style each
time. Many of my students are comfy with
creating goggle slides, which is great however, we have really tried to work on
finding new, creative and versatile ways to showcase our learning.
In
closing, I wanted to share this last thought. My biggest “Aha moment” from
introducing the Wonder Wall and Genius Hour/ Passion Project time into my
classroom was one I never thought would actually happen. Being Curious isn’t just for 9 year
olds. In order to encourage many of my
students to tap into their own curiosity, I had to be vulnerable and share some
of the ideas that I am most curious about.
Clearly, as teachers we model every day, but sometimes even if it is
difficult, modeling our own deepest wonders may just be enough to spark even our
youngest learners, to take a chance and learn about something they are curious
about. Are you willing to take that
chance?
Twitter Tuesday
Questions
Q1: How can we encourage
curiosity in the classroom?
Q2: How do you as an
educator help your students to find new ways to share their new learning?
Q3: When students embark
on a Genius Hour Project, how can we encourage them to dig deeper into their learning versus simply
sticking to a DIY project?
Q4: In what ways have
you modeled being curious to your students?
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