Action Taken
A Google Community: https://plus.google.com/u/1/communities/117535271028802539919 was set up as a place to drop and store research and case-studies about passion-based learning and genius hour style projects. This was organized into research justifying the reasons for introducing personalized learning projects, case studies/ Blogs by people who have tried it, and related articles to support the practicalities of running these types of projects in schools.
Reading up about Genius Hour, becoming more familiar with the masses of information that has already been generated became a priority, so that we felt confident before launching it with actual students!
Initial discussions about passions were instigated in circle times. A teaser was introduce, closely modeling the example given on the genius hour
Students’ curiosity really peaked even before sessions started. They semd to love to idea of learning whatever they wanted. A short video captures some initial reactions: (this is stored in the evidence of impact folder )
Parameters were given, again using the guidelines on the genius hour website. – Your inquiry needs a ‘deep/rich’ question, must have an element of research, must be able to have a product that can be somehow shared with others.
Some children found it challenging to stimulate ideas about their passions. Other children really began coming out of their shells. Students were presented with possible technology tools to share their inquiries. A connection was made with ICT/ Digital Literacies teacher, who came in to teach the students how to make a Weebly website, use Prezi or create a Blog to showcase their research findings. Further details on how the projects progressed week by week can be found here:
Link to Google doc documenting the process: https://docs.google.com/a/dc.edu.hk/document/d/1MVEdDLGUEh3y6tVdstpCQzTa3Q5HyF4qw7mlYpro01E/edit
We decided to create a Google Site to better manage all the projects. Each Student created a folder with their name, which included three sub-pages detailing their ‘pitch’, their W.O.W. chart (which was created as an ongoing reflection tool to help them record what was going Well, what Obstacles they faces and what Wonderings they still had). This was also a good way to remotely check in with the students even if we couldn’t have a face to face meeting during the sessions. They also created a page to drop their ‘product’ in, whether it be a Blog, Website etc…
Link to Google Site created to manage the projects in one place:
https://sites.google.com/a/dc.edu.hk/passion-projects/
A Google Community: https://plus.google.com/u/1/communities/117535271028802539919 was set up as a place to drop and store research and case-studies about passion-based learning and genius hour style projects. This was organized into research justifying the reasons for introducing personalized learning projects, case studies/ Blogs by people who have tried it, and related articles to support the practicalities of running these types of projects in schools.
Reading up about Genius Hour, becoming more familiar with the masses of information that has already been generated became a priority, so that we felt confident before launching it with actual students!
Initial discussions about passions were instigated in circle times. A teaser was introduce, closely modeling the example given on the genius hour
Students’ curiosity really peaked even before sessions started. They semd to love to idea of learning whatever they wanted. A short video captures some initial reactions: (this is stored in the evidence of impact folder )
Parameters were given, again using the guidelines on the genius hour website. – Your inquiry needs a ‘deep/rich’ question, must have an element of research, must be able to have a product that can be somehow shared with others.
Some children found it challenging to stimulate ideas about their passions. Other children really began coming out of their shells. Students were presented with possible technology tools to share their inquiries. A connection was made with ICT/ Digital Literacies teacher, who came in to teach the students how to make a Weebly website, use Prezi or create a Blog to showcase their research findings. Further details on how the projects progressed week by week can be found here:
Link to Google doc documenting the process: https://docs.google.com/a/dc.edu.hk/document/d/1MVEdDLGUEh3y6tVdstpCQzTa3Q5HyF4qw7mlYpro01E/edit
We decided to create a Google Site to better manage all the projects. Each Student created a folder with their name, which included three sub-pages detailing their ‘pitch’, their W.O.W. chart (which was created as an ongoing reflection tool to help them record what was going Well, what Obstacles they faces and what Wonderings they still had). This was also a good way to remotely check in with the students even if we couldn’t have a face to face meeting during the sessions. They also created a page to drop their ‘product’ in, whether it be a Blog, Website etc…
Link to Google Site created to manage the projects in one place:
https://sites.google.com/a/dc.edu.hk/passion-projects/