I have spent the last several months bouncing around the idea of implementing genius hour in my 11th and 12th grade anatomy and physiology class. I've been reading blogs, websites, and books about 20% time, and watching videos about creativity, what motivates us, and advice on how to implement a successful 20 time project. I get the idea. I understand it enough to implement it, and I'm ready to get started. I feel an interesting mix of excitement and trepidation. My greatest fear? My students will be paralyzed by the broadness and ambiguity of the project. I worry that they're so used to focusing on the product (like the grade) rather than the process (like their learning), that they will flounder. With that being said, I'm really optimistic. I teach some really great kids, with more potential than they realize. Last semester when they were asked to teach a lesson on a topic of their choice related to Anatomy and Physiology and/or health and wellness, I saw some real glimpses of passion and love for learning and teaching. I'm hoping that they can build from that experience and really excel.
So here's my plan:
- I'm going to start off asking them to just write a list of things that interest them, what they've always wondered about, or questions they have about life in general. Hoping this isn't too vague.
- Using the iPads I checked out, I'll have them Google 20% project, genius hour, and/or passion project. Telling them only that we'll be doing something like this.
- Next I'll show them the rules and go over them briefly.
- They'll have 5-10 minutes after that to search online some more about possible topics.
- Since generating good ideas can feel hard at times, I'm borrowing the idea I saw in a TED talk talk to come up with a list of bad ideas as a class. Hopefully this will help them think more about what could be some good ideas.
The next day I'll give them more time to investigate ideas. We'll also set up their blogs, and I'll show them this one.
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