Last week, my students shared their first Genius Hour Projects. It was a hectic week because it was the last week before Spring Break and there were several other projects happening at the same time. Everyone had something to share, even if it was to share what didn't work and what they would do next time. During the sharing time, I was pleasantly surprised to see every student engaged in the presentations. After each student's presentation, the class asked interesting questions and gave some good feedback to the presenter.
I learned a lot during the entire process of preparing for and sharing our Genius Hour Learning. Before beginning the project, students were given this planning sheet. I went over it with each student before they began their projects. I will be making some changes to it before using it again. On the sheet, there is a space for student reflections after each work block. Unfortunately, because of time constraints, students were unable to write their reflections. I regret skipping such a crucial step in the students' learning process. Also, I would not schedule Genius Hour to be done at such a busy time of year where I wasn't able to give entire afternoons to the project.
Despite all of these bumps in the road, the students enjoyed Genius Hour and so did I. It was a great learning experience and we will definitely be doing it again. Here is a glimpse into our Genius Hour sharing.
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