Accessing Our Creative Genius

Every week at the beginning of Genius Hour, I show the kids two or three videos of amazing ideas. I call this little time slot "Creative Genius". It is a good time to show kids that people are out there thinking up simple, elegant solutions to everyday problems. First they see a problem, then they try to find a solution, testing each iteration of the solution along the way. Finally, they have a viable solution to the problem. This is what Genius Hour is all about. I want kids to access their talents and abilities to create, innovate and solve problems.

Often kids don't think they can make their mark on the world. After all, they're just kids. By showing them all of these ideas, I try to broaden their knowledge base and stretch their imagination. Maybe they hadn't thought of the Power Puff Lamp or Shoes that Grow, but they can think of many other solutions to problems. I want kids to aspire for more than they thought they could achieve. I want them to perceive themselves as inventors, creators, and innovators. They have to change the way they see themselves in order to be confident enough to take that leap. Thus far in school, most kids believe that they are the passive recipients of knowledge. We have to give kids the opportunity to try, fail and try again.

Over the past few years, I have seen kids gain confidence in themselves during their Genius Hour experience. Their perceptions change. They are no longer just students; they are also writers, techies, YouTubers, inventors, chefs, and builders. Kids realize that if they were able to dazzle with their Genius Hour project, they can do anything. This kind of learning is difficult, much more difficult than traditional school learning. Not only do kids have to complete the assignment, they also have to construct the assignment.

In a few weeks, we will conduct Pitch Day, a chance for kids to share their ideas and goals with others. I am incredibly excited to watch as kids take their first step toward independent learning. They will crash. They will fail. They will get frustrated. Doesn't that sound like the learning we do as adults? They will also try again. They will succeed. They will have those "A-ha!" moments. They will be so interested in the projects that they created because they are based on the kids' passions that they won't every quit. This is a long journey that we are on and we are only at the beginning.

Preparing for "The Pitch"

Over the last few years, Melissa and I have learned that we have to give kids lots of time to come up with their project ideas. One year we tried to rush things, giving kids only a couple of weeks to think. Well, that didn't work very well; we had a lot of kids change projects because while they were doing their project, they discovered their real idea. Kids naturally have a lot of starts and stops. Some will latch onto an idea before we introduce Genius Hour. Some will struggle for weeks. We have to accommodate both kinds of learners. So we give time. We give time for kids to converse, wonder, think and imagine. We ask kids to start researching their project idea because after their initial research, kids will either confirm that their idea is awesome or realize that their idea isn't for them.

Over the last few weeks, we have been doing a lot of idea-generating activities. These activities are important because kids need exposure to many ideas and they also need time to reflect and talk to others. Through these conversations and reflections, they begin to flesh out their ideas. This is what learning is all about, attempting new things and reflecting on those attempts. Do all of the kids have ideas at this point? No. Do all of the kids have some idea of the talents they want to use for their projects? Nearly all do.

In a few weeks, kids will pitch their ideas. In the past, because of our situation, we were able to have pitch committees of adults who saw these pitches, like in the television show Shark Tank. Because of my current situation, I don't have those resources at the ready so we will do things differently. My goal is to have Pitch Day work a bit differently than the past but not too differently. I may be able to get another set of adult eyes to help me form the Pitch Committee. I may not. The structure of my new school may not allow the time resource for that adult. That's okay. Each student will give a 3-5 minute pitch presentation. They may use any technology they would like to help us visualize their goal. They will present to our class and any other adults I can get in the room during that time.

Feedback is important for the kids. The committee has always given the students feedback on style, substance, and presentation. This year, kids will still get feedback. Some of that feedback will come from me, some will come from other adults in the room and some will come from the other students. Now, most of our kiddos have not had the opportunity to make many presentations so this is a skill that is under development. We will model a good presentation, we will help kids prepare and we watch them excel. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing our students accomplish something that they didn't think they could do. They get such a boost in confidence and begin to see themselves differently. They begin to see that they are in charge of their own learning and that they have more control over their learning than anyone else.

Not only are kids learning the content that their projects will require, but they are also learning secondary and tertiary skills. Kids will learn to prepare, to speak in front of an audience, to walk with confidence, to create an effective visual, to offer and accept feedback. Sometimes these skills may make up the foundation of the kids' careers later in life. By including a variety of skills for the kids to learn, we are making sure that kids see their potential as learners. Through completing their Genius Hour projects, we think that the kids will fulfill this potential.

The Eureka Moment!

Our kids are still working on coming up with great ideas for their Genius Hour projects. When I surveyed the kiddos the other day, about half knew what they wanted to do while the other half was still searching. Melissa and I learned years ago that the idea is the key to the projects. If a kiddo is cavalier about the idea, then the project will flop. The project must center around an idea that the student is passionate about. We're looking for that "Eureka Moment". For instance, a few students told me that their idea this year was "fundraising". When I asked what they would be raising funds for, they had no idea. Their project did not have a purpose. We talked about the purpose behind the idea and I think that these kids understood. They may or may not continue along the fundraising track. They will consider the purpose of their project more carefully now.

Since the Bad Idea Factory, we have done a couple of exercises to help kids dig down to their real interests and passions. One survey asks kids questions like, "What are a few things that you have always wanted to do physically that you have not been able to do yet?" and "What are a few things that you have always wanted to learn about but have not had the opportunity yet?" When kids think in these terms, about things they'd like to learn or accomplish, instead of an idea for a project, then the idea they come up with should be more meaningful to them. 

This past week, we did a sharing exercise. Kids grouped up and interviewed each other about their project idea. I was hoping that when the kiddos talked about their ideas, there would be conversation around those ideas and brainstorming would occur. Sharing ideas often leads to more and better ideas. I think that happened in several cases during this exercise. I also had the kids browse the Bad Idea Factory. There are so many good ideas, or ideas that could lead to good ideas, on the wall. I had kids write down all of the ideas that they liked. Needless to say, kids turned in lists that features about a half dozen ideas each. The purpose of our idea exploration session was to expose kids to all kinds of ideas. Who knows, maybe an idea that they talk about or see will lead them to the idea that will ultimately become their project. We know that will only happen if we talk about ideas, share ideas and expose kids to as many ideas as possible. Only through a deep dig into each child's passions combined with exposure to lots of ideas will kids ever reach their "Eureka Moment". 

The Bad Idea Factory

In previous years, Melissa had always done The Bad Idea Factory in her classroom. This year, we did it a bit differently. The huge whiteboard in my room often becomes a place for conversation among students. Sometimes when the kiddos walk in, there is a question on the board and they put answers up over the course of the week. A few weeks ago, we turned that space into our Wonder Wall and the kids had a lot of questions to post. The space has become communal and conversational. The Bad Idea Factory was no different.

I ran things just like Melissa did in the past. I introduced the concept of ideas germinating and morphing into other ideas. We talked about how someone can take one idea and come up with something completely different because their mind was able to move from Point A to Point D. Kids understand this and they have good ideas. Often the problem is that we don't ever ask them what their ideas are. Genius Hour depends on the kids' ideas. Those ideas are the entire content of the Genius Hour program.

"Think of things you're good at, you'd like to make, you'd like to invent, problems you would like to solve," I told the kiddos. "Write them on the slips of paper and post them to the board." They did. The ideas kept coming and coming. Now, sometimes we have kids who are a wealth of ideas; they cannot get enough slips of paper. Others come up with one or two and "can't think of anything else". We push those kids just a bit more to really dig down, read the ideas that others are posting, and try to come up with more. Often they do. When we are done posting, the kids take a few minutes to browse the board. There are a lot of laughs and a lot of "that's cool" comments. 

As the days went by after we did the Bad Idea Factory, many of the kids realized that those were not bad ideas on the board. They were really good ideas. We talked about that in class, how things that we initially think are bad ideas are, upon reflection, pretty good ideas after all. We talked about how self-editing can be devastating because if we don't even put forth an idea, we'll never know if it can work. One girl, Destiny, even took it upon herself to change the word "bad" to "good". Now, on our whiteboard wall, we have The Good Idea Factory. 

Podcast: Harmonized Learning Episode 56

In this episode, we talk about parting ways at the end of last year, our new jobs and Don's Genius Hour program (with Melissa as consultant) at East Naples Middle School in Naples, FL. You can subscribe to this podcast on iTunes.

We Are Underway!

Since August 15, I have been mentioning 20% Time and Genius Hour to my kiddos in the hopes that it would raise questions in their minds about what we will be doing. They asked and they kept asking. Finally, last week, we kicked off our program. I tweaked the presentation that Melissa and I used to do in order to fit my new situation and spent a full 90 minutes talking to the kiddos about the potential of this project. It was obvious from our conversation that very few of my kiddos have experience with anything like this. That is to be expected. In schools, we normally don't give kids voice and choice. We try but the curriculum and pacing guide usually rule the day and so we must "cover" material. Genius Hour is the opposite of that. In Genius Hour, kids get a chance to really delve into a topic of their own choosing, construct a project around the learning that they want to do and make almost all of the learning decisions along the way.

During our kickoff, a few kids immediately had ideas. Most did not. Part of the challenge for kids in a Genius Hour setting is coming up with a good idea. In a classroom setting, the teacher normally tells the kids what they will be learning so kids are trained to be passive receivers of the assignments. For most, Genius Hour is the first time in their lives that they will be active learners who will drive the project ideas. This change will be frustrating and painful for most of the kids but they will be so much better off when they emerge on the other side. Genius Hour is amazing more for how we train the students to become lifelong learners than for the actual projects that are completed. 

Many kids had "How..." questions. I just kept saying, "Trust in the process. We just go one step at a time." The program that Melissa and I designed and implemented is a deliberate process-oriented program that will help the kids develop one step at a time. Students will figure it out and take off at different times this year. That is awesome. The kids who are more confident in their learning will soar early while the kids who are more teacher-dependent will take longer to take flight. Because each student is a different learner, each student gets exactly what they need in order to become more independent. 

Explaining all of this to the kids in addition to watching a couple of TED Talks (Ken Robinson's "Are Schools Killing Creativity" and Daniel Pink's "The Puzzle of Motivation") had kids' heads spinning. That is great! I want the kiddos to use their brains to make sense of what they saw and heard. I want them to unlearn many of the traditional school behaviors that have been ingrained in them and try something new. For many, this is a scary proposition but we learn the most when we're uncomfortable. These kiddos were uncomfortable!

It's On Again!

For the last several years, my teaching partner, Melissa Hellwig, and I have implemented a pure 20% Time program with our kids in Webster Groves. The program took off and soon we found ourselves immersed in all things 20% Time even to the point of conducting PD sessions and conference presentations. At the end of last year, with my move to Florida and Melissa's new job as an assistant principal, we thought that our journey together was over. Well, not just yet.

In a week or so, I will introduce Genius Hour to my kids at East Naples Middle School in the hopes that they will achieve as much success as the kids in Webster Groves. I have a good feeling that they will. Melissa has agreed to consult on our program. She will help me tweak Genius Hour to my new kids, school and situation. I am ecstatic because I know that so many of the improvements that we have made to the program over the past few years are the result of conversation and "thinking out loud". We have a synergy that really seems to make us better thinkers and idea generators.

When we talk to teachers about the differences between Genius Hour and 20% Time, we note the difference in project time. 20% Time, we say, is a year-long investigative project. Genius Hour projects are usually for a shorter term. This year, my first year at East Naples, we will do Genius Hour projects. I still have not worked out the logistics to make the kind of program that the two of us, working together, we able to carve out in Webster Groves. I am taking our advice by starting small and expanding over time.

The logistics are tricky. This will be a long-distance collaboration and fortunately we are techie enough to make it work. We still plan to tweak the program together, podcast occasionally together and even Skype Melissa in for the high-stakes days (Pitch Day, Idea Showcase, etc). This collaboration will be new for us and interesting as an educational experiment. Needless to say, we are stoked to be working and creating together once again.

I have already tweaked our Genius Hour blog, Harmonized Learning, to reflect some of the changes. Please follow along to see our new journey this year. My kiddos have been gradually accepting the fact that they can make many of their learning decisions. As they grow into more independent learners, I am confident that these kids will buy into the program and showcase their genius in ways that surprise us all. Every year we are "wow'd" by the learning that kids do. I know that this year will be no different.