What is Genius Hour?

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Genius Hour is a growing worldwide phenomenon in education. Based loosely on the Google 80/20 concept, where staff are given 20 per cent of their working week to pursue a passion project, students are given an hour (minimum) each week to explore a topic of their own choosing.

 

Teachers encourage students to explore a subject that they have an emotional connection with (love), something that they have an interest in (interest) and something that they think can change a community, no matter how small or large (impact). These 3 principles of love, interest and impact drive the ideation process for students.

 

Teachers use design-thinking tools to scaffold and develop the students’ ideas into a ‘How might we...’ question that attempts to solve a problem or answer a burning question or need for them.

 

There are myriad resources available for developing Genius Hour in schools, but amongst the most powerful are the stories of teachers and students that are engaged in the process.

 

Students develop skills like ideation, prototyping, problem-solving and working in teams, and teachers become facilitators of the learning, rather than directing the tasks. Students are engaged in each stage of the process because they have chosen the topic themselves, and they can see its purpose in the real world. Students have the power and the authority to develop and create their own knowledge.