Monday, February 4, 2019

6 Ps of Genius Hour Global Grid

I have exciting news and I absolutely can't keep it in any longer! The 6 Ps of Genius Hour are going global! When talking about Genius Hour, we often talk about the importance of an authentic audience. While it sounds like a great idea, finding ways to connect our learners is not always easy and can often seem like more work.

Because I'm no longer in the classroom, I miss being able to give feedback, share ideas, and help learners make connections through their Genius Hour projects. I was recently trying to think of a way to solve both of these issues. I realized that while I've been encouraging educators to create their own Flipgrids for Genius Hour, it would be more beneficial to have a Global Grid for students to share ideas, give each other feedback, and connect with other learners all over the world.

The 6 Ps of Genius Hour is a process that I created to help Genius Hour make sense to my learners. Throughout the process, my students would identify their passion(s), plan their project, pitch their idea to their peers, work on a project to develop a product, and then give a presentation.


CLICK HERE for a PDF with links to the tech tools.

Within the grid, there is a permission slip to send home to parents, instructions on how to use the grid, and videos for students to watch to understand what they need to do in order to share their ideas, reflections, and thoughts. In each of the topics, I have recorded to a video sharing encouraging words and what needs to be posted.

My hope is that this grid will help our learners practice life-ready skills such as collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking, and reflection while pursuing their passions. I hope that it impacts educators and learners all over the world and gives us all an opportunity to work together to make a difference in the world. Selfishly, it will give me an opportunity to connect with learners and help them with their projects just as I did with my own students while I was in the classroom. I miss seeing those lightbulb moments and watching my students light up when they were successful or persevere when they experienced failure or frustration.

If you would like to learn more about the 6 Ps of Genius Hour, you can check out my book, Genius Hour: Passion Projects that Ignite Innovation and Student Inquiry or the 6 Ps of Genius Hour Online Course. Both resources are a deep dive into the process and will help you as an educator find ways to weave the standards and life-ready skills into your Genius Hour time with your learners.

Access the Genius Hour Global Grid HERE!



Some important tips for using the Genius Hour Global Grid in your classroom...

1. Obtain permission from parents before allowing students to post.
2. Remind students to use communication skills (eye contact, nonverbal skills, listening) when sharing ideas, giving feedback, and learning together.
3. Use this as an opportunity to discuss digital citizenship and remind students to promote themselves positively.
4. Allow students to record as many times as they would like in order to share their ideas. This many be new for many of them and it's important that they are given the opportunity to produce a video that they feel comfortable sharing.

I am so excited about this and can't wait to see what happens! I look forward to hearing how the 6 Ps help you and your learners make Genius Hour a reality in your classroom!