Genius Hour, 20% Time, and Passion Projects
What is Genius Hour? What is 20% time? What are passion projects? 20% Time comes from Google, who has their employees spend 20% of their work time on a project they are passionate about...something that is not in their job description. Some people call this time to explore personal passions and creativity Genius Hour.
This Genius Hour time promotes, supports, and encourages creative, innovative, and critical thinking. It promotes inventiveness and allows individuals to discover and explore a passion, as well as reflect upon and share their learning with others.
What does that mean for us? It means that students in our class will be given one block a week to work on their passion project...to explore a topic that they are interested in, excited for, and passionate about! Watch the following videos to gain a better understanding of this history of 20% time and what Genius Hour and passion projects are all about.
This Genius Hour time promotes, supports, and encourages creative, innovative, and critical thinking. It promotes inventiveness and allows individuals to discover and explore a passion, as well as reflect upon and share their learning with others.
What does that mean for us? It means that students in our class will be given one block a week to work on their passion project...to explore a topic that they are interested in, excited for, and passionate about! Watch the following videos to gain a better understanding of this history of 20% time and what Genius Hour and passion projects are all about.
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This project is not about success or failure...it is about the learning and the experience.
Further, this Genius Hour block that students are being given to work on their passion passion projects gives students time to be creative - a skill and ability that is a huge asset to being successful in life.
For the first term and a half that we have Genius Hour, students will explore any interest of theirs. As long as they can demonstrate their learning, they are welcome to pursue a passion project in any area.
For the second term and a half that we have Genius Hour, students will work on a passion project that will have an impact on either our local or our global community. Again, they are free to choose the path they would like to take, however this time they need to gear the project and their learning towards making a difference.
I hope the students are as excited about Genius Hour and their Passion Projects as I am!