Reflection

I really enjoyed the Genius Hour framework. I appreciated the freedom to come up with my own topic of interest, but also having the structure of working on it for an hour a week and blogging about it, because that kept me accountable. I think that this systematic approach to learning new things is a good self-development tool, and I would like to use my weekly “genius hour” for other things in the future, such as:

• Developing the perfect protein bar recipe
• Learning to cook advanced Indian dishes
• Yoga practice
• Learning a dance or a musical instrument
• Coding

The options are endless.

I would definitely adapt a GH assignment into my own classroom, because it encourages students to take charge of their own learning. My two teachables are English and science, which could both benefit from a student inquiry framework. Also, because there are unlimited options, more “difficult” students who say they don’t like school only have themselves to blame if they don’t like their GH project...haha.

One of the high school English students I tutor actually told me that her English teacher is asking them to create a GH blog on a topic of their choice as one of their major assignments for the quadmester. Regardless of the topic, just blogging in itself is a very useful communication skill in today’s world.

In science, a GH assignment would teach students how to take initiation in a topic of their own interest, formulate a hypothesis, conduct research, and record their findings. All of these skills are necessary for scientific researchers.

Overall, I enjoyed this assignment. Though it was challenging and time-consuming, I learned a lot and it was very rewarding.