Independence when it comes to learning in a Jr School Classroom is an interesting phenomenon. The ability to take the investigative questions and to use the skills that they have been taught in order to follow the
3 Rules of Genius Hour is freeing for some, but I am learning that for others the freedom and independence can be paralysing.
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| Ss choosing own learning space |
The majority of my students are travelling along just fine, if not better. They have engaged with the concept, love the freedom and the ability to learn, as well as teach, about something they are passionate about. They are using the knowledge of how they learn best and each lesson set themselves up for success in a learning space that they deem fit for the task. To read more about learning spaces in my class click here (coming soon).
However, there are some students who desire to be told exactly what they have to do at each moment of each day. They do want to learn but they want to learn what they "have to".
The freedom and use of the
skills, not the
knowledge is hard and they just want to be told what they need to know. I guess I feel that what I am promoting and working toward with my students is now a skills based learning experience where they will gain content knowledge, however, the
focus are the skills of learning. Some questions that I keep asking myself include; Does my assessment procedure reflect this? Can it? Should it?
These students are the ones that Genius Hour can have an even greater impact on. These are the students that I can spend my time with and foster the 21st Century Skills of critical thinking and problem solving skills, then onto communication skills for the presentation.
Genius Hour is definitely for everyone, however, it is important to keep questioning how and why. The voice of reason that keeps me grounded at the moment is my
current boss. He makes sure that the big questions of "How is this benefiting the students? How do you know?" remain in the forefront of my mind. For this I am thankful, most of the time. For this reason as educators we must keep documenting and creating the data to prove these different methods and practices in the classroom are beneficial.
Look carefully at the exciting stuff you are doing in your learning experiences and ask yourself:
"How is this benefiting the students?"
"How do you know?"
We will be better educators if we keep questioning too.
I now have a couple of students who are finalising their presentations ready to show their chosen audience in the next few weeks. I have another student who is at the stage of filming his video for his presentation. All are working and learning.
I have created a Google doc that all the students can access and modify, allowing them to both add their thoughts but also see others' ideas. It is also a great way for me to see what the overall goal for each student is, without making it hard for them.
This week, with the start of the online classroom there have been a few comments made purely out of excitement and others who have got straight into the work. These students have used the forum to ask questions, surveying the class about their topic to add to their investigation.
