Student Led Learning-Genius Hour Style (with The Friendly Teacher)

This year I started using Genius Hour in my classroom. Now, I teach third grade so my genius hour isn't anything advance. But, the students have fallen in love with the fifteen minutes a day that they get to work on anything that they want to learn about.

The whole idea of Genius Hour is that the students pick something that they want to know how to do, they do tons of research on that topic and then they actually create it. When they are done they present this whole process to their peers.

Chris Kesler has put together some great introductions on this topic so check out this video here to learn more about it!!

I had students brainstorm things that they wanted to learn about. Then, they had to pick a topic that was signed off by me and their parents. We have a 15 minute period of the day that is no new instruction while I work with a small group. So, during that 15 minute period students are instructed to do the research on their topic. Then, once I see that they have a extensive amount of research they can actually create the project. For me, this is done as a early finisher of sorts. If you have everything done that needs to be turned in then you can work on your project. So, for most students this project is taking them over two quarters to complete. Which for me is great!

So far this year I have had a student make me a blanket!

A student make a potato clock!

Other things my students are creating are:

1. Google Site

2. Online Game

3. Stuffed Animal

4. Powerpoint explaining how to care for zoo animals

I love Genius Hour because it is a simple early finisher that allows students to work on something that they are passionate about, it drives them to want to finish their work so that they can work on it and it has helped them to learn new skills and create new things!

Student Led Learning {with Aloha to Second}

One thing that I teach in kindergarten is how to be responsible, proactive, and independent problem solvers!  I think being able to work on your own and problem solve is a crucial skill to know!

One way I help my students be independent and lead their learning is by providing my students with various resources around the room and letting them choose what is best for them. 

They each have a writing folder and within the folder they have some resource pages.  They use this one to help them keep track of their stories and to see if they can add more to their writing. 

Students can also use these orange folders to help them with their writing.  They use these to check letters, sounds, and various words.

Each student also has a checklist in their folder to help them make sure that their writing is neat and ready to read. 

I provide the students with various resources, and then it is up to them to lead their learning and push themselves to be better students.  I love seeing my students grow in their learning when they get a chance to be in charge!

Student Led Learning in Upper Elementary

This is my first year teaching in upper elementary. One of the things that I have really worked on is implementing student-led learning in my classroom. It is definitely an area that I am constantly reflecting on because I definitely see a lot of growth from my students when they lead the learning. It also helps make learning relevant to students.

Since it is one of my goals to implement student-led learning in my classroom, it is something that I am studying up on. I love professional development books and this is my current read.  Let me start by saying it is a FABULOUS read! It has so many great ways to implement student-led learning and design thinking.

 Click HERE to see this book on amazon.

One of my favorite student-led learning opportunities is the design challenge. The only supplies that I gave my students were cardboard pieces, masking tape and poster board (11x11). I learned the hard way that the best thing is to cut the cardboard into strips. The students were able to cut the strips into smaller pieces for their maze. If you give them a box to cut, it will be a disaster. Just warning you now!

My students worked with measurement during this design challenge. They used rulers to make one inch marks to draw out a design grid. They also used protractors to measure angles. They also really got a chance to use critical thinking because we had to make sure that we designed a path that was wide enough to fit our ozobots.

After the design challenge, we worked on programming our ozobots to travel through our mazes. It was a great way to make our design challenge relevant.

I hope that you are able to implement student-led learning in your classroom. I would love to hear about your experiences.

Student Led Learning in Kindergarten

My last few years in the classroom I really tried to achieve a more student led classroom, however I have had a really hard time wrapping my mind around how to achieve it on a day to day basis. Because I am extremely type A, I like to plan everything out the best I can, not to mention letting go of controlling the classroom and the content often goes against everything I learned in college. But I know that by focusing on shifting to a more student led classroom students become more engaged, independent, self aware, and able to find and run with their passions.

One way I have tried to "let go" and give my students more control is through the use of inquiry learning. Using this model I still take time to build background with my students on a topic, but then I really listen to the questions they want to investigate and those questions are what fuels our future learning. 

January is when we begin to dive deep into inquiry with our Antarctica unit. After reading and learning more about Antarctica, students decide what they'd like to investigate further.  Some students may wonder what it is like to visit Antarctica while others want to know what penguins do all day.  We then make a plan to find out more through books, videos, classroom guests, and even video chat when we can. Here are some pictures of our learning:

 

 

We do spend time discussing what collaboration should look like, how to be a great group member, and what to do when things aren't going so well in a group. But overall, I am always amazed at how well students come together and collaborate on their final projects. Kindergartners have tons of passion about their learning and it shows when they are given ownership over their learning choices.

  Want to know more? Here is an example of how I run a 3-4 week inquiry unit on the butterfly life cycle:

You can find this pacing guide and everything else you need for this butterfly unit here:

And other life cycles here:

I hope you will give student led learning a try in your classroom, even if it is just for one part of the day, you will soon become a believer like I did! Happy investigating!