6 Principles Of Genius Hour In The Classroom Genius Hour In The Classroom: 6 Principles Of Genius Hour by Terry Heick Update: We did a t-shirt campaign of this graphic last year and it sold decently (if 13 t-shirts can be considered ‘decent.’). It’s still available if you wanted a t-shirt with a kind of learning model on it. Genius Hour in the classroom is an approach to learning built around student curiosity, self-directed learning, and passion-based work. In traditional learning, teachers map out academic standards, and plan units and lessons based around those standards. Genius Hour is most notably associated with Google, where employees are able to spend up to 20% of their time working on projects they’re interested in and passionate about. What’s The Difference? Genius Hour provides students freedom to design their own learning during a set period of time during school. Sense of Purpose Students must find their own sense of purpose in what they study, make sense of, and create. Design Inquiry & Navigation Create Socialization
Got to Teach!: Four Corners: A Cooperative Learning Strategy (Post 4 of 5) Thanks for checking out this post on using "Four Corners" as a cooperative learning activity in the classroom. If you would like to view the other posts in this series of Cooperative Learning Strategies, you can find them here: "Expert Groups," "Q&A Match-Up," and "Circle Chats." How It Works: Choose four aspects of a topic that your class is currently focusing on.Assign each of these aspects to a corner (or an area) of your room.Present the topic and the four related aspects to the whole group and give the students some "think time."Students can then choose a corner to discuss the topic.Representatives from each corner can share what their respective groups discussed. Why I Love This: Student Choice: Students LOVE when they are given an opportunity to choose. If you're feeling like a lesson needs a quick boost of engagement, keep this strategy in mind!
Got to Teach!: Expert Groups: A Cooperative Learning Strategy {Post 1 of 5} One of the most important elements of teaching is providing students with plenty of opportunities to actively engage in learning with their peers. I have decided to start a five-part series of posts that will outline my favorite cooperative learning strategies that I have used in my classroom. I will begin with "Expert Groups," a strategy that can easily be used in grades 3-8+, and one that I find especially useful when teaching a class of diverse learners. Group your students into 4 equal "Expert Groups" (e.g. The number of "Expert Groups" and "Numbered Groups" are totally flexible depending on the topics you are studying and the number of students in your class. Less Overwhelming- The students can focus their learning on one aspect of a topic, which allows for greater understanding of a concept. How have you used "Expert Groups" in your classroom?
Got to Teach!: Q and A Match-Up: A Cooperative Learning Strategy (Post 2 of 5) In my first post of this 5-part series, I talked about using Expert Groups as a cooperative learning strategy in your classroom. Today I am going to outline the use of what I have termed "Q&A Match-Up." I first saw this strategy used by one of my student teachers as a review activity before a science unit test; my students and I LOVED it! Since then I have used it countless times with just about any subject and/or topic. Create a set of questions and answers based on the topic your class is studying. Versatility: This strategy can be used with almost all content and with varying size classrooms. I hope you find this strategy as engaging and meaningful in your classroom as I do in mine.
Got to Teach!: The Fish Bowl: A Cooperative Learning Strategy {Post 5 of 5} Well this wraps up my 5-part series on some of my favorite cooperative learning activities I have used over the years. If you missed the first 4, you can find them here: "Expert Groups," "Q and A Match-Up," "Four Corners,"and "Circle Chats." How It Works: Divide your class in half. One half will form the center circle, facing inward. The other half of the class will form the outer circle, facing inward as well.The students in the inner circle will discuss a predetermined topic.The outside circle will be listening to the discussion, making note of interesting, new, or contradictory information. Why I Love It: Eases Discussion Management: Since only half the class is discussing at a time, this makes it much easier to manage than a whole-class discussion. Alright!
An Updated Digital Differentiation Model Ten months ago I published a Digital Differentiation model on this blog. I've been using the model to guide the work I do each day and I've been sharing it via webinars and hands-on training sessions.Of course, ten months is a long time in the world of edtech, and I've added some new tools and resources to my personal teaching toolkit, so I decided it was time to update the model and tweak it just a bit. The original article and interactive graphic can still be found on this blog. Technology is a tool that can be used to help teachers facilitate learning experiences that address the diverse learning needs of all students and help them develop 21st Century Skills, an idea supported by the Common Core. At it's most basic level, digital tools can be used to help students find, understand and use information. 3 Components: Essential Questions Student-driven learning experiences should be driven by standards-based Essential Questions. Flexible Learning Paths Teacher as Facilitator
Octalysis: Complete Gamification Framework (This is the Gamification Framework that I am most known for. Within a year, it was translated into 9 different languages and became classic teaching literature in the gamification space in the US, Europe, Australia and South America.) Octalysis: Complete Gamification Framework Gamification is design that places the most emphasis on human motivation in the process. In essence, it is Human-Focused Design (as opposed to “function-focused design”). Most processes design around function and efficiency – they try to get the job done as quickly as possible. Even though many Gamification techniques were in use long before video games were around, games were one of the earliest examples of a holistic approach to implementing Human-Based Design – so now we call it Gamification. In the past few years, I have been digging deep into the formulation of a complete framework to analyze and build strategies around the various systems of Gamification. The 8 Core Drives of Gamification 8) Loss & Avoidance
Vilka elever planerar du för? ”Det finns en tendens bland både lärare och rektorer /…/ att dela in eleverna i ”svaga”, ”starka” och ”medel” efter vad de presterar i olika ämnen. Underförstått finns det en föreställning om vad en ”normal” elev förväntas klara av. ” (ur Skolinspektionens rapport Rätten till kunskap) Låt oss utgå ifrån att det finns olika prestationsgrupper i våra klasser. Alla lärare vet att de har elever som har olika lätt för att nå målen och vilka dessa elever är, men varför planerar vi inte undervisningen utifrån den kunskapen? ”24 av 40 skolor i kvalitetsgranskningen anpassar inte eller bara delvis undervisningen efter elevernas behov och förutsättningar. De som lätt når målen får kanske extrauppgifter, får genomföra uppgifterna med mer utmanande frågeställningar eller får arbeta med komplexare underlag, men alltför ofta är det just anpassningar som görs utifrån normen, det vill säga den planering som gäller för mittgruppen. Att diskutera
BFL + Genreundervisning = Sant Med tanke på de uppskattade inlägg om bedömning för lärande och andraspråksutveckling och kamratbedömning som Robert Walldén tidigare har publicerat på Skollyftet bad vi honom skriva ett inlägg om den rapport han nu skrivit klart. Robert Walldén har skrivit en rapport inom masterprogrammet i pedagogiskt arbete som heter Genrepedagogikens vad, hur och varför i undervisningen av vuxna andraspråkselever och i detta inlägg delar han med sig av sina nyvunna kunskaper och erfarenheter. Kan man ägna för mycket tid åt att analysera sin egen undervisning? Jag upplever att jag åtminstone har tangerat gränsen för vad som är fruktbart under denna termin, då jag återigen har arbetat halvtid samtidigt som jag läser kurser i pedagogiskt arbete och svenska som andraspråk. Inledningsvis vill jag gärna göra de kopplingar mellan genrepedagogik och bedömning för lärande som av utrymmesskäl inte gjordes i rapporten. Genrepedagogiken som gemensam referensram Genrepedagogik och kamratbedömning /Robert Walldén
Lektioner med stationer och gemensam lärarledd läsning Skönlitteraturen och samhället Som jag har skrivit om i tidigare inlägg så läser en av mina klasser i årskurs två på samhällsprogrammet just nu Thérèse Raquin eller Den unge Werthers lidanden. Nu har vi kommit ganska långt i romanerna och som avslutande uppgifter ska eleverna längre fram dels delta i ett boksamtal, dels hålla ett försvarstal (”En författares försvar”) där de ikläder sig rollen av författaren och skriver och framför ett tal där de försvarar sitt verk och sitt syfte inför en kritisk samtida publik. ”relationen mellan skönlitteratur och samhällsutveckling, dvs. hur skönlitteraturen har formats av förhållanden och idéströmningar i samhället och hur den har påverkat samhällsutvecklingen.” … och detta tycker jag att jag kom åt under dagens lektion när vi gemensamt närläste inledningen/företalet i romanerna i mindre grupper. diskutera ”stil, innehåll och bärande tankar” samt ”samband mellan skönlitteratur och idéströmningar i samhället”. Lektioner med stationer skapar variation
20 Questions To Guide Inquiry-Based Learning 20 Questions To Guide Inquiry-Based Learning Recently we took at look at the phases of inquiry-based learning through a framework, and even apps that were conducive to inquiry-based learning on the iPad. During our research for the phases framework, we stumbled across the following breakdown of the inquiry process for learning on 21stcenturyhsie.weebly.com (who offer the references that appear below the graphic). What do I want to know about this topic? These stages have some overlap with self-directed learning. References Cross, M. (1996). Kuhlthau, C., Maniotes, L., & Caspari, A. (2007).
A Teacher's Guide to Differentiating Instruction Introduction Does effectively teaching 30 students in one classroom require teachers to develop 30 lessons, one tailor-made for each student? Or should teachers “aim for the middle” and hope to reach most students in a given lesson? The answer is not simple. While most would agree it is impractical to try to individualize every lesson for every child, research has shown that teaching to the middle is ineffective. It ignores the needs of advanced students, often leaving them unchallenged and bored, while it intimidates and confuses lower functioning learners. What is Differentiation? Simply stated, differentiation is modified instruction that helps students with diverse academic needs and learning styles master the same challenging academic content. How to Start Four planning steps set the stage for effective differentiated instruction. Vary Materials Nonfiction and fiction, written at a variety of reading levels. Vary Process Vary Assessment Conclusion References Good, M. View Full Article