The Genius Hour is an entirely new concept just introduced to me whereby students are given 20 percent of the class time to work on something of their choosing. There are great benefits to this teaching approach. Students are given choice. Students love that. They get a say in what they want to do. They have time to focus on topics that they are passionate about. It encourages creativity, collaboration and engagement. If students are encouraged to work on projects where they could connect with experts in a field, they could potentially network and or connect with a mentor. There are so many wonderful things that can develop from the Genius Hour concept in a classroom. I have no doubt that a genius hour block of time would result in some amazing student projects. It is surely something I hope to incorporate into my classroom in the very near future.
8.2 Genius Hour
My Two Cents by Kim Barndt 
Kim,
Perhaps you are taking too much control in thinking about this. There is no reason why your students could not search for their own resources. That would be part of their process in this whole thing. Think about it . . .
Becky
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Kim,
I agree with your cons! I couldn’t agree more when you say the “clock is ticking”. You are absolutely right. I feel, however, that the pros would definitely outweigh the cons because there is so much a student would learn when they are in charge of deciding what they will learn!
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Kim,
Connecting with experts in the field is a huge benefit of projects like this! I’m glad you mentioned that. Finding a mentor can help students expand their own networks. Also, as Becky mentioned, these experts and mentors could also be very useful in providing students with additional resources. Of course, the challenge is to connect the students with the experts. Recently, a student of mine went out on a limb and reached out to a popular blogger that she followed. She ended up doing a phone interview with the blogger. The coolest part about it was how proud the student was that she overcame her fears and connected with this blogger. Students might surprise you with the connections that they have!
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Kim,
I know a lot of teachers have difficulty giving students choices. I think they feel a loss of control. I love giving my students choices. It allows them to take responsibility and provides self motivation. The lack of time and resources can be an issue. You can ask the students to get creative and use something out of the ordinary to replace what was expected.
Dana
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