21st Century Learners

The one great thing about this blogging challenge for July, is it is really guiding me to focus and think about what I want to accomplish next year.

Today's topic from the Big Time Blogging Challenge is about memorable students. Well, there are too many to share. So, I will turn to something that was memorable to them this year and reflect on that.


As a 5th grade teacher, one of the celebrations that my students get to experience is their 5th Grade Farewell. Following tradition, the students each stand in front of the 5th grade families and faculty sharing their memories of their learning journey so far in our district. It is definitely a test for their public speaking skills! I know I would have been nervous as a 5th grader!

Anyways, one topic that came up quite often from my students was that one of their favorite things was Passion Time. Some may also know of it as Genius Hour or 20% time.

While I still experiment to figure it out myself and how to best implement it, I always turn to great resources to guide me more. One educator, who I had the privilege of observing in his own classroom, was Paul Solarz. If you haven't visited his site, please do! I heard of him through a faculty member that I work with. He had setup an observation and kindly asked me to join him. I'm so glad I went! We were fortunate to gain a previous faculty member of Paul's at our school, Allison LaFalce, who is also very knowledgeable about the topic, so I spent many times picking her brain.

Besides visiting websites and blogs, this summer I've turned to some books. I found these books recommended on the Genius Hour website. Before actually purchasing them as resources for myself, I hit my local library to see what I could get my hands on. So far I've obtained...

1. Creating Innovators by: Tony Wagner
 
2. Drive by: Daniel H. Pink (Very recommended from poster sessions I saw at ISTE)
 
3. Invent to Learn by: Sylvia Libow Martinez & Gary Stager, Ph.D.
 
4. 21st Century Skills by: Bernie Trilling & Charles Fadel




Now, I selected to read Creating Innovators first, however my trouble has been finding the time to actually read. Between house hunting, working virtual summer school (I know, you would think piece of cake) and my daughter's schedule, by the time I have a few quiet minutes, I pass out. From what I have read about Creating Innovators, I've really enjoyed. I'll keep you updated as I move forward, however I think any of the books above would be a great start for getting your kids to just have the drive and motivation in class to learn. If you have read one of the books above, or know of another I haven't grabbed yet, I'd love to know your thoughts!

That's Genius!

Nearly every educator who loves teaching with technology has heard of the two famous words "Passion Time" or "Genius Hour" at some point trailing its way through Twitter.

A colleague of mine introduced me to the topic from a conference he attended. It automatically intrigued me and I couldn't stop reading about it. I was referred to the website of Paul Solarz. If you haven't had a chance to meet him or follow his blog/website or Twitter handle, I highly encourage you to do so! (He also has some great information on Mystery Skyping) Mr. Solarz' Website

I had the privilege of being invited to observe Mr. Solarz' students in action, thanks to a colleague of mine, and I am so happy I took him up on his offer. I was blown away by what I saw!

I think many times we get caught up in education with making sure we follow workshops or curriculums that we forget about the students, even though we are trying to help them. One of the great things about common core, is that you can still hit various informational reading/writing standards by allowing the students to explore their own interest.

Passion time is just that, a passion....I couldn't have been more excited to introduce this to my students.

In our writing workshop, we are currently working on informational pieces. I thought this couldn't have been a more perfect time to introduce the idea to them. What better way to strengthen their research writing, but by allowing them to research something they are truly passionate about. Eventually down the road, our passion time will turn into Genius Hour. Right now it works out perfectly because of our unit of study, but in the future students will have that "hour" of time dedicated to them a week where they can purely research the essential questions that intrigue their brain.

Mr. Solarz explains the process very clearly on his website above. I think the important thing is to modify the idea to however you can fit it into your plans and routine.

My first general steps....
1. Have the students brainstorm questions that they have about their interests. (I showed many examples of what Mr. Solarz' students had completed over the year)
2. Narrow those questions down to their top 3. Conference with students to construct an essential question.
3. Since it was writers workshop, we began with an on demand writing piece. You could just dive into their prior knowledge with a chart.
*4. This is where we are right now...I wanted a platform where my students could share their ideas, almost like an electronic portfolio. So, after break, each student began constructing their own google site.

I'm excited to take you along on our journey as well! I look forward to hearing any advice or feedback that you may have from experience too.