4.3 Assignment: Intensive Systems of Differentiation

Genius Hour

4.3 Assignment: Intensive systems of Differentiation

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Question 6

Genius Hour in the Classroom: 6 Principles by Terrell Heick

I researched the system/strategy Genius Hour.

I would describe Genius Hour as a way for students to pursue/explore what really excites them during a period of time within the classroom. Genius Hour is meant to let students design their own learning for a period of time during school. From what I read, it's main goals are to provide "students a choice in what they learn and how they learn it during a set period of time within a school day." (Genius Hour in the classroom: 6 principles by Terrell Heick)

For me to successfully implement this system or strategy in my classroom I would need to study it more and see probably see it already in action in another classroom to envision how I could incorporate it in the Sped classroom at my individual students levels. The non-negotiables would be for the students to choose their learning and how learning would look for them in the hour. The flexibility would be how I, as their teacher, support them in the process and putting the necessary supports in place for them to be successful.

The advantages of this system is it gives students a sense of independence/ownership in their learning because they're getting to choose what they want to learn about and they get to choose how they go about learning it. The advantages for teachers would be to getting to see the successful framework play out- active learning in the classroom.

Some barriers I could face in the implementation process in the Sped classroom would be how to roll it out. I would need to collaborate with the team of teachers to help them see this as doable at the "genius" level of our students. It's going to require looking at the system a different way and putting in work on the backend setting up structure for the Genius Hour to be a success.

Some experts on this strategy might be the campus Sped Instructional Coaches, the campus GT team, and the Principal and APs. I would need to collaborate with these experts to determine what high quality resources might be available to us -as teachers to support our students in this process.

What are some of the barriers you might face in implementation success?

What are the advantages of this system or strategy for students and teachers?

In your own words, how would you describe the system or strategy? What is it meant to do? What are its main goals for students?

What strategy did you research?

Who are some experts on this system or strategy? What high-quality resources are available to teachers?

How might you successfully implement this system or strategy in your own classroom, school, or district? What are the non-negotiables? What is flexible?