My daughter had been singing for almost two hours with no break. The song “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” from the Frozen soundtrack was on repeat, and my…
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If you haven’t heard of Genius Hour or 20% time in the classroom, the premise is simple: Give your students 20% of their class time (or an hour each week) to learn…
I remember thinking about doing Genius Hour (or as I called it a 20% time project) in my class for the first time. It was a bit scary. It was…
Creativity isn’t limited to STEM or STEAM or even the arts. Every time a student is designing, building, tinkering, and problem-solving, it becomes a chance to develop a maker mindset….
A few years ago, during the school year, my students and I had a similar problem: There wasn’t an opportunity for me to find out what they really enjoyed doing,…
You may have missed it along the way, but your class has a story. You might have been caught up in the everyday grind, or overwhelmed, or possibly just enjoying…
I often get asked about the steps for running a Genius Hour Project or a 20% Time project in your class. I tend to give the same answer every time:…
We’ve all had our “aha” moments as teachers. Those days where everything clicks, the students are not only engaged but also empowered, and for a minute we remember why we…
Note: I recently opened up enrollment in my Genius Hour Master Course. The course is available to join from now until July 30th. After July 30th we are shutting down the…
If you haven’t heard of Genius Hour or 20% time in the classroom, the premise is simple: Give your students 20% of their class time (or an hour each week) to…
I failed a lot this year (you can read about them all here in my failure report), but also had some amazing successes with teachers and students at our school….
In the five years since doing the 20% Project in my class, I’ve connected with amazing educators doing the same type of inquiry-based learning, whether it be Genius Hour, 20%…
How do I get started? Lucky for you there are many teachers who have already jumped into Genius Hour and 20% Time Projects. Even luckier is that they have shared…
Mohini was a regal white tiger who lived for many years at the Washington DC National Zoo. For most of those years her home was in the old lion house—a…
In the past couple of weeks, I’ve been asked the same question multiple times after speaking, “Do you still believe Genius Hour and 20% Projects are the best way to engage…
It is a new school year and I’m so excited to see many teachers and schools starting Genius Hour or 20% Projects for the first time! As I mentioned to…
In the 14th century, the term “genius” was regarded as a guardian spirit. Yet a person with “unworldly” talent was said to have a genius, because his/her gift (of genius) being a supernatural act. No one…
Students continue to fall into the same trap year after year with traditional schooling. They rarely have a chance to choose their learning path in school, and routinely treat school…
Updated: I’ve updated this post and page since publishing my most recent book about student choice. I’d love for you to add resources you’ve found in the comments section of…
“Is this real, Mr. J?” The question came from the back of the room. Todd rarely spoke up in class, but today he seemed visibly upset. “Yes, it is real….
And just like that…it was over. I’d pitched the 20% time project to my students with only a few days of planning, but it turned out to be the project…
