
*Update: If you’d like to learn more about running your own 20% Project – check out my free video course on 20% Time and Genius Hour.
I recently assigned a new project to my 11th grade English students: The 20% Project. Although it’s called a “project”, that term is merely for student understanding and lack of a better word. This project is based on the “20 percent time” Google employees have to work on something other than their job description. It has been well documented, and Google has exponentially grown as a company while giving this 20 percent time.
An Influential Idea
Katherine von Jan explains how Google’s idea came to be in her article, “Pursue Passion: Demand Google 20% Time at School”:
“Google’s “20% Time”, inspired by Sergey Brin’s and Larry Page’s Montessori School experience, is a philosophy and policy that every Google employee spend 20% of their time (the equivalent of a full work day each week) working on ideas and projects that interest that employee. They are encouraged to explore anything other than their normal day-to-day job. As a result 50% of all Google’s products by 2009 originated from the 20% free time, including Gmail. Real break-through happens when we are free from others’ expectations and driven by individual passion.”
When I read her article, and finished Dan Pink’s book Drive, I had to seriously reconsider what I was doing with my students. Extrinsic motivation can only go so far in education, and above everything else I want my students to be people who enjoy learning. However, as educators many times we are constrained by curriculum and standards. This idea came and went during the fall months before resurfacing this December.
In December two things happened that made me decide almost immediately that this had to happen. First, I was part of the curriculum process at my school and really started to delve into the “why we do what we do” questions that allude me most of the time during the daily grind. I also was reading texts about “inquiry based learning” and the “understanding by design” framework. Most teachers would be ecstatic if one of their former students got a job at Google. So…were we preparing students to eventually get this type of job?
Second, I was challenged by Thomas Gaffey (he’s the best math teacher I’ve ever met @tgaffey) to do “new things in new ways” at the Microsoft Innovative Educator program. The 20% time seemed like a new way to engage and motivate students to learn. If we want to prepare students in high school to be life-long learners, assets to their communities, and able to take a successful next step in their academic lives (i.e. college)…then this project would not only change my pedagogy, but also their view on learning after high school.
Assigning the 20% Time
The day after winter break I “assigned the project”. In essence, high school students have spent most of their academic lives being told what to do. Their grades are then dependent on how well they completed the assigned tasks. Most teenagers spend their free time doing things they are “not told to do”. For example, most parents aren’t yelling at their son to play video games, or at their daughter to spend three hours on Facebook. These actions are done because teenagers want to do them (and in part because they are told many times not to do this). My class agreed that most teenagers “want to do what they want to do, and not what others tell them”.
So this project, I said, was me telling them to do something that they want to do, with their time that it is usually spent doing what other people want them to do (that’s a mouthful). The guidelines were simple. Here is the handout:
The 20% Project*
1. For the rest of the year, 20% of your time in my class will be spent working on something you want to work on.
2. It has to be some type of learning, and you have to document it (journal etc).
3. You’ll present your accomplishments to the class twice (and will not be graded on it).
4. That’s it. Have fun. Find your passion. Explore it. Enjoy learning what you want.
X___________________________________________
Mass confusion set in. Most of my students were trying to figure out what the catch was, asking questions like: “So what are we getting credit for?”, “What kinds of things can we do?”, “Why aren’t we being graded?”, and “I don’t get it Mr. J, what are we supposed to be doing?”
After a few minutes more of explanation my students began to come around. I was not going to grade them on this project, but I am going to keep them accountable. Many times in education we believe the only way to hold students accountable is by giving some form of assessment. For this project, they’ll be documenting their learning through writing (also, possible podcasts or video journals), and they will present to the class their “accomplishments” at the end of the 3rd and 4th quarters.
Accountability, Standards, and Curriculum
This type of accountability covers the five major standards of Literature Arts: writing, reading, speaking, listening, and viewing. Even better it hits on most of these specific Pennsylvania 11th Grade Reading and Writing Standards.
Finally, I’ll also tie in their next two “independent reading assignments” to this project, having them choose texts that will help them during the 20% time. We won’t be missing out on any curriculum because of this project, rather it will be a supplement to the learning already taking place in my classroom.
Are some of my students still confused? Yes. Are many of them excited? Yes. Will this idea/project be a success? I don’t know.
I do know that in a year and a half my 11th graders will be faced with the prospect of “doing what they want to do” whenever they want. Many students can’t handle the freedom given at college (or real life) and struggle. Many students also excel with this freedom. The 20% time should give my students the small opportunity (I’m only one class out of their busy day) to explore their individual passions before they graduate. I’m excited to see what this time brings, and whatever happens…I’ll keep you posted,
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Really curious to see how this works out! Great that you’re trying something really new 🙂
Thanks, I will keep everyone posted periodically.
Time for a follow-up post, perhaps? 🙂
I was wondering if you could give some ideas for teens to do on their 20% day
Would want to know how this turns out with such young subjects.
Hows it going ?!
Did you see this NPR story about how college physics teachers would like to drop the lecture format? I thought of it when I saw your article. http://www.npr.org/2012/01/01/144550920/physicists-seek-to-lose-the-lecture-as-teaching-tool
I haven’t seen it, checking it out now.
I am also curious. In fact, I have implemented this as part of the BA Honours program, and have been receiving much flack regarding the assessment criteria. I have created general competency requirements, but admit I am driven more by watching the students ignite their passion than worrying about pleasung our exam board 🙂
Awesome idea. I teach World History and I think that this “project” would translate well to my curriculum. Please keep us posted on how it works out!
Will do!
this awesome to learn about
“And not be graded,” is the line I like best. Years ago, when I was a classroom teacher I also created a project and told the students I would not grade it. I asked them to create a video depicting a scene in American history. Some said, “So why should we do it?” My simple answer was, “Because I am asking you to do it.” One group created a video about the Triangle fire. Another did a revolutionary scene. All were GREAT! Given the chance kids can, and will, do things that are far beyond our (at least my) expectations. Creativity counts more than ever!
I guess you’ll love reading this :
http://youarenotsosmart.com/2011/12/14/the-overjustification-effect/
It’s a bit of a long read, but trust me it’s worth it.
If people are rewarded for doing things they love, they eventually start thinking that it’s the reward which is driving them, not their love for the activity.
By eliminating the reward part (the grades), you engaged your students to do what they loved doing and hence the brilliant results on their part.
How will you ‘enforce’ (or some other word) ‘accountability’? If Johnny doesn’t do some/ any work, how will you get him to do work and/or make up for time lost doing nothing?
This question did come up in my class. I said “if you do not want to take this opportunity seriously and would rather be graded on an assignment, I’ll gladly assign you a different project for the rest of the year that I will grade you on.” He stayed with the 20% project.
The accountability is in the documentation and the presentations. More of a peer accountability than anything else (which I think is powerful). I’d be happy to hear any suggestions!
I do something similar to this with my undergraduate education majors. They freak out. They are so used to being told what to do, how to do it and how they will be graded (with a very detailed rubric) that they have so much difficulty deciding on what they are interested in. So many students resist it and a few tell me after it is over that they loved it and wished they had more freedom in their college assignments.
I can only hope and dream that my own child will have teachers who believe in more than the set curriculum & status quo…
Thanks for the thought provoking post and I, too, look forward to following your project.
Thanks for sharing this, Aj. I have been working on weaving the 20% time into my classes. It works in some groups, not in others. It works with some kids, and not with others. However, the more of us that do this, the better all students will do. I will also get better at it as a teacher. We all need to see it in action. I figured that in a perfect world, I would ‘conduct’ about 2/3rds of the class – texts I choose, skills I focus on, ideas I draw them into. The other 1/3 would be theirs. My main vehicle has been the Multigenre Research Project. The work that has occurred during these projects has been the most exciting and inspiring for me and my students. However, it has not occurred to me to eliminate the assessment piece. Are you assessing the journal piece, communicating with parents if students are non-productive, or just letting go?? I look forward to seeing how this works, and also hearing about your own struggles as you move outside the traditional model. Good luck, and thanks for your courage and willingness to share.
The International Baccalaureate middle years programme has this feature.
See here:
http://www.ibo.org/myp/curriculum/project/
Examples:
http://www.fcps.edu/SouthLakesHS/myp_assets/Personal%20Project%20and%20Certificate%20Information%20Night.pdf
It is a great experience.
When you think about it, the 20% time is pretty funny considering most Googlers are salaried and work 50-60 work weeks (at least from the Googlers I know)…
However in the real world example of Google, who owns what you do in that time? If you create a new application or web service does Google on it?
You’re still being paid by the company and using company resources to produce the work. Even if it’s an original idea, ownership is Google’s.
This is great! There are students who fail at school or just get by with low to avarage grades as they are forced to think inside the box and follow a ‘rule’ based on the teacher’s expectations. Few of these students discover their real ability once they leave school but most don’t as they are fixated on their grade…it’s the small ‘few’ that end up working for places like google.
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Hey, goodluck with “The 20% project”
I am an undergraduate student and it took me 2.5 years of my college life to realise my passion.
You are helping your students realise it much earlier!
This project sounds really exciting to me.
I am curious to know what the students finally come up with!
😀
Keep updating!
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I started this exact same project with my 7th and 8th grade Accelerated English classes just this week. I had a lot of questions too, but not one student asked how they will be graded and I never said one way or the other. I’m having them blog their weekly progress. The kids were very excited. So excited, in fact, that they immediately started working on their 20% project and ignored their other work. I’m going to give them a small grace period to find the balance. I use this with a flipped classroom and thought it would be an excellent fit. I’m anxious to see your updates and I plan to blog about mine soon.
Please do share! Let me know when you blog about it and we will share it out. Keep in touch, and I’ll do the same.
Here is my blog post: goo.gl/gh65T
Awesome! Keep in touch and we will have to share down the road.
I’m a Positive Developmental Psychology graduate student and I’m exploring the idea of “initiative” in high schoolers and adults. American high schools tend to not only not provide opportunities to develop initiative, but actually drive it out of many students. I love this project and hope it goes well for you. Perhaps we can talk in more depth somewhere further down the road once your kids have delved into the project a little more.
Thanks! I’d love to chat down the road.
I’d love to talk. Send me an email anytime.
Great idea, l love it!
How many hours is 20% of your class? Just wondering, because I guess the problem with a business firm is that if people get excited about the idea, they start working too much time on something that it’s not on the business interest. I’m not sure if that would be a problem at school, but if a teachers receives as an excuse for not doing their homework “i was working on my 20% project”, that wouldn’t be good, although it results your plan was a total success haha
Anyway, I’m just wondering how this great idea can manage time, a scarce resource everone has.
No excuses allowed 🙂 – This will end up being about 22 class periods (40 min each) and it is reserved for my class and during my class time. This is a supplement to our curriculum not a substitute. Still, it will be interesting what happens when a student becomes enamored with their learning (but I think that is the point)!
Awesome
This is just the kind of thinking we need in schools!
I applaud you and your administrator for supporting your ideas!
Good luck, I know your kids will do amazing things!
Dave
[…] Google 20% time IN lessons – This is where an innovative classroom teacher in the USA has assigned 20% of every class to students to work on an extended project that they design and research. This is a simple but profound idea that is easily implemented. Here’s link to the blog: Classroom 20% time […]
I’ve been toying with the idea of an “A-Level” project and a “B-Level” syllabus based on very similar motivations. (nb: the A, B terminology is for the sake of conversation, not an investment in “giving” “grades”.) As I’ve been articulating it to folks, students lack agency. They’re neither called upon to make choices nor expected to make significant contributions in much of the massified educational setting.
The B-Level syllabus is a claim on my part that, if students do everything in the syllabus, they can at best receive a B grade in the course. In order to get an A, they must propose, implement, and present an A-Level project… in effect, they must take responsibility for being creative in their own learning.
So, I very much like your idea and look forward to hearing what your experience is with it.
This sounds interesting, a very well thought out and unique way to tackle the same problem. Keep me posted!
Nice work. We have recently started this (to a degree) on my teaching team. Every Friday we have a 50 min period dedicated to personal projects and invention time. Not sure exactly how to proceed but we should keep in touch and share ideas and results.
That sounds great. We should definitely keep in touch.
Please keep in touch, I’d like anyone doing something similar to share out…could be very worthwhile to the teaching community as a whole.
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Awesome!!
I had many of the same thoughts/concerns about how we teach after reading “Drive”, but didn’t know how (or have the guts!) to implement it in my class. Kudos!!
One question that I’m thinking about… Since this is an English class, do you limit their project to “English” learning or could they spend their 20% time learning about Math, it that’s what interests them?
I am thinking about implementing something similar in my Grade 12 Anatomy & Physiology class….should I limit the “learning” to anything related to A&P that interests them or keep it totally open? Thoughts?
Thanks!
They can use their 20% time for anything (any type of learning). I have one student who want to learn a foreign language (or at least get started), another who wants to Code (he joined codeyear.com), and another that want to learn to sing a difficult song. All of these seem worthwhile to me. The documentation and the presentations are more “English focused” and deal with our subject’s specific standards. If you do it let me know how it goes!
[…] The 20% Project (like Google) In My Class | Education Is My Life […]
Kudos to you and others for trying this with your students. I’m thinking it would also be great to create a collaboration space where students from various classes engaged in 20% projects could share, collaborate, and give feedback to each other. Does this seem like a needed or worthwhile component? Or are you focusing on purely independent projects?
Hey Honor. FCP represent 🙂 – Yea, I’m thinking about having a final “student summit” so to speak at the end of the year. I don’t want to get “ahead of myself” or the students as I know there will be speed bumps along the way. But this is a great idea. I think student feedback and peer accountability are the key to this project’s success.
[…] I recently assigned a new project to my 11th grade English students: The 20% Project. Although it’s called a “project”, that term is merely for student understanding and lack of a better word. This project is based on the “20 percent time” Google employees have to work on something other than their job description. It has been well documented, and Google has exponentially grown as a company while giving this 20 percent time. http://educationismylife.com/the-20-project-like-google-in-my-class/ […]
I wish I had been given this opportunity when I was in high school. That has been almost 10 years ago. Since then, I went to a smaller, 4 year college that was close to home. I didn’t have the discipline to keep up with my work. I goofed off, stayed up late, cheated on tests, failed-out, had to get a “real” job, spend 4 years chasing something that I eventually found out, wasn’t what I wanted to do. Today, I just started the last half of a Bachelors program in Network Security and Forensics. Something I WANT to do, and something I LOVE doing. I can’t get enough of it!
I started out thinking that I would spend too much time inside, so I didn’t choose to pursue the computer field. If I had been given this opportunity, I could have researched the career more, learned some programming languages, or even built a computer.
I commend your efforts and will definitely be keeping an eye out for your progress reports!
My colleagues and I are in our second year of a 20% Time experiment with our entire freshman class. I just blogged about our version this weekend.
http://thereadingzone.wordpress.com/2012/01/08/free-form-friday-or-googles-20-time-in-high-school/
It’s amazing to watch the confusion and nervous energy transform into excitement as the students become more and more engaged with their subject of study. I can’t wait to hear more about your project!
sarah
This is great! We really need to stay in touch and compare notes 🙂
[…] jQuery("#errors*").hide(); window.location= data.themeInternalUrl; } }); } educationismylife.com – Today, 1:03 […]
[…] this all sounds a bit cliché. But I don’t care. I teach high school students and coach middle school kids who have their whole lives ahead of them. The possibilities are […]
[…] tech-savvy educator says he knows colleagues who’ve been inspired by Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who popularized “20 […]
Hey AJ,
The book by Jim Collins…..Great by Choice is one that you might want to have the students check out for their independent reading. It addresses this issue. He shares stories about people and companies working consistently in controlled periods, highlighting what they do during that time to create and maintain success. A great read when you have the time.
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Thanks for sharing, have taken this great project and have begun trying to apply the concept to Grade 6 students. Needless to say, they are very excited.
This is a great way to get kids to explore their own interests! My only concern for something like this is for the kids who have trouble with self-direction. I’d be concerned that they would talk about a project they like, but end up falling short and wasting the time given. Would your involvement still be fully engaged? I’m currently working towards my online Master of Education degree at this site: http://www.cu-portland.edu/ and as a future teacher I like the concept, but think more would need to be addressed.
10 Usefull things to remember…
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AJ,
Thanks leading your students into this exciting authentic learning! My class is working on what we call Genius Hour. They love it, and we have experienced some of the same confusion and excitement that your students are experiencing. I love that you are doing it in high school. I teach middle school, and our high school teachers have not got excited about it yet! Can’t wait to read more about it!
Thanks again!
Denise
http://tinyurl.com/geniusindex
[…] AJ Juliani – The 20% Project for High School […]
I wrote up something along the lines of a plan or procedure for implementing “Personal Learning and Creation Time in Middle School.” Comments and suggestions are welcome at:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Personal-Learning-and-Creation-Time-in-Middle-Scho/
Phil…
[…] The 20% Project (like Google) In My Class | Education Is My Life […]
You know, this is something that I will be really interested to see the outcome of. Could we ask you, the teacher, to produce a report of what your kids did by the end of this? Not an reflection on “did this work” but a sort of showcase of “This is what they did”.
Sorry I found this late, but I just found your site through Reddit.
Great article. I’m in elementary SPED., but a 4th grade teacher and I have brain stormed some ideas of incorporating it with the kids social studies curriculum. They were completed confused by having the option to “choose their own adventure” but then it began to click.
How have the parents taken to this idea? And what limitations have the kids run into in class while reasearching? I’m also interestd in the technology aspect for kids to do this work.
thanks
matt
I teach 9 and 10 year olds in New Zealand and I am looking at trialling a 20% project in the next few weeks. I am excited to see where the kids will take this and how we all cope with the lack of success criteria etc.
Hi, just wondering how it went and how you went about the outcome? I teach the same age level in NZ.
[…] curriculum, standardized tests. I appreciate creativity-based projects within school time such as Google 20% Project, Fedex days, and Identity Days, but why is the inclusion of passion-based and creativity-driven […]
[…] Other resources: 1. Huffington Post Article – Pursue Passion: Demand Google 20% Time at School 2. Blog post by teacher AJ Juliani – The 20% Project (like Google) in My Classroom […]
[…] January 4th, 2012 I wrote a blog post describing a new project in my 11th grade English class that took the idea of Google’s “20% time” for my students. Our blog – […]
I guess I’m REALLY late to this conversation! I do 20% time with my students (started in Feb of 2012), but we call it Genius Hour. Denise Krebs (@MrsDKrebs) and Gallit Zvi (@Gallit_Z) started a chat on it the first Wed. Of the month, at 8pm CST.
Anyway… I have Genius Hour because I despised my independent reading projects! I developed my website, http://geniushour.blogspot.com , so I can reflect on how it’s going, and other teachers could help me along the way. If you look at it, check the February posts, first! This coming year it will be a blog to tell what the kids are researching or reading for their Genius Hour!
Thanks for the detailed post – it’s now on my list of teachers trying this out!
Sincerely,
-@JoyKirr
[…] a student-centric, progressive education. Some educators have proposed addressing this gap with Google 20% Projects and FedEx Days at school. But school is not/should not be work (aka employment). The Google Rule […]
I have recently begun working at an alternative school site for kids who have “worn out their welcome” at their regular schools. My students and I have been talking a lot about what motivates kids to learn, and I think the 20% Project is a great idea. Allowing the kids (who are largely ‘low level’ readers and writers) to focus on things that interest them will also help with the behavior issues that come from boredom and the frustration of not understanding the curriculum.
Hey AJ,
My Innovative Psychology class at Penn State is doing a major project on the 20% rule, and we’re including success stories from real-life blogs. I was wondering if I could contact you via email for more information on your experience with the 20% rule in your classroom? Please let me know ASAP, I would really appreciate it! My email is nchaykin@gmail.com.
[…] Suzanne wrapped up the webinar by touching on Google’s 20% project in education, suggesting it as a fun idea related to student-centric education. Google’s 20% project is a philosophy and policy that every Google employee spends 20% of his or her workweek on non-work-related ideas and projects of interest to that employee. The idea to apply this in an educational context was proposed by Katherine von Jan, CEO of RadMatter and a self-proclaimed edu-innovator, in a Huffington Post article entitled “Pursue Passion: Demand Google 20% at School.” She states that “the work outside of the expected, commissioned work produced the most creative, awesome discoveries… and commissioned work just delivers expected outcomes… that schools expect students to demonstrate what we already know, rather than create new knowledge.” She makes the bold statement that “institutions fill our brains with what is known.” A few teachers have tested out this project in class, including AJ Juliani who tweeted to us that it was “a great project and a fun experience” and that lots of other educators are trying it this year. Read more more about his experience on his blog. […]
[…] year I had a lot of fun, and learned so much about my students from our “20% Project”. The post I wrote in January continues to get a lot of views, which makes me think this idea won’t […]
[…] Project for Students from Google: 20% […]
[…] year I wanted to give my students the freedom to be curious. We started the 20% project where they got to work on whatever they wanted for one day a week in my 11th grade E…. What surprised me was how difficult a time many of my students had coming up with something to […]
[…] A.J. Juliani, a high school English teacher in Pennsylvania, implemented the 20 percent concept with his 11th graders. Like the other educators I’ve mentioned, A.J. described his project objectives, but this time, there was no intent to grade them. Instead, he was looking for students to report their “accomplishments”. A.J. looked at accountability, standards and curriculum and required independent reading assignments related to the projects. You can read more about A.J.’s experience on his blog. […]
I, too, suggested the 20 % percent time project to colleagues at a meeting recently and a few if us are eager to begin when our 2nd semester begins on the 22nd. Here’s to exploration!
[…] heard all three “viewpoints” since writing “20% Time (like Google) In My Class” last January. It’s been a year and I’ve learned so much about personal learning time. I’ve […]
[…] http://educationismylife.com/the-20-project-like-google-in-my-class/ […]
[…] and leaders we need to provide time for this attention, which is why I’m such an advocate for 20% time and Genius […]
[…] a proud member of the “20% Time in Education” movement, I can bare witness to all of us “first followers”. Maria Montessori, […]
[…] past year at my school we’ve taken Genius Hour and 20% Time to the next level. After a Fall in service (where we shared about Genius Hour) five other teachers […]
[…] a teacher this has helped me because my classes stayed innovative, and I stayed up-to date on what was happening in education and around the world. As a coach this […]
[…] standards by reaching for a greater depth of knowledge than most curriculum tends to allow. The idea for 20% time in schools comes from Google’s own 20% policy, where employees are given twenty percent of […]
[…] standards by reaching for a greater depth of knowledge than most curriculum tends to allow. The idea for 20% time in schools comes from Google’s own 20% policy, where employees are given twenty percent of […]
[…] standards by reaching for a greater depth of knowledge than most curriculum tends to allow. The idea for 20% time in schools comes from Google’s own 20% policy, where employees are given twenty percent of […]
[…] standards by reaching for a greater depth of knowledge than most curriculum tends to allow. The idea for 20% time in schools comes from Google’s own 20% policy, where employees are given twenty percent of […]
[…] when we kicked-off the course. Next week, the members of this MOOC will be “pitching” their own 20% time project ideas. I’m pumped to share what I will be working on, but even more so to read what others will […]
[…] standards by reaching for a greater depth of knowledge than most curriculum tends to allow. The idea for 20% time in schools comes from Google’s own 20% policy, where employees are given twenty percent of […]
[…] few years ago I tried 20% Time (like Google) in My Classroom. It was one of the most rewarding experiences I ever had with my students. Since then I’ve […]
[…] experimenting with “20% Time” in my class a few years ago, I’ve been fascinated by the research and history of this practice in […]
[…] started the 20% Project in my classroom because I had a room full of 11th graders who had forgot how fun it was to learn. After running […]
[…] the content, while still focusing on the skills they needed to learn. That January we began our 20% projects, and my teaching career changed […]
[…] experimenting with “20% Time” in my class a few years ago, I’ve been fascinated by the research and history of this practice in […]
[…] inspire and motivate my students. Sometimes it worked, but often I would fail to reach all of them. Then one day I gave my students choice. Not some “fake choice” assignment where they could pick one topic out of a box of […]
[…] inspire and motivate my students. Sometimes it worked, but often I would fail to reach all of them. Then one day I gave my students choice. Not some “fake choice” assignment where they could pick one topic out of a box of topics…but […]
[…] and motivate my students. Sometimes it worked, but often I would fail to reach all of them. Then one day I gave my students choice.Not some “fake choice” assignment where they could pick one topic out of a box of topics…but […]
[…] a teacher this has helped me because my classes stay innovative, and I stay up-to date on what is happening in education and around the world. As a coach this has […]
[…] your teachers the flexibility to run 20% time and Genius Hour projects within their subject areas so students can explore their interests and go […]
[…] became fixated on Google after my students started their “20% projects” based on Google’s workplace structure. It changed my classroom for the better, and […]
Thank you for this. Anything that avoids standardized testing is healthy in my book. Now, let´s go to work on the other 80 percent.
[…] obviously a huge advocate for 20% time and Genius Hour in the classroom. I believe inquiry-driven learning experiences and projects allow […]
How did you decide when to take your “20% time? Was is the same day every week? Was a whole class, part of class, or did it vary? Di you make time to at least have a little bit of the 20% each week? I know I’m late on here ,but I hope you still keep up to answer these questions. Thanks!
[…] written a lot about the “20% Project” in my class a few years ago. That class story would looks like […]
[…] written a lot about the “20% Project” in my class a few years ago. That class story would looks like […]
[…] 20% Project […]
[…] I first gave my students the chance to work on their own “20% Projects” I wasn’t sure what would happen. I knew my students had the potential to create amazing things […]
I want to know if this is effective in 5th grade (we are in an elementary setting).
[…] One of the most influential and profitable companies to come out of the tech boom of the 1990s is Google. Aside from providing a wide array of products that the modern American uses on a daily basis, Google rose to the top for its non traditional business practices. One of these is the idea of “20 percent time” where an employee (or student or teacher) is free to pursue a project in a topic that is interesting to them for 20% of the work week. Aside from a few general guidelines, they can use that 20% of the work week as they see fit. I came across some general guidelines that one teacher uses: […]
[…] I spent a lot of time between Thanksgiving and semester’s end reading information and testimonials online and trying to wrap my mind around what 20% Time would look like in my […]
[…] The search-engine giant, Google, allows it’s engineers to spend 20% of their time to work on any pet project that they want. The idea is very simple. Allow people to work on something that interests them, and productivity will go up. Google’s policy has worked so well that it has been said that 50% of Google’s projects have been created during this creative time period. Ever heard of Gmail or Google News? These projects are creations by passionate developers that blossomed from their their 20-time projects. […]
[…] of the week’s learning. Dip your toe into a new strategy like giving students structured Google 20 percent time. Teachers must also ensure that they will use their time with fellow staff members well. This time […]
[…] This blog post from AJ Juliani unpacks one approach. […]
[…] Some more resources on 20-time: The Research Behind 20% Time The 20% Project (Like Google) in my Class […]
[…] The search-engine giant, Google, allows it’s engineers to spend 20% of their time to work on any pet project that they want. The idea is very simple. Allow people to work on something that interests them, and productivity will go up. Google’s policy has worked so well that it has been said that 50% of Google’s projects have been created during this creative time period. Ever heard of Gmail or Google News? These projects are creations by passionate developers that blossomed from their their 20-time projects. […]
[…] a teacher this has helped me because my classes stay innovative, and I stay up-to date on what is happening in education and around the world. As a coach this has […]
[…] The search-engine giant, Google, allows it’s engineers to spend 20% of their time to work on any pet project that they want. The idea is very simple. Allow people to work on something that interests them, and productivity will go up. Google’s policy has worked so well that it has been said that 50% of Google’s projects have been created during this creative time period. Ever heard of Gmail or Google News? These projects are creations by passionate developers that blossomed from their their 20-time projects. […]
[…] students felt the same way at first when I presented them with choice in the 20% project. Other students find this to be the most difficult aspect of Genius Hour or other choice and […]
[…] The search-engine giant, Google, allows it’s engineers to spend 20% of their time to work on any pet project that they want. The idea is very simple. Allow people to work on something that interests them, and productivity will go up. Google’s policy has worked so well that it has been said that 50% of Google’s projects have been created during this creative time period. Ever heard of Gmail or Google News? These projects are creations by passionate developers that blossomed from their their 20-time projects. […]
[…] already jumped into Genius Hour and 20% Time Projects. Even luckier is that they have shared their experiences online, in books, in interviews, webinars, and in courses. I offer teachers a free four-part mini-course […]
[…] were able to demonstrate their understanding of said topic however they chose. Meanwhile, a more open-ended approach might involve students working on any type of learning, as long as they document and present on the […]
Hi! I’m actually a student at a high school right near Upper Perkiomen (PV) and this is my second year doing a 20 Time project for English class. Personally, I have found it to have both positive and negative impacts, but really they are more positive. I love being able to explore my own passion, but sometimes it is hard to figure out how to coordinate this project and other school projects. Here is the blog I am keeping about it:
nineteenplusone.blogspot.com
Don’t be afraid to look at it and share!
[…] were able to demonstrate their understanding of said topic however they chose. Meanwhile, a more open-ended approach might involve students working on any type of learning, as long as they document and present on the […]
[…] That changed the moment I gave ownership back to my students with the 20% Project (Genius Hour). […]
[…] 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 […]
[…] The search-engine giant, Google, allows it’s engineers to spend 20% of their time to work on any pet project that they want. The idea is very simple. Allow people to work on something that interests them, and productivity will go up. Google’s policy has worked so well that it has been said that 50% of Google’s projects have been created during this creative time period. Ever heard of Gmail or Google News? These projects are creations by passionate developers that blossomed from their their 20-time projects. […]
[…] The 20% Project (like Google) In My Class […]
[…] The 20% Project (like Google) In My Class […]
[…] The 20% Project (like Google) In My Class […]
DDo you think this 20% project is geared more to high schoolers, or do you feel it would be appropriate for middle school students as well?
[…] obviously a huge advocate for 20% time and Genius Hour in the classroom. I believe inquiry-driven learning experiences and projects allow […]
[…] something that interests them, and productivity will go up. Google’s policy has worked so well that it has been said that 50% of Google’s projects have been created during this creative time period. Ever heard of Gmail or Google News? These projects are creations by passionate developers that blossomed from their 20-time projects. […]
[…] inspire and motivate my students. Sometimes it worked, but often I would fail to reach all of them. Then one day I gave my students choice. Not some “fake choice” assignment where they could pick one topic out of a box of topics…but […]
[…] inspire and motivate my students. Sometimes it worked, but often I would fail to reach all of them. Then one day I gave my students choice. Not some “fake choice” assignment where they could pick one topic out of a box of topics…but […]
[…] written a lot about the “20% Project” in my class a few years ago. That class story would looks like […]
[…] obviously a huge advocate for 20% time and Genius Hour in the classroom. I believe inquiry-driven learning experiences and projects allow […]
[…] while still focusing on the skills they needed to learn. That January we began our Genius Hour (20% time projects), and my teaching career changed […]
[…] had this same experience with a student (or group of students) while running a Genius Hour or 20% Project in your class. Maybe it is something that worries you about starting this type of learning project […]
[…] Sourced through Scoop.it from: ajjuliani.com […]
[…] That changed the moment I gave ownership back to my students with the Project Based Learning. […]
[…] The 20% Project blog post | #20Time […]
[…] written a lot about the “20% Project” in my class a few years ago. That class story would looks like […]
[…] Juliani, J. (2012). The 20% project (like Google) in my class. Retrieved from: http://ajjuliani.com/the-20-project-like-google-in-my-class/ […]
[…] I spent a lot of time as a teacher figuring out new ways to inspire and motivate my students. Sometimes my antics worked, but often I would fail to reach all of them. Then one day I gave my students choice. […]