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Genius Hour

Self-paced passion projects that students pursue through inquiry-based learning

Overview

Trailblazer students participate weekly in Genius Hour. Genius Hour is a time when students are allowed to explore topics that interest them the most. The instructional focus of Genius Hour is much more about the process of exploration than the content. Students are tasked with researching their topics of interest and teachers help guide their research more through questions than direct learning/content delivery. Students have the freedom to access resources and people in the building who can help with the topic they’ve chosen.

Every classroom defines what time of the week they want to do this (during blocks that aren’t assigned to Math, ELA, or other content areas). In a six-week unit, students will create a research question, develop a project to explore that question, and then share what they have learned with others. Some examples of Genius Hour projects include: researching helicopters, creating a Rube Goldberg machine, and starting a project to help giraffes at the local zoo.



Strategy Resources


GeniusHour.com

This site gives information and resources around what genius hour is and how to implement. Learn More

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Trailblazer Building Schedule

Trailblazer's building schedule shows opportunity hours on Friday mornings, allowing general education teachers to be... Learn More

Time for students to explore their passions

This strategy, created by Unlocking Time, captures how schools create time for students to explore... Learn More

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