Giving Compass' Take:

• In this EdSurge post, a language arts teacher describes instituting a "Genius Hour" for students, in which young people can ponder in-depth questions about the subjects they care most about.

• Could this practice be instituted in a wider scale? How much will it allow students to expand the boundaries of classroom learning and spur them to better outcomes?

• Here's how we can use personalized learning to think differently about teaching.

What would it take to help students find that connection between school and their future? Sometimes, all it takes is permission.

The kind of permission I’m talking about goes beyond raising a hand to share a thought or use the bathroom. As a teacher, in order to empower my students to make this connection, I needed to allow myself to let go of the prescribed daily curriculum, which provided a scripted narrative and a tight timeline to help me hit every standard, so that I could carve out Genius Hour, one hour each week for students to research, explore and create something they care about that will outlast their K-12 years. For my students, it was letting themselves to do something risky and take initiative to pursue their own pathway for learning.

I started implementing Genius Hour in 2014 after watching Daniel Pink’s TED Talk, “The puzzle of motivation” in which he discussed Google’s 20 percent time policy (employees spent 20 percent of their week working on their own passion project). I was inspired to bring Pink’s ideas to my classroom in an effort to make the learning environment less about me and more about my students.

Genius Hour has three rules:

  1. Students must start with an essential question that cannot be answered with a simple Google search.
  2. Students must research their question using reputable websites, interviews, and/or print resources.
  3. Students must create something. Their product may be digital, physical or service-oriented.

Read the full article about how Genius Hour helps kids strive by Jen Schneider at EdSurge.