J: Did I use the right ‘their’ here?
Me: Yes, how did you know?
J: I just guessed.
Me: You only had a 1 out of 3 chance by guessing. Maybe it was just a good guess. Or, maybe you know more than you think you do.
J: (big smile) Maybe.
Conversation
Category: Student Work
Researcher’s Workshop
I have been trying to figure out how to make our daily experience at school more like genius hour. In my science and history classes I have wanted to experiment with “researcher’s workshop.” I want to allow students to choose their topics, based on the essential concepts and skills in the Core, and then let them loose, exploring and researching topics of their choice.
My idea is different than a typical research paper. Students have always had some topic choice when they write a research paper. So, what was different about my new idea?
I asked my students to find a topic ala Carl Rogers, who said:
“I am talking about any learning in which the experience of the learner progresses along this line: ‘No, no, that’s not what I want’; ‘Wait! This is closer to what I am interested in, what I need’; ‘Ah, here it is! Now I’m grasping and comprehending what I need and what I want to know!'”
My request was simple: Don’t start your research until you get to that third point–“Ah, here it is!” Then enjoy asking and answering questions about that topic.
They were then given three hours to research their self-generated essential questions. Not three hours to write a research paper. Three hours to immerse themselves in the learning that they assured me they really wanted and needed to know. I had to keep reminding them to not start their final project yet. “Just learn now. Become an expert.” “You may change your mind later.” “The game you are planning may take an unexpected turn during your research phase.”
I was really pleased with the level of engagement. They watched History Channel DVDs, Learning 360 clips, and an occasional YouTube video, taking notes. They moved from website to website, noting the URLs of their sources. They read children and adult nonfiction. They noted the conflicting information between sources they were reading and viewing. And perhaps the best part? As they learned something amazing, they spontaneously told someone sitting near them. (Or the most enthusiastic told the whole class!)
As I watched them work, I realized most people aren’t often given time (or for adults, take time) to do research just because they are passionate about the topic. Oh, to be sure, we all do research. When we or a loved one have a stake in the learning. When knowing it will get us what we want. For instance, years ago, prior to a job interview, I looked at the web site of the school. It seemed to me, they were overly-interested in reciprocal teaching. It was new to me, so I read everything I could about it before the interview. I just knew it would come up, and it did. I do research sometimes to help myself or another person, but less often for the pure joy of learning. What I wanted for my students was joyful learning.
I told them the project at the end was less important than the research itself. I wanted them to have time to learn what they wanted to on a topic of interest. However, I did want them to use what they learned to be productive and creative (genius attributes), so there was a product due too. Some of the project ideas I floated:
- a web site or wiki
- a Fakebook page
- a narrative or documentary movie
- a poetry collection
- a photographic essay
- a Twitter account of a personality tweeting
- an illustrated children’s book
- other
As we finished this two-week unit and the presentations began, there was quite a variety. We had an iMovie with music created on Garage Band and a web page. We had a simulation activity, a board game, and a Fakebook page, which really showed her learning. There were two paper posters and one of my favorites, an animap of Sherman’s March to the Sea. In addition, there were several Google Presentations. For the most part, students were creative. I’m sorry to say, though, given the excellent experience with the research, I was a bit disappointed in the quality of some of the products. Some were exceptional, but many were mediocre. (Maybe part of that is the fact that school is out for summer in three days!)
The exciting part for me, though, is that I can honestly say during the research time, 100% of the students were engaged for the majority of the time.
In addition to the Social Studies standards we were working on, there were many English Language Arts Common Core Standards introduced or practiced:
- RI.8.1. Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
- RI.8.2. Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text.
- RI.8.8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced.
- RI.8.9. Analyze a case in which two or more texts provide conflicting information on the same topic and identify where the texts disagree on matters of fact or interpretation.
- W.8.6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others.
- W.8.7. Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.
- W.8.8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
- W.8.9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
- Apply grade 8 Reading standards to literary nonfiction (e.g., “Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced”).
Agents of Change vs. Status Quo
Here’s my report back after a few days of history class where students OWNED this standard:
Understand the role of individuals and groups within a society as promoters of change or the status quo.
- Understand that specific individuals and the values those individuals held had an impact on history.
- Understand significant events and people, including women and minorities, in the major eras of history.
They came up with presentations, movies, and blog posts to show how they understood this Iowa Core standard. You can find links to their projects here.
However, when I read this quote from Becca’s blog post, it made me realize this unit was a success:
When we had to present, I saw all the other topics and I saw how hard the people [in history] tried to change the status quo. It makes me want to change things that are important. When you look at how hard they tried to make a change in history, and they didn’t do it just for them–it was for other people who wanted what they wanted.
Related posts:
First Post SBAR and Making the Perfect Cremé Brulee
Second Post Day 2 – Promoters of Change or the Status Quo
Day 2 – Promoters of Change or the Status Quo
Yesterday we started a history unit where I “put the standard out there for the kids to OWN,” as Michelle commented on yesterday’s blog post. Here is the standard:
Understand the role of individuals and groups within a society as promoters of change or the status quo.
- Understand that specific individuals and the values those individuals held had an impact on history.
- Understand significant events and people, including women and minorities, in the major eras of history.
I was impressed with the work the students have done since yesterday. Some of the students are doing more predictable subjects in history–those who have promoted change and those who have promoted the status quo:
- Rosa Parks
- Ku Klux Klan
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
- The North and South in the Civil War
Some students have found lesser-known people in history who have done great things:
- Augusta M. Hunt – Relative of Helen Hunt who was a leader in women’s rights in early 20th century Maine
- Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. – 1932 West Point grad and Tuskegee Airman
- Lucy Terry Prince – Former slave, amateur lawyer and poet
- Kenneth James Weishuhn – a 14-year-old aggressively bullied to death by promoters of the status quo
- Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhie – three black circus workers who were lynched in the northern city of Duluth, Minnesota
- Pearl Harbor and the United States’ neutrality in early WW II. They are asking an interesting question. Is there really such a thing as neutrality or was the U.S. promoting the status quo by trying to stay out of the war?
The last two days we have had rigorous and relevant historical conversations.
Update – Here’s my report after we finished.
Noveling, the Common Core, and More
NaNoWriMo’s Young Writer’s Program is a growing part of my eighth grade curriculum. We wrote rough drafts in November. In February, we started on what I thought would be a one-month journey of revision and editing, but it is turning into more like two months. That’s three months in all, and the jury is still out on whether this has been a good use of our time, so I needed to do a little reflection.
Previously with Novel-Writing 8th Graders
Three years ago, NaNoWriMo was a voluntary assignment, with about 2/3 of the class participating. The rest of the class did other writing assignments. A bit more than half of the novelers chose to continue with the work of editing, most of it on their own. Proof copies were ordered in the summer.
Two years ago, 100% wrote first drafts in November (it became an assignment for everyone that year), and 85% edited (much in a short exploratory course and then some on their own). We ordered proof copies by the skin of our teeth, and celebrated our accomplishment the last week of school.
Now, this year, with three months on the line, is the experience worthwhile enough to take English time to get the process done for everyone? 
Noveling and the Common Core
I compared the noveling, revising and editing curriculum to the Common Core standards in Language and Writing, and the students have really grown in the standards I looked at. The following five images are the complete standards for eighth grade in Language and Writing. I made notes in red regarding student work on this project:
Language Common Core
Writing Common Core
More than the Common Core
Clearly, with this project they are doing the work of writing and developing written language skills. In addition to these important skills in the Common Core, the 8th graders are also learning to…
- follow their dreams
- believe in themselves
- recognize their creativity
- know they are a genius, and the world expects their contribution*
- make decisions about what to do in school
- develop passion for their own assignments, not mine (On an aside, one of my greatest sadnesses as a teacher is when a student says, “Is this what you want?” I can honestly say, in three years, no one has ever asked me that question regarding their novel. It is strangely theirs from start to finish, even though I have many benchmarks, requirements, and, come editing time, I comment all over their Google Doc like an overachieving street tagger! I am constantly having conferences and mini-lessons with individuals. [Note to self: Next year bring in backups–parents and retired teachers who can help.] BUT, they do the work and want to. They know they are getting a proof copy and want it to be good. No student has ever said, “That’s OK, I’ll just keep this plotless wonder with all its mistakes.” I back off when I realize I’m asking too much. When one has 339 errors of the same kind, it can be a bit daunting, so I help as much as possible and we’re becoming pros at using the find and replace feature.)
- and so much more
Maybe the jury is closer to a decision than I thought! I’ll let you know after we get all the books ordered!
Additional Resources
For more on my experience with NaNoWriMo, here is an index to additional blog posts about it.
Download Common Core Standards.
* Angela Maiers
Using iMovie as a Teleprompter
Krayton took the role of President of the United States for a history assignment recently. She typed her speech into a scrolling credits text box on iMovie. She played with it for a while to find the right speed.
After practicing, she opened Photo Booth and started it videotaping. Then she started the “movie”, which was only scrolling credits. When you do this, Photo Booth is actually in back of iMovie, so the distraction of having to look at yourself while it’s filming you is not there. Make multiple scrolling credit clips if you need more than a two-minute speech, as there seems to be a two-minute limit, at least on iMovie ’08. There will be a big gap, where you just take a break. Then continue to speak when the next one begins.
During breaks and when she messed up, Krayton just kept the camera rolling. After she gave the whole speech, she edited the movie on iMovie. Here is her final project.
Student Evaluations of #GeniusHour
#Geniushour was last week. Students products are posted here. The following post has their answers to evaluation questions about their work during #geniushour.
NOTE on 12/6/2011 – The last student finally completed the evaluation, so I am updating the stats below with all the student data. I’m also using a new feature I just learned today–“Show Summary of Responses,” a feature on Google forms. Easy!)
Like Tia’s class is doing this week, we actually ended up with about 100 minutes of genius. When asked to evaluate the time frame, more than half the students thought there was not enough time.
Suggestions for making genius hour better…
- Have more time (echoed by 9 students)
- More teachers to help with questions to improve our learning experience
- More of a heads-up so that we can bring what we need
- More classrooms so that it isn’t so loud and crowded
- It might have been better if people knew what they were doing before they started and not have just thought of something last minute.
- It would be better if people didn’t mess around and just got to work and knew what they were doing.
- How I think that genius hour would be better is that you could bring in new games for us to play so we learn something new every time.
- Genius hour would be better if it was on a Monday so we have something to look forward to because usually Mondays are long and boring. I think genius hour should be on Mondays, so Mondays aren’t so long for the class.
- To be able to have groups of maybe 4 or 5 at the most.
- It could have been more organized; it was sort of chaotic. (echoed by 2 others)
- Refreshments
- Drinks
- Music
Something I learned or a mistake I learned from…
- When we made the collage out of our pictures that we had edited, some of the collages would change the way our pictures looked. We worked through it helping each other. Plus when we needed a scanner because one person didn’t have any digital pictures, we used the computer camera to take pictures of her hardcopy pictures.
- I learned how to film a video while we were acting. My group wanted to have someone else film for us, but we figured out how to do it without anyone filming.
- I learned that being independent is good. Trying new things is awesome. And I think everything went pretty good.
- Next time I will plan out what I would say in the video.
- I would have used 3 desks instead of 2, so it would be more sturdy and my project wouldn’t fall off.
- I would have used thinner wood for the birdhouse.
- I learned a lot about how the plane did not fly.
- Next time I would make something better.
What I enjoyed most…
- That I was able to learn about what I am interested in, not what we have to know and teachers going cram cram cram. I learned some of my writing limits.
- Not being told exactly what to do. (echoed in similar words by 6 others)
- I liked that we were able to do whatever we wanted to try to contribute to the world.
- Getting to work with your friends, trying new things on the computer, having our own independent time to work. Acting out and filming the video.
- That we had plenty of time to get everything done.
- It was fun; we created some really cool things. Thought of things that I might never have thought of writing about.
- What I like most about genius hour is that you can do whatever you like from videotaping to coloring to learning about a new program. You can always learn something new in genius hour.
- My favorite part was seeing what everyone did.
- Being with my friend.
- Making the bird house and filming it for others to see.
- I enjoyed Genius Hour. I think it taught us that we as 7th and 8th graders can change the world with our genius.
Genius Hour Report
Well, today was the day! It has been three weeks since I decided to hold #geniushour with the junior highers. (I’m spelling it like the Twitter hashtag–join us by sharing on Twitter your #geniushour comments, resources, and activities.)
Over the past three weeks, I gradually introduced the students to the idea of #geniushour, and they began to let their ideas percolate. Finally, this week, I suggested students get a pretty sound idea ready. I wanted them to get right to work when it was time. I’m not sure if that was the right thing to do or not. I was surprised that about three students told me this morning that they didn’t know what they were going to do yet. That didn’t last long, though. With a little discussion, each one soon had an idea or a partner to join.
I took Nancy’s advice and allowed them to choose partners based on interests. It certainly made more sense like that. The way I initially envisioned it was to put them into random groups of three on the morning of #geniushour. The day would have been totally different that way. As it turned out, on Monday some of them had already recruited a partner and decided what supplies to bring. I hadn’t thought of supplies–time wouldn’t have allowed us to wait until #geniushour started to gather supplies.
Students and I had created this Rubric of Creativity a couple days ago, so they would be able to prepare for and later evaluate their #geniushour work. I promised them that no grades were going to be recorded for their work today, but in future #geniushours we might need to record grades. If so, I will definitely let them grade themselves using the rubric, for honest self-reflection is a characteristic of creative genius.
We had about 1.25 hours scheduled for #geniushour and we could have used more! We even dipped into our sharing time to finish up some of the videos and other presentations, so we actually went about 1.5 hours. One thing is true, #geniushour was exhausting. We were energized with learning, but we were tired afterwards.
I warned students before they started reporting that they were not to say any version of “Huh?” or “That’s not genius” or anything that remotely resembled disrespect! As soon as they started sharing, though, I could tell that it hadn’t been necessary. The students were nothing but respectful and engaged during the sharing process. They loved seeing what their classmates chose to do. We ran out of time, though, so they will finish sharing on Monday because we are now on a long holiday weekend. (Another post later on the products of their labor.)
Comments from teachers who were involved:
- One group of kids changed their idea after re-reading the rubric.
- They continued to talk about their project with other students after their presentation was done. They were still talking when they went into the lunchroom.
- They were able to decide what they were going to be “learners” of instead of us.
- I saw engagement and student-centered learning. I saw excited students holding themselves accountable! (from our principal)
