So, throughout this series we've talked about what thought partners are, why they are important, and how they can be used to help learners address and practice the life-ready skills (4Cs + 1R).  In this post, I wanted to share how to use thought partnership throughout Genius Hour to encourage learners to think through the process while practicing collaboration and communication with their peers.

I'm most excited about thinking about thought partners through this lens as I believe it has to be potential to take Genius Hour to the next level and cause learners to be even more intentional and purposeful as they move through the 6 Ps of Genius Hour.

The Depth and Complexity Icons from Sandra Kaplan are a wonderful way to encourage learners to go beyond surface level thinking and dive deep in order to truly understand a concept, idea, or strategy. I used the icons in my own classroom and have shared them with teachers as a way to encourage deep understanding in their own classrooms. If you want to know more about each icon and how to use them, check out Why I Love Depth and Complexity and You Should Too from Gifted Guru or Introducing Depth and Complexity from Ian Byrd.

There were many times in my classroom that I wanted students to use the icons to think about something that we were learning, discussing, or reading. I would often just draw out of a bucket so that they knew which icon I was going to ask them to use. I wanted them to experience all of the icons and while sometimes I was intentional about weaving in specific icons, I also loved the idea of randomizing the icons. I recently began to think about how convenient it might be to have the icons connected to a randomized QR code. So, I did some research, learned a ton from Tony Vincent about how to create randomized QR codes, and made it happen. I wanted to share with you guys so that you can use this in your classroom to help your learners dive deep as they move beyond surface level to move toward deep understanding.

In my last post about thought partners in the classroom, I shared that a thought partner is someone who...

1. Challenges your thinking.
2. Causes you to modify or change your paradigms, assumptions or actions
3. Has information or a way of thinking that provokes you to innovate or otherwise leads to value creation in your business, career or life.

Source:  A Fascinating New Concept: How Thought Partners Add Value to Your Business

I couldn't help but begin to consider what this might look like in a classroom that prioritizes life ready skills or the 4Cs + 1R (Collaboration, Communication, Creativity, Critical Thinking, and Reflection).