I still can't believe our current circumstances and wake up every morning thinking about how we can make the most of the hand we've been dealt.  As an educator that believes so much in this generation of learners, I refuse to simply see this as an obstacle.  One of the benefits of this time is the opportunity that our students have to become more self-aware as they find ways to make connections and learn by doing. 

It makes so much sense to make Genius Hour a priority during this time.  Giving students the opportunity to learn through the pursuit of their passions has the potential to reignite a love for learning and help them make connections to not only content but also social-emotional and life-ready skills.  Below are a few more of the benefits to giving learners the opportunity to pursue their passions:

• The opportunity to learn by doing
• The opportunity to practice life-ready skills
• The opportunity to practice social-emotional skills
• The opportunity to learn from others
• The opportunity to apply what they know

What does Genius Hour at home look like and how can we support our learners remotely as they work on their projects?  I think there are some important things to consider as we decide how this can be implemented:

• What process will you use for Genius Hour?  (In other words, what steps will my students follow as they work on their projects.) - In my classroom, we used The 6 Ps of Genius Hour.  I created this process as a result of my students needing a "road map" as they worked on their projects and shared their work.  Denise Krebs uses a process called the 6 Steps of Genius Hour.  This is  a great road map as well.  
• What platform or technology tool can be used to document learning along the way? - There are so many ways to set Genius Hour up in a way that it runs itself.  It could be set up in Flipgrid (see blog post), Thrively, or even an LMS like Google Classroom.
• How will you communicate and give feedback throughout the process? - Communicating and giving feedback will be important throughout the entire Genius Hour process.  You can provide that feedback through the same tool that you use to set up the process, use rubrics, set up conferencing through Zoom or Google Meet, or a implement a hybrid of these ideas. 

I believe so much in the power of passion-based learning simply because of how it impacted my learners and myself in my classroom.  I have constantly considered how to help teachers make this a reality throughout the remote learning experience and beyond. Below are two ways that you can access ready-made #geniushourathome resources that I created.  If you need to create your own process, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.  Genius Hour is super personal and you have to do what works for you and your learners.  However, if you feel like either of these resources will be helpful, please use them in any way that you can.

Genius Hour at Home - This is just a Google Site that I created for students to use as they work through the 6 Ps of Genius Hour.  I've created a video for each step that explains what they need to do as well as shared resources for them to use along the way. There are slides that they can complete as they work to document their learning.  I've also created a Teacher Information Page for you to use as you consider how you can communicate and set up the entire process using Flipgrid.  This resource is super simple and easy to use.

The 6 Ps of Genius Hour Playlist in Thrively - I'm super excited about this!  I love Thrively as it's a wonderful way for students to find their strengths and pursue their passions.  I have a created a playlist in Thrively that includes:

• Teacher Guide
• 2 Lessons
  • What is Genius Hour?
  • What are the 6 Ps of Genius Hour?
• 5 Projects
  • A Passion for Astronomy
  • A Passion for Technology
  • A Passion for Fine Arts
  • A Passion for Life Science
  • A Passion for Helping Others 
• 5 Goals
  • Collaboration
  • Communication
  • Creativity
  • Critical Thinking
  • Reflection

The playlist also includes videos from me and instructions for learners to follow as they work through their project.  They will be able to document their learning through text, video, and/or audio using the Collaboration Feed.  

This playlist is available for FREE until June 30th!  Check it out by creating an account in Thrively, finding The 6 Ps of Genius Hour playlist, and using the code 6PSANDI as the promo code when you check out.  

I hope that these resources are helpful.  If you are wanting to make Genius Hour a priority during this time and need any help at all, please reach out.  I am more than happy to help in any way that I can.  ​

So, I've been thinking about the word pivot a lot lately.  Remote learning has taken us on quite a journey and along the way, many of us have experienced frustration, exhaustion, and anxiety.  We are frustrated by a lack of engagement from our learners, tired from the late nights that we lie awake worried about our learners, and anxious about what will come next and how we will sustain if we have to do this much longer.  

I was chatting with my thought partner and friend, Kari Espin, this evening about the word pivot and the role it plays in this situation.  After looking at the definition, I couldn't help but realize that this word may be more meaningful than any other in our current situation.

You see, to pivot means to turn on a central point.  I think that right now, our central point is authentic learning.  While on this journey, it is going to be necessary to turn around that pivot in an effort to change our perspective, achieve different results, and frankly, find solutions that work.  It makes no sense to continue to do something that isn't working.  The truth is that there were no "best practices" in place for remote learning during a pandemic.  We are having to create our road map as we go.  There will come a time when we will be able to look back and see all of the essential checkpoints that were important as well as all of the obstacles were overcome.  We aren't there yet. 

As Kari and I chatted, we discussed the pivot point of a seesaw.  When you are on a seesaw, the person with their feet on the ground is in control of the situation.  They decide when to give up some of the control and push up to change positions.  Up until this point, we have had our feet on the ground as educators.  Now, our learners are the ones with their feet on the ground.  They control when they do the work, how they do the work, and IF they do the work.  As educators, we feel as if our feet are not on the ground and we have lost so much of the control that we had while in the classroom. 

A seesaw is only fun if it's a back and forth exchange of the control...a give and take if you will.  I can't help but wonder if instead of feeling like we need to control or have all of the answers right now, we should instead focus on that give and take.  The reality is that our students are very aware of the situation.  They know that we are the ones in the air right now and many are afraid that if they give us back that control, we will not be willing to engage in the give and take that it will take for learning to be meaningful.  Let's embrace the fact that our learners have been given the opportunity to drive their learning and begin to have conversations with them regarding what is and is not working.  It's the conversation and willingness to both share ideas and listen to theirs that will create the up and down experience that makes a seesaw so much fun.

I want to say before you take a look at this post that I am not suggesting that you have to reinvent the wheel.  If you already have a plan in place or have no idea how to use Flipgrid and find this confusing or difficult, please know that I completely understand.  I just know that Flipgrid is a tool that is used in SO MANY classrooms.  Because it is familiar to so many, I just thought this idea might help those getting started.

So, I know that I said that I probably wouldn't post again but I'm awake, the kids are asleep, it's quiet, and I have to do something.  That being said, I was really thinking late last night how beneficial it might be to design weekly learning experiences using Flipgrid.  

You might be thinking that your students need a lot more that WEEKLY learning experiences.  How will you cover all of the content?  Will that keep them busy each day?  A weekly learning experience is so different than what school has looked like for them in the past.  All of those things are great points and my response is this.  No, you won't cover all of the content.  No, it won't keep them busy all week and yes, it is very different than what school has looked like in the past.  But, let's be honest.  This IS different.  Trying to make this experience look like a traditional school day simply will not work.

Our learners are not just home for the sake of being home.  We have to consider the fear, anxiety, and uncertainty that is gripping most families right now.  Learning experiences should be fun rather than stressful, engaging rather than driven by compliance, and should above all, empower learners to drive their own learning as they make important connections.

Please welcome Flipgrid to the stage.  I think it's a great idea to create a Learning from Home Grid with topics for each week.  Let me explain...

Choose a theme or big idea for students to explore.  Create a topic resource that is important for them to access before diving into additional content.  That topic resource might be a video from you explaining what you would like for them to do, an article that need them all to read so that they have background knowledge before moving forward, or a Khan Academy lesson that you'd like them to experience.  This will be the "main event", if you will.

After you've decided what the topic resource will be, take some time to find several supporting experiences that you can include as topic attachments.  This is where learners will be given the opportunity to own the learning.  Encourage them to choose 3-4 additional topic attachments to explore throughout the week.

Finally, ask your learners to share a video within the topic to reflect on what they learned that week.  This will be an opportunity to document their learning and collaborate with each other during this difficult time.  As the teacher, you can respond to their reflections, ask clarifying questions, and help them make real connections.  

This is just an idea to be considered as we try to figure all of this out.  I don't know if this will work for you, your campus, or your district.  I do know that expecting learners to complete the same amount of work that they would complete in the classroom just isn't an option right now and I think it's important to consider alternative solutions.

Thank you so much for the work that you've done, the work that you are doing, and the work that we will all continue to do.  I pray that you know how appreciated you are and how important your role is during this difficult time.  I hope this helps and makes sense.  If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at mcnairandi@gmail.com.  ​

This is hard!  I don't think any of us could have ever imagined that we would be in this situation right now.  The lack of control, the unknown future...it's all just so  much to take in.  I just needed to share some of my thoughts...to be honest, it's really all that I know to do right now.

​We have a choice to make in this moment.  We can choose to see this as an obstacle or an opportunity.  Make no mistake, I totally get that this is a huge obstacle that will impact us for many years to come.  But the reality is that obstacles are meant to be overcome.  When or how we will overcome COVID19 remains to be seen but we WILL move beyond this obstacle and hopefully, we will learn some things in the process.  

From an education perspective, if we look closely, this can be seen as an opportunity for our learners to make real connections beyond the walls of the classroom.  It is an opportunity to see learning differently.  I have a feeling that when this entire situation is over, we will be able to look at learning through the lens of the past, the present, and the future.  What did learning look like before COVID19, what did it look like during, and what will it look like when we return to the classroom?  If we choose to see this as an opportunity for our students to make important connections and recognize that learning happens everywhere, the potential is there for us to change how things are done from this day forward.  

I don't have all of the answers...in fact, I'm not sure I have any answers at all.  But, I do know that perspective during difficult times is important.  I'll say it again, THIS IS HARD!  It's weird, it's uncomfortable, and it's the last place any of us would hope to be.  We will never again take leaving our homes for groceries, sitting at a hot baseball game, or going to work on a Monday morning for granted.  Things will be different.  Our lives have been turned upside down and we can all agree that this obstacle is massive.  It's important to be mindful about our mindset. In order to overcome the obstacle, we will have to be patient, understanding, kind, and above all, determined.  

So, as we continue to work as a city, a state, a country, and one world to get this whole thing figured out, we have a choice to make.  Will we come out on the other side of this obstacle with a new perspective? Will we have recognized the opportunities before us and created real change?   I hope so.  As for my family, we are trying really hard to balance being realistic and hopeful in our home but most importantly, we rest in our faith and stay focused on the day that we will go back to school, back to work and back to life as we know it.

As an educational community, I just wanted to take some time to encourage us to do the same.  Let's be realistic but hopeful.  Let's see this as an opportunity for meaningful learning to occur and for our students to make connections that may never have been made in the classroom.  Let's be flexible, understanding, realistic and hopeful. 

Whether you are a parent, educator, or part of the community trying to figure this out right now, the choice is ours...will we simply see this as an obstacle or will we also see it as an opportunity to overcome and adapt so that our learners recognize that learning happens everywhere?

I love the idea of randomizing learning and giving students choice by using cubes and dice in the classroom.  I recently began thinking what it might look like to use Flipgrid as part of this idea and now I can't turn my brain off!  

I shared the idea of creating Kindness Cubes as an easy way to weave SEL into the classroom on Twitter.

After sharing, I kept thinking of different ways that you could use cubes and Flipgrid to design meaningful learning experiences for the classroom.  Here are some of the additional ideas that I came up with:

Collaboration and group work can look very similar at first glance. They both involve students working together, they both may ask for solutions, and they both work best when there is a willingness to contribute.  However, assuming these will produce the same results can send the wrong message to our learners and shed a negative light on real collaboration.

So, what is the difference?  Here's my humble opinion...

Technology tools, new strategies, innovative ideas...I could go on and on.  It seems like we are constantly adding to the plates of educators in an effort to find the "silver bullet" that will engage today's learners.  Spoiler alert...there is no silver bullet.  As so many already know, it doesn't exist. However, there are tools, strategies, and ideas that can be used in the classroom to make learning more meaningful.  The reality is that those tools, strategies, and ideas should be different for individual educators and potentially, individual learners.  

We don't teach robots, we teach people.  None of them are the same, meaning that they do not and will not learn the same regardless of how much easier that would make the educating them.  And yet, we continue to add to the plates of teachers asking them to try this, try that while never giving them the permission to take the things off of the plate that aren't working.  

I'm a big believer in feedback over grades, especially when it comes to writing. But, the reality is, finding time to sit and offer personal feedback to every single learner is difficult to do.  I really like the idea of using Flipgrid to provide feedback for writing assignments.  Let's think this through...

Your students turn in a writing assignments and you spend the time that you need reading through their work.  As you read their thoughts, share your reactions, thoughts, ideas, and feedback using Flipgrid Shorts on your teacher dashboard.  You don't want this to be super long or they will lose interest while watching.  However, if you can find a way to be clear and concise, this is a great way offer feedback for your learners.  

If you use Google Classroom for your learners to share their work or any other digital tool for that matter, you can send the link to your video feedback directly to your learners.  Regardless of how you share, the goal is to offer feedback for writing more often than a grade. 

​Writing is personal.  Sharing your thoughts on a blank piece of paper is not easy and can be intimidating.  Feedback versus a grade helps a writer understand what they did well and what they can improve upon.  A grade at the top of the paper does not.

SEL (social emotional learning) and how it can be woven into classroom experiences is a big conversation in education right now.  I think for so long, social emotional learning has been the job of the school counselor or for parents to address in the home environment.  As we have realized that our students need more SEL than they are able to receive once a week or in their own homes, we have started to address what this might look like in the classroom.

I have to say that it only makes sense to me that social emotional learning is a priority in the classroom.  Our learners spend the majority of their time during the week with their teachers and it's not as difficult as it might seem to weave SEL concepts into what students experience each and every day.

I wanted to take a little bit of time to address the social emotional aspects of Genius Hour.  Genius Hour is the opportunity for students to pursue their passions during the school day.  Through Genius Hour, learners are given the opportunity to learn by doing, make real connections to the content, and practice life-ready skills.  Why would we not make an effort to weave SEL into this experience as well?

My favorite SEL resource is CASEL.  The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning is such a great place to find research and resources specifically centered around social emotional learning and the impact that it can have in the classroom, on campuses, and throughout districts.   CASEL breaks social-emotional learning into five categories: self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision- making, relationship skills, and social awareness.  Let's dive into how these can be addressed throughout the Genius Hour process.

Self-Awareness: Genius Hour is all about self-awareness.  In order to find what you are passionate about, collaborate with others, and learn from the experience, learners must be aware of who they are and how they operate.  Using tools like the DIRT Survey and My Creative Type from Adobe can be great springboards for students to become more self-aware.  The Passion Bracket from AJ Juliani also gives students an opportunity to really explore what they love as well as what bothers them.  Genius Hour gives students the time and tools that they need to get to know themselves and really explore what is important to them rather than being told what to learn and how to learn it.

Self-Management:  So often in school, students are told what to do, when to do, where to do, and how to do.  Because of this, they are not always given the tools that they need to manage their own emotions, reactions, and learning.  Genius Hour is completely driven by the learner working on the project.  They must learn to manage their time, emotions, and willingness to take risks as they work to create change, make an impact, and learn about something that is meaningful for them.  Giving them tools like the Pomodoro Technique and Emotional Regulation is a wonderful way to help make connections between Genius Hour and their lives beyond the walls of the classroom.

Responsible Decision-Making:  Making decisions is hard.  For learners that have not had to make independent decisions before, it's even harder.  This is why when you ask students what they want to do for Genius Hour, they respond with something like, "What do you want me to do?".  Genius Hour gives students opportunity after opportunity to make responsible decisions.  What do you want to learn about?  Who do you want your outside expert to be?  How will you pitch your idea to the class?  How will you share your learning?  Putting them in the driver's seat gives them an opportunity to make real decisions and understand what it feels like to face the positive or negative consequences of those decisions.

Relationship Skills:  Many teachers allow their students to work together on Genius Hour.  They may work with a partner or a group with similar interests or ideas.  Even when working independently, you can give students an opportunity to practice their relationship skills by making thought partnership a priority throughout Genius Hour.  You can learn more about this idea and download the Thought Partner Cards for Genius Hour HERE.  Students can also practice relationship skills as they collaborate and learn from an outside expert while working on their Genius Hour project.  

Social Awareness:  "Social Awareness is the ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others from diverse backgrounds and cultures, to understand social and ethical norms for behavior, and to recognize family, school, and community resources and supports."  This definition comes from Transforming Education and basically sums up what Genius Hour is all about.  Taking Genius Hour to the next level gives students an opportunity to not just design a product but design real change in their classroom, on their campus, in their district, community or even the world.  So many of our learners are unaware of what is going on in the world around them. Genius Hour provides an opportunity to practice empathy and provide solutions. Using tools like The Global Goals will help learners explore real issues that they might not otherwise know exists.   

There you have it.  Weaving SEL into Genius Hour only makes sense and is possibly something that you are already doing.  If you haven't implemented Genius Hour just yet into your classroom, this is just another reason to do so.  Passion-based learning gives learners an opportunity to learn by doing, practice life-ready skills, and explore social emotional learning in an authentic way that makes sense.

If you'd like to learn more about Genius Hour, please check out any of the resources below and share how you make SEL a priority in your classroom in the comments below.

Not too long ago, I shared a little bit about a new idea that my friend, Kari Espin and I had about coaching and what this might look like when seen from a different perspective.  I did this through a blog post and we received lots of positive feedback and interest in the idea.  Since that time, we've been working toward developing a model that would make sense and give us direction as we actually begin to implement this idea with a group of educators.  

We've always been big believers in inquiry-based models for the classroom so it only made sense that we made inquiry the foundation for the Thought Partner Collaborative.  In doing some research, we read a wonderful post from George Couros regarding inquiry-based professional learning.  I specifically love the benefits that he listed as he explained what this might look like for educators.  He mentioned the importance of being a master learner, unleashing innovative potential, passions as an element of learning, and empowering educators to lead out on change. 

In order to make sense of what we thought needed to be present for this collaborative to work, we created the Thought Partner Collaborative (TPC).  In short, it's a coaching model driven by inquiry, designed to identify and ignite emotion, inspire change, and encourage innovation. 

​Inquire - This piece of the collaborative is foundational and involves introductions, encourages self-awareness, and establishes expectations for the work.  Identifying purpose and exploring the possibilities will play a role in building anticipation and excitement about what lies ahead.  

Ignite - When looking for research on teacher emotions and professional development, we came across a study published in 2019 by Margareta M. Thomson and Jeanine E. Turner that found the following, "Our study results suggest that teachers' emotions and values...greatly influence their learning of new knowledge and triggered positive changes in their classroom teaching."  This piece of the collaborative is about identifying and igniting emotions and practicing empathy that will eventually drive the desire to create change.  

Inspire - Inspiration drives creativity.  The why is so important in this process but so is the how.  We hope to inspire the educators within the collaborative by connecting educators, collaborating to develop solutions, and creating opportunities for implementation.  

Innovate - James Joyce said that, "Mistakes are the portals of discovery."  Throughout the collaborative, we will encourage educators to be willing to take risks by establishing a culture that reframes failure as a springboard for innovation.    

One of our priorities in designing this new model is to ensure that collaboration becomes a natural part of the culture that supports sustainable change. Throughout the process, we will use Flipgrid to make connections, build relationships, and collect practical ideas that can be shared and implemented immediately.  The work will require a willingness to be transparent, see things from new perspectives, and  reflect throughout the experience in order to find meaning and purpose.  

We look forward to making this a reality very soon with a school district that we are working with to create real change.  I will update and share what's working and not working periodically on the blog.  Please feel free to post your thoughts, ideas, and questions in the comments below.