Thinking before doing is not a strength of mine.  I like to try new things, take risks, and jump in with both feet.  Innovation is often my first thought and details tend to come later. Because of this, I'm a big fan of the thought partner concept. My thought partner, Kari Espin, often changes my perspective, helps me reflect in order to improve, and encourages me to take things to the next level by thinking beyond my comfort zone.  I was recently thinking about how beneficial this is for me and how much more beneficial it might be in the classroom.  Kari talks often about how much she enjoys being a thought partner and she is passionate about helping others take their thoughts, ideas, and even their careers to another level.

Make no mistake, innovative learning experiences like Genius Hour are not always unicorns and rainbows.  In fact, this type of learning can get really messy and feel uncomfortable for both teachers and students.  You see, passion-based learning requires everyone to assume different roles in the classroom and the reality is that that is much easier said than done.  Teachers must become facilitators and give learners the opportunity to learn by doing, experience real struggle, and figure things out on their own.  Learners must be willing to drive their own learning, ask questions, and push through their struggle in order to figure things out on their own.  

​As you can see in the image above, I created one grid and a topic within that grid for each of the 6 P's.  In the topic description, I asked questions that students might answer when they posted their video to the grid.  

Passion - What do you want to learn about? What do you think is interesting? What can you get excited about?

Students could also share their Thrively results here or even post a picture of their Passion Bracket.

Plan - Who will be your outside expert? What materials will you need to complete the project? What will you need to do each day to reach your goals?  How much time will need?

Pitch - How will you share your idea with the class? How will you get us on board? 

What do you know?  What do you want to know?  How will you find out? (KWH)

Project - What did you learn today?  What connections did you make and what would you like to share?

You might include the link to the Reflection QR code here so that students can respond to the question that they randomly receive.  You could also attach the QR code as an image and students could scan to receive their question.

Product - What did you create? What can you show us to demonstrate your learning?  If you were unable to create a product, what could you have done differently?

Presentation - How do you plan to share your learning? Can you share your idea or project with others? What tools will you use to make your presentation engaging for the audience?  

What did you learn?  What action did you take?  What questions do you still have?  (LAQ)

In creating the Flipgrid, I realized that it's important to put the 6 P's in backward so that they will be in the correct order.  In other words, when creating the grid, create Presentation as the first topic and Passion as the last topic.  This way, when it's complete, Passion will be on top with Presentation at the bottom.

As students move through the process, they can post their thoughts, reflections, and responses on the grid.  This gives them the ability to pitch, present, and reflect any time from anywhere.  This takes away the need for the teacher to always keep up with who needs to pitch and who needs to present.  They can simply do so on Flipgrid whenever they are ready instead of waiting for a time in class that works for everyone.  

Using Flipgrid also gives everyone an opportunity to respond and give feedback on Genius Hour projects.  It allows us to share pitches and presentations beyond the walls of the classroom, giving students an authentic audience.  

In my classroom, the QR codes on the image above linked to the website that walked them through what to do for each of the 6 P's.  I had to create a website, add all of the content, and then link the QR code to the different pages within the website.  Using Flipgrid, you can simply put all of this information in the Grid by clicking Actions, Share Topic, and choosing QR code.  Copy the QR code, paste it onto cardstock, create the bulletin board, and it's done!  Crazy cool!

I cannot express how excited I am about sharing this.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  Every student deserves an opportunity to pursue their passion and Flipgrid makes Genius Hour even more manageable for teachers and more meaningful for students.  

If you'd like to know more about the 6 ps of Genius Hour, please feel free to check out my book, Genius Hour: Passion Projects that Ignite Innovation and Student Inquiry or the ONLINE COURSE!

Passion - Every Genius Hour project starts here.  What are you passionate about?  What do you WANT to learn about?  Passion is what drives the project, makes it meaningful, and makes it theirs. Passion comes from a desire to know more.  Merriam-Webster defines passion as "a strong feeling or enthusiasm for something or about doing something".  I want my students to be enthusiastic about their projects.  I want them to have strong feelings about why their project is important and why they should carry it out. 

Pitch - This year, we are really making a big deal out of our pitches.  We watched some short clips of Shark Tank today and will be doing our pitches "Shark Tank" style next week.  I have read several blog posts about this approach and love it.  This was one of the examples we watched today and we talked about the props, persuasion, statistics, and technology that group used to persuade the sharks that their idea was worth the investment.  I then gave (4th and 5th grade) students Mariana Garcia's Pitch Planning Sheet that I found in Joy Kirr's Livebinder and asked them to blog their responses. I also asked them to include additional ideas such as props, technology, and statistics/facts that they want to share during their pitch. 

Plan - After their pitch, it's time to really plan their project.  While they present an overview in their pitch, the planning stage requires more details.  This is when we begin to set up our Trello boards. We use Trello to track our learning as we work on our projects.  Students will set up lists such as KWHLAQ, Math, ELA, Technology, Links, Resources, and Science/Social Studies.  They will document their KWH now, document the standards they are using as they work, and will document their LAQ at the end of the project.  This is also when students will decide on an outside expert.  This is someone that they feel can offer them the information that they need to learn how their topic relates to the real world.  Outside experts are my absolute favorite part of Genius Hour.  You can read more about outside experts here.