…Enter passion (or curiosity) projects Passion projects are an incredible way to engage students in self-driven, engaging work. Our own Emily Hoyler described them in this post: I stumbled onto…
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…reflective learners, Flood Brook’s students shared some feedback for their teachers on how to improve the next round of Passion Projects. What do Passion Projects look like in your school?…
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…At both an in-school and after-school exhibition, students shared their projects and learning to other students in the school, teachers, high schoolers, and parents/community members. Passion projects and a public…
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…such as goal-setting, showing evidence of growth, and connecting personal identity to school, are all enabled by the project. Personalized projects (aka passion projects or genius hours) emphasize student choice…
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…Union School pursued Passion Projects. They chose a topic, did the research, and decided to throw an exhibition for their community, showcasing the projects. Flood Brook students have some…
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…time for Joy Projects. You may have heard the terms before: genius hours, passion projects, curiosity projects. But for this moment in time, we feel like we need: a student-driven…
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…could take pictures, write reflections, and make a mini-documentary telling the stories of their projects. This is personalized learning at its best, right? These are Passion Projects! And this would…
Read more…this winter as they embarked on inquiry-based, personalized, research projects. For six weeks, we turned learning over to our students for the (first annual!) Curiosity Projects. What are Curiosity Projects?…
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…learning, right? You work with Flood Brook, and their middle school students presenting their passion projects. It makes me think how many of those kids maybe don’t get it the…
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…start preparing students to use their voice and leverage these options by advocating for their own learning needs. Middle school passion projects or genius hour projects can help create a…
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“I think every school should do it!” Soup to nuts, curiosity projects — Genius Hour, 20% time or passion projects by any other name — work for students. At Frederick…
Read moreIt’s a movement, not a moment Every teacher should consider making time for Genius Hour (sometimes called 20% time or Passion Projects). We know that when students are given the…
Read more…of their student-directed “passion projects” (codename: Brainado), and here’s how they kicked off the new season. So much excitement tends to accrue around the beginning and the end of any…
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…do projects based on a favorite book? Maybe they could share their work directly with the author! So, one collective padlet or gallery of projects could be shared directly with…
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…Passion Projects, or Curiosity projects to help connect students’ interests to the curriculum. They’re practically pandemic-ready. And it turns out they’ll continue to be amazing even after all this is…
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Lessons learned from passion-based research Passion-based research goes by many different names; 20% Time and Genius Hour are just two different terms that describe school projects that center upon personal…
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…know their students. Specifically, they know “Personal Interest Projects” (PIPs, aka passion projects, aka Brainado, aka curiosity projects) work for their students. Charlotte Central students in grades 7 and 8…
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…Passion Projects and Genius Hours by Katie Farber Examines challenges and strategies for equity within these approaches. Rethinking assessment to rebalance education by Life LeGeros Considers ways to de-center quantifiable…
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…talk about a little bit about what it looks like or what a librarian can offer as a collaborator, inquiry projects? Margi: Absolutely. Probably a more obvious opportunity is when…
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…own community service projects. Extended planning time allowed educators to creatively deconstruct their traditional school day and work toward building student engagement. Students showed their passion and creativity, as they…
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How Passion Projects can fire up a student-led conference Julia is a student at Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School, in South Burlington VT. She’s an athlete and an artist. So…
Read more…yeah. Maya: We talked a lot about 21st Century Skills, and passion projects, PLPs, and how we’re going to move towards that. Life: So did you feel like you were…
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…way Zoey’s teachers must see her: she owns up that she doesn’t really do projects or homework. So, I’m sure that given the lens of school, they really see her…
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…to see different teachers and to have the opportunity to be with different mixes of kids. In addition, they asked to bring back a former team structure – Passion Projects….
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…too. Once students brainstorm, how do you help them make concrete plans for their projects? Lindsey: We have a pretty structured process that, even though projects sometimes look like creative…
Read more…Call them what you want: passion projects, genius hour, curiosity projects, but these personalized learning projects are a way to jump into personalization and engage students. Now tell us How…
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…the Middle Grades Review. Unpacking equity in Passion Projects and Genius Hours by Katie Farber Examines challenges and strategies for equity within these approaches. Rethinking assessment to rebalance education by…
Read more…passion for tech and science with support from the Vermont STEM community. They also let the students teach. We spoke with Ian, an Essex STEM Academy student who taught arduino…
Read more…like to explore in this hands-on environment. Food for thought Project-based learning, service learning, maker-centered learning, genius hours, passion projects, creativity projects! It’s hard to keep it all straight! No…
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…out. The passion time is a time where they do a project that’s really their passion. I have helped them in projects ranging from World War I to make-up, and…
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…be appealing to the consumer. Support all reasoning through sound mathematical evidence. Click here to grab the full lesson plan and rubric Other great projects: Elementary Projects from Worms to…
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…as highlights of projects. Student leaders explained that P.A.T.H. puts projects at the center. The goal setting, documentation of progress, and reflection on learning would all happen in relation to…
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…started doing music. I thought it was really really cool being able to teach a project based learning class at PBL. I usually teach most of my classes through projects…
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…grandfathers went there. So, that was interesting experience. Then I left Buffalo for Stanford University where I studied electrical engineering. And I also had the passion for – or at…
Read more…College Readiness Backpack Amy Truchon, Burlington School District: Climbing the SAMR Ladder with Your iLearning Device Jill Dawson, Tech Integration Specialist Plus don’t miss Passion Projects for the Elementary School…
Read more…start to embrace this journey with students we need to keep redefining our roles within a team. With activities like Genius Hour, Passion Projects, and Maker Spaces becoming more popular…
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…book on equity in education. Unpacking equity in Passion Projects and Genius Hours Diversity audits in the library. Follow Ottauquechee’s lead and let this conversation around diversity in books springboard…
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…generation. Learners roll a die with how, why, and if written on each side. Then those stems make it useful in many classroom settings. Helping students think through passion projects…
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…a template you could use. Service Learning. Here is a template you could use. Makerspaces Place-based Learning Genius Hours or Passion Projects UDL (Understanding by Design) template These are all…
Read moreIt takes a combination of flexible pathways and student passion. Peoples Academy Middle Level 6th graders Noble Beerworth, Josephine Simone, Anna Isselhardt, and Jacob Fougere won big at this year’s…
Read more…small, rural Vermont school. They wanted do so in a way that honored the students’ need for passion-based, independent projects, as well as the desire of the faculty and staff…
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How did an 8th grader turn his passion project into a summer job? I found Connor in the tech ed room during the first session of Brainado, a school-wide Genius…
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…initiated projects in their own communities to work toward the sustainable development goals. In Morristown VT, students at Peoples Academy engaged in a variety of projects: 1. Lamoille River Stories…
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…for students would instantly achieve buy-in and increased passion in my students. Allowing them to make choices about how do get the work done on projects or other activities seemed…
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…seek connection. Lead the way! Cultivate agency and empowerment Once we’ve kindled interest (and maybe a little righteous indignation) and our students’ passion for making a difference, it’s time to…
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…learning through participation in service projects for the local school and/or community.” We find ourselves in an interesting situation right now, where schools and teachers are needing to reinvent how…
Read more…Institute, 2016 What Are the Benefits of Taking Genius Hour School-Wide? Life LeGeros, Tarrant Institute, 2017 Brainado: The Padlet, Life LeGeros, Tarrant Institute Sharing Your School’s Passion Projects, Jeanie Phillips…
Read more…interests, connect to wider communities, and develop their unique learning pathways with support and guidance. At the Fayston School, in Fayston VT, students pursue passion projects as part of their…
Read more…Taking Genius Hour School-Wide? Life LeGeros, Tarrant Institute, 2017 Brainado: The Padlet, Life LeGeros, Tarrant Institute Sharing Your School’s Passion Projects, Jeanie Phillips and Rachel Mark, Tarrant Institute, 2018 EMMA:…
Read more…invested in their learning by engaging in personal projects. Some of the take aways were: It took some time to make the goals happen Independent/self directed students flourished Setting up…
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…well. Completing this program means not just that you’ve taken the classes, but that you’ve also demonstrated the passion, courage and empathy necessary to undertake working with young adolescents. Tony…
Read more…through which employees of the search engine giant spend a day a week on projects of their own choosing, many schools are adopting a model described by best selling author…
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Beyond the Passion Project: Clara wanted to do something amazing for her final Brainado project. She wanted to push herself and leave a “remembrance,” as she called it, commemorating the…
Read more…their passions. Here’s a September excerpt from her personal reflective blog: “Next week, we’re starting to finally use Blogger to reflect on their process to far – their passion/cool exploration…
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…expectations coming from a high school. I feel like middle-schoolers are still busy but they have a little more space to take on different projects and tasks. It felt like…
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…to make these great PBL projects in library.” It’s just not enough time to make it meaningful. But when I went to that session, and the presenter talked about the…
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…visual arts. Students started their projects during the workshops and then used one work day to finish before the exhibition. One student, Myra, seemed to agree with the non-evaluative approach:…
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Teacher Leaders are agents of innovative school change Situated in the heart center of education, teacher leaders are the true heroes of the education system. Your vision and passion lead…
Read more…in their personal interest and passions. Their portfolios documented their proficiencies in college and career readiness skills ranging from leadership and communication to more technical skills with award-winning projects like…
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