Unit of Learning Proposal

The ‘Unit of Learning’ that I have designed for assignment 2 is based around the concept of

Genius Hour. Genius Hour is a well-developed idea based upon Google’s 20% policy. Google

gives their employees 20% of their time spent at work to research and pursue projects that

interest them. They have found that some of the best ideas, for example Gmail and Google

news, have been developed by people pursuing their interests. With my students, Genius

Hour will be a structured time during which they will develop driving questions based on

their passions, research their interests and then share their findings with the class.

I plan to teach this unit starting in mid-January. The students in my year 6 class in the UK

take an exam called the 11+ at the beginning of January for our secondary school as well as

for other independent schools. The build up to this is very structured and my thoughts on

launching this project after these exams are that we will have more time to explore of ideas

and thoughts, making this more unit more flexible than it may have been had we done it at

the beginning of the academic year.

I have chosen to deliver this unit in a blended manner: combining the platform OneNote as

well as face-to face instruction. Seeing as I am these students’ teacher for most the day, it

was only logical to combine these two methods of instruction. OneNote is the platform that

the students in my class will use when they enter the high school next year and take part in

the BYOD scheme that the high school supports. Having never used OneNote before, it is

good practice for me to familiarize myself with the LMS and it is also beneficial for the

students to become familiar with OneNote before starting year 7.

As the students have all been in the class together since September, there is no need for

introductions to each other. Instead, the introduction I have prepared focuses on explaining

what Genius Hour is, outlines expectations and guidelines, and explores our expression of

our passions and interests. I decided to use Haiku Deck as a method to present this to the

students; I find that PowerPoints can be overused and found that Haiku Deck worked well

on the iPads, the main device that students will be accessing OneNote with at school. On

OneNote, I will also be asking the students to reflect on their learning and progress after

each session. Dumont, Istance and Benavides (2012) discuss the importance of giving

children time to reflect on their learning strategies and what they have learned. Using

OneNote, I will be able to keep track of their reflections and provide prompt feedback. I

have also included the Padlet app, as this platform is already a familiar for the students and

they enjoy using it. Further, more hesitant students are often more likely to participate if

they can do so without speaking in front of the class. As Chickering and Ehrmann argue,

“learning is not a spectator sport” (1996, p. 3) and they must talk to others as well as be

reflective for their learning to progress.

The assessment I have included is well outlined in the criteria and expectations but less

structured with regards to format. The format is that the students will find answers to their

driving questions, create something to go along with this and then prepare and present a

TED talk style presentation at the end of the unit. Chickering and Errmann (1996) argue that

setting higher expectations is a self-fulfilling prophecy and the assessment rubric reflects

this theory. The creation portion of the assessment is, for the moment, left purposefully

vague, as this will be dependent on the students’ research questions, and will develop as

the unit evolves.

The unit I have developed around Genius Hour is focusing on developing lifelong skills such

as inquiry, critical thinking and creativity. Lisa Benade (2017) discusses the importance of

teachers preparing our 21st century students to leave school with 21st century skills. In her

work on Genius Hour, Angela Maires quotes author and philosopher Howard Thurman:

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive and then

go do that. Because what the world needs is people who come alive” (Maires, 2017, p. 7).

References

Benade, L. (2017). Is the classroom obsolete in the twenty-first century? Educational

Philosophy and Theory, 49(8), 796-807.

Chickering, A. W., & Ehrmann, S., C. (1996). Implementing the seven principles: Technology

as lever. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 49(2), 3-6.

Dumont, H., Istance, D., & Benavides, F. (Eds.). (2010). The nature of learning: Using

research to Inspire practice. OECD Publications: Paris, France.

Maires, A. (2017). Genius Matters: A Framework for Epic Transformation. Lynbrook, NY:

Choose2Matter, Inc.
 Unit of Learning Reflection

The original rationale for this unit of learning remains the same as when I initially designed

the project. Below is a more in depth reflection on this project. Within this reflection, I

explain my choices for interaction and communication within this unit, and I will also

analyze the multimedia content that occurs in lesson 6.

As this unit of learning takes place within a blended environment, with the online learning

almost always happening while the students are in the same classroom as each other and

the teacher, the opportunities to communicate and interact on OneNote are purposeful.

Burnett (2016) emphasizes the importance of ‘being together’ while simultaneously being

online, particularly for younger students. I don’t believe in adding an online communication

tool simply for the sake of it, especially when the students and the teacher have ample

opportunity to discuss ideas and tasks in person.

I have included a ‘collaborative space’ for students to share their driving questions for the

project, enabling them to see each other’s ideas. Following on from this, the students also

have a space to share helpful resources that they come across. This could be resources that

may help a single classmate or more general resources for the class. Fostering inclusive

interaction opportunities, particularly for those less vocal within the class, is developed

through the use of apps such as Padlet and Popplet. Giving the students greater control in

how they engage with these parts of the lesson can lead to increased motivation (Ciampa,

2013). These apps are to be used both individually and in pairs to encourage collaboration.
I wanted the multimedia component of my project to show the students both how to use a

new technological tool and enable them to reflect on their learning through using it. In

lesson 6, I have used the app ‘Explain Everything’ to create a video. Within the video, I have

framed five reflective questions for the students to answer when their create their own

video blog (vlog). My initial video also explains some tricks and tips for using the app

successfully. This presents multiple benefits for the students, both in increasing the

technological tools they are comfortable with and also in adding an element of reflection

into their learning. As Dumont, Instance and Benavides (2010) argue, reflection is a key

aspect of development and students must reflect on their learning strategies to discover

how this has impacted their learning. Further, the multimedia content created in lesson 6

will give our class the opportunity to create a private YouTube account in which to post the

vlogs. As this step may be new to many of the students, we will work though this together.

They will then be able to examine the content and creativity included in the videos of their

peers – with peer assessment being a valuable pedagogical tool.

The final TED Talk style presentation will be well developed during our class time. The self,

peer and teacher assessment will be a well-rounded final task for the Genius Hour project.

References

Burnett, C. (2016). Being together in classrooms at the interface of the physical and virtual:

Implications for collaboration in on/off-screen sites. Learning, Media and

Technology, 41(4), 566-589. Retrieved

from https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2015.1050036
Ciampa, K. (2013). Learning in a mobile age: An investigation of student motivation. Journal

of Computer Assisted Learning, 30(1), 82–96. Retrieved from

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcal.12036/epdf

Dumont, H., Istance, D., & Benavides, F. (Eds.). (2010). The nature of learning: Using

research to Inspire practice. OECD Publications: Paris, France. Retrieved

from http://www.oecd.org/education/ceri/50300814.pdf