On Tuesday, 20 September, Year 8B exhibited the work they had developed during their Genius Hour periods over Term 3. Many students and teachers from other classes and year groups came to share in the learning and enjoy some of the products 8B created.
For those who have never heard of the term, Genius Hour is the idea that the students use some of their regular Humanities time to pursue an area of learning that interests them. The parameters were that it was to be limited to the topics we were going to look at this Term in Humanities; that it had to be really interesting and teach others about an aspect of their chosen topic; but could be presented in any way they liked.
Room Q was filled with all sorts of curiosities, from interactive digital castles projected onto the whiteboard, to model aqueducts; from posters of Medieval remedies for the Black Death to a knighting ceremony. There was a life-sized Viking as they would have most likely have been next to a stereotypical Viking. Two boys built a model of a Viking long boat, and a group of girls cooked tasty Asian food that has influenced European cooking.
In Term 4 we hope to expand the parameters again and give 8B students even more freedom to pursue areas of learning that they are passionate about, and to develop skills they want to develop, all the while learning to collaborate, communicate, use critical thinking skills and creativity. We are looking forward to, and have already begun brewing up ideas for the Genius Hour Expo next term.
