Personalized Learning ~ Genius Hour

Dear 5-2 Parents,

Your child will be beginning a new Personalized Learning (PL) experience on Wednesday of this week - we call it Genius Hour in 5-2 :)  It is an exciting and weighty task where students will be engaged in an individualized research-based learning experience.  

Arlington Heights School District 25 defines Personalized Learning as a student-driven, process-centered opportunity for learners to explore their own interests. Students will be given time and space during the school day to identify a challenge, problem or question. With the support of staff, peers and community resources, students will plan, manage and reflect upon their learning. Placing a focus on the process of inquiry fosters the development of a flexible mindset. It allows students the freedom to think independently and interdependently, take risks, and learn from their attempts. This experience is correlated with District 25 Habits of Mind (HoM).

All children wonder, Personalized Learning allows them to investigate their questions about the world.  The very first element covered in Personalized Learning will be Questioning. After learning about the difference between open and closed questions, your child will be guided through the process of brainstorming research questions that grow from an individual child’s “wonders”. The questions need to be “big”, and require research from multiple sources and personal thought and reflection to be answered. In other words, Google doesn’t have the answer!

Please see the bottom of this post for examples of questions students might consider for their project, and subsequent actions they might take based on their research.

After they are introduced to PL on Wednesday, your child should be thinking about their question.  Please take the time to review this question with your child.  All school appropriate topics are acceptable; however, an open ended question about a topic on which your child possesses some background knowledge lend themselves to more successful experiences.  In addition, a question that truly reflects his/her curiosities is important.  

They will engage in the PL experience at least once per week for the remainder of the school year - usually on Wednesdays.  As they finish their research and prepare their action, they will present the information to the class.  Then they will have the opportunity to choose another topic and begin questioning and researching again!

Thank you for taking the time to read this lengthy post!  Please let me know if you have any questions at all about the Personalized Learning Experience.

Theresa Fowler

Personalized Learning-Search for a Winning Question!

Name: Sample Students

Topic	Question(s)	Opinion or Think/Decide Part	Action or Activity
Hockey	What is the history of Hockey and how has it changed over time?	What change to the game of hockey would I suggest and why?	Wrote a letter sharing her ideas on changes to the game and emailed it to the NHL.
Mermaids	What are interesting facts about the legend of mermaids?	What do mermaid stories have in common and how could I include these common elements in a mermaid story I write.	Researched mermaid facts,read 3 mermaid stories and filled out story charts, looked for common traits and wrote a new story.
Legos	How have Lego sets changed over time?	If I was a Lego designer, what sets would I design?	After researching the history of Lego, he noticed there were few sports sets and drew and described 2 football sets. May mail to Lego.
Adopting Dogs	Are puppies or adult dogs easier to train? Why?	What age of dog do I think would be best for my family?	Researched dog training and compared puppies and dogs. Decided what would be best for her family and wrote a letter to her parents.