My #GeniusHour Self Evaluation

What an awesome adventure this was! I am already very much looking forward to trying this again, especially now that I've got a better handle on how the students will go through the process.

If you'd like to see some of the other posts about the great things kids did and how this all started, check these out:
Genius!
All They Can Say is 'No
I Wish EVERY Hour Was #GeniusHour

Here are some additional highlights and things that need improvement for the next time:

Highlights:

• Most students gave very positive feedback about the whole thing. Common themes in their evaluations were how much they enjoyed the freedom of choice in groups, topics, and presentations.
• While there was some overlap, we learned about a very broad range of topics. Everything from programming Arduinos, to the financial backing needed for a Broadway show, to the history of Korean music, to music's impact on the body and mind, to making reeds, mallets, xylophones and even music boxes! Many students also worked on composing and performing new music, with several even working on secondary instruments.
• Finding mentors was a challenge for many groups, but those that were able to get feedback learned so much! The excitement of receiving an email or blog comment was a great thing to witness. 
• If you really want to see kids work hard on their writing, have them write for someone who's not you! They wrote, rewrote, peer edited, and rewrote again before blogging, emailing, or responding in either of those platforms. We discussed so much about email and blog etiquette...in band!
• Most students were excited to come in and work every day. Not only that, but most were very self directed because they were interested in what they were working on. My concerns about doing this in such large classes were mostly unnecessary. Minus the occasional quick verbal redirect, students were engaged right through the end of the year and it was a lot of fun to watch!

Kicked off #geniushour presentations w/ performances, demonstrations, and some cool tech! #leadwithHART #RCSarts pic.twitter.com/G2O6EaiFtq

— Hart MS Bands (@HartMsBands) June 15, 2016

Needs Improvement:

• Needing more time was a common complaint. We had several days a week to work during the last month of school, but parts did feel rushed, especially because we should have spent more time brainstorming project ideas together. Many students said that they didn't know what to choose and wished they would have picked a different topic than what they ended up with.
• One thing I didn't take into account was the summer break schedule at most colleges and universities. Many students reached out to professors for help, but since we didn't start these until late May/early June most were not around to respond. Because we'll likely do this again in the spring next year, we'll have to start things earlier so that they can hopefully make contact before many professors leave for summer.
• While many students really enjoyed the freedom of the set up, it made many students uncomfortable. Several said that they wished I'd given more ideas for projects, but I really tried to avoid that so that they'd pick something they were really interested in and not just go with something I said because it was easy. Giving more time to brainstorm together next time will be a definite must. Doing more structured brainstorming would be helpful too, but I'm not sure what that would look like. Ideas?
• I mentioned this in a previous post, but we really need to do more talking about blogging before they start writing them. The format was very unfamiliar and while some took to it pretty naturally, many struggled with it.
• Presentations posed a few challenges:
• I needed to come up with the max time limit sooner in the process as students prepared their final presentations. Many had to make alterations to fit in the available time slot.
• We needed to discuss more about what a presentation should/should not be. Many were so focused on creating a final product (ie:  composition) that they didn't really present any learning, just perform. The idea that this was supposed to be more about their learning process rather than a final "thing" was a newer idea for many and something I needed to be clearer on.
• Too many slides with too much text. I really tried to drive home the idea of "what kind of presentation would you enjoy watching?" but the slides are just too deeply ingrained. Maybe in the fall, we can do some kind of Ignite style presentation to help at least get past the idea of writing whole paragraphs of information and then reading the slides to us. Then we could do Genius Hour again next spring and they'll have some other ideas for how a presentation can look.
• Because presentations took  place during the very last couple days of school, there was no time to discuss their self evaluations. Next year I need to allow for a little more time at the end for students to complete them during school and to give us time to debrief after everything is done.

Lots of composer/performers today too in #geniushour! pic.twitter.com/hpPkrH7T9s

— Hart MS Bands (@HartMsBands) June 17, 2016

For our first try, this was (as I kept saying every time someone asked me about it) SO cool! While there were some problems I should have better anticipated, there are just some things you have to try yourself no matter how many great people share advice and ideas. 

Even though it's almost a year away, I want to plan and prepare so that I can set students up for more success next time around. What do you think? Suggestions to help with processes that need improvement for next time? Other thoughts? Please share in the comments!