Genius Hour - learning to knit

    

Genius hour is not a new concept; although, it is new in education.  The idea behind Genius Hour is for students to use 20% of their time to learn something that is interesting to them.  Students are encouraged to use planning sheets to guide their learning while they work to complete their project.

The idea of Genius Hour appears ideally to be great; however, when implementing this concept with my students it would have to be structured and introduced through a problem based learning platform.  When the students are given time to work on something they find interesting, only a select few will complete the task. Of the rest of the students, half will talk with their friends and the other half will play games.  

    My own experience with Genius Hour was with learning to knit.  Knitting is something my mother used to do. She made knitted slippers for me and my sisters when we were little.  Many of my friends know how to knit. This is something I have wanted to learn for a very long time. I bought a book many years ago for beginners and never read it.  With the assignment for EEND 679 I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to learn.

    Initially, I thought, “how hard can this really be?”  I opened the set and rolled one link of yarn into a ball just like the instructions said.  I thought this is easy so far. Then I went to cast. I could not figure out how to get the first loop onto the needle.  This was so difficult. When I finally thought I got it right, I went on to casting with two needles. After 10 minutes (feeling like hours), I went on to the next page and tried casting with one needle.  After practicing for another 10 minutes and feeling defeated and frustrated, I found a Youtube video showing how to cast on one needle!  I played, paused and replayed the video several times before I was able to cast. I can now cast on one needle without using the video.  

   The next step was to complete a row of knitted stitches.  I continued watching the video, paused, and tried to add a row of stitches.  I succeeded in putting the cast from one needle to the other without adding a row of stitches.  Feeling frustrated again; I went back to the video and played, paused, and replayed the video until I finally got it right.  I was able to complete two rows of knitted stitches. This is a lot more difficult then I originally thought. I shouted out loud “YES!” when I finished the first row of knitted stitches.  Although, I did have some difficulty with the last loop when transferring from one needle to the next in order to add an additional stitch. I went through some yarn.

    The next day, I went to see my dear friend Karen.  She knows how to crochet, knit, loom, and sew. She walked me through the process and explained how to complete the last stitch.   Karen told me that the yarn I was using was meant for crafts and was not good for knitting. She had me work using her worsted yarn.  I made better progress because the yarn was not fraying and it was easier to work with. I felt so elated that I was completing the stitches correctly.  I regained my confidence and thought, I could really finish this. Also, she helped me when I skipped a stitch and fixed it so that I could continue.

    Genius Hour can definitely become part of my teaching and learning.  Although, I would introduce the project using Project Based Learning.   I like the idea of having the students find something they are interested in and following through in order to learn.  In the past, I have had students complete research on natural disasters or animals. A component of their research was to create a diorama.  Many of my students have impressed me with the initiative and hard work they put into their projects. I would introduce a project to my students and explain the task that is being assigned to them.  There will be rubrics and graphic organizers to guide their work. As well as conferencing to aid in the students staying on task and working within their groups. Because this is being assigned as a project, there will be a due date (with true Genius Hour, there is not a time frame, only that the task has to be related to learning).  As time goes on, I would hope to move to implement a percentage of time each week so the students can explore what interests them and connect it to learning.

With the use of technology, the sky's the limit as to what they can accomplish.

This link will take you to the KWHLAQ Chart & Learning Log completed for Genius Hour.