Genius Hour: It works for Google engineers, let’s try it with teachers!
Most people reading this will be familiar with the famous “Google Genius Hour”. Just in case you aren’t familiar: Google engineers are given up to 20% of their work week to pursue projects that they are passionate about, as long as it has the potential to further the goals of the company. Innovations such as Gmail, Google News, and Google Glass are just a few examples of the types of projects that have come from this innovative use of company time. It is based on the idea that if you hire the right people, and allow them to pursue their passions, you will get surprising results. I believe that it is time to bring this idea to schools and to the teaching profession. While many schools are experimenting with Genius Hour for their students, it’s time to give teachers that same freedom.
Consider the typical professional development day. Teachers come in and listen to one or more “experts” teach them how to do a better job: understand student learning, improve test scores, etc. Most teacher development comes from a top-down structure — administrators identify learning they want to focus on and then either hire someone to deliver the information to the staff or develop it in-house. Teachers sit through a day of sessions, usually with little or no interactive learning or practice time. The next day, they are turned loose to figure out how to use the information in their classrooms. They are not involved in the decision-making process about the PD and are given little if any time to figure out how to best implement it. As a result, most teachers do not buy in to the PD.
Let’s restructure that model. Let’s accept that the vast majority of teachers are dedicated to their craft and to the learning of their students. Let’s also agree that most teachers are in fact education professionals, capable of making informed decisions related to the execution of their duties. They are the experts in their field. If we approach teaching professionals through this lens, they start to look a little more like those passionate, skilled, dedicated Google engineers. Once we accept these postulates, we start to wonder why we wouldn’t give them more power in their own development.
With all of that in mind, here’s my pitch. I’m willing to start small. Instead of 20%, let’s aim for one professional development day per semester in which teachers are given time to pursue any project of their choosing, as long as it has the potential to advance the mission of the school. I know this is a rather vague, amorphous directive, but that’s the idea. Give teachers the room to find a passion. Perhaps it is classroom learning. Maybe they have an idea for school-wide social-emotional learning. The possibilities are limited only by the diverse passions of your staff!
About three years ago, we were given this type opportunity at my school. Teachers could determine their own PD for one day. We had to submit proposals to the administration for approval. It was one of the most effective PD days in my 27 year career. I researched and developed peer instruction materials for my physics classes that I still use (and have gotten great feedback from my students who have gone on to physics and engineering in college!). I honestly cannot say that about any other professional development I have endured in my career. Other teachers pursued job-shadowing related to their assignment. Our shop teacher spent the day with local contractors, developing connections to employers that his students are still benefiting from. And it was one of the few times in memory that teachers talked about their PD experiences the next day with a buzz of excitement.
Unfortunately, the following semester traditional PD was back. But for that one glorious day, teachers were excited and felt fulfilled about their professional learning. So I ask you: why wouldn’t we want that more often?
