Gaining Self-Awareness through Genius Hour

Self-awareness is such an important skill.  CASEL explains that self-awareness is "The abilities to understand one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior across contexts. This includes capacities to recognize one’s strengths and limitations with a well-grounded sense of confidence and purpose."

Oftentimes, at school, our learners aren't given the opportunity to become self-aware as they are told what to do, when to do, where to do, and how to do.  This became apparent for me as I introduced Genius Hour and some of learners responded with, "What do you want me to learn about and what should I be interested in?".  Definitely not the response that I was expecting.  

One of the things that I love most about Genius Hour in the classroom is that it gave my learners the opportunity to get to know themselves.  They learned more about their own interests, strengths and weaknesses, and ability to reflect on what they had learned.

Many of our learners aren't sure what they are interested in because of a lack of exposure.  They don't know what exists to be interested in.  When learners are given the opportunity to intentionally consider what they want to learn about or what they'd like to impact, they begin to see things from a different perspective.  They are often more willing to explore new things, take risks, and seek new ideas.  Below are a few questions that you might use to learners started as they begin to identify their own interests and passions:

• What activities or topics do you find yourself naturally drawn to?
• Are there any hobbies or pastimes you enjoy that you'd like to learn more deeply about
• Is there something you've always wondered about but never had a chance to explore?
• Have you come across something recently that sparked your curiosity?

Every learner has strengths and every learner has weaknesses.  However, many of our gifted learners are only aware of their strengths and they think if a weakness is identified, something must be wrong.  Many of our twice-exceptional learners aren't aware of their strengths.  So often, at school, we are trying to "fix" our learners, that it might be easy for them to assume that their weakness is their entire story.  The reality is that nothing could be further from the truth. Every learner that walks through the classroom door has strengths and weaknesses that deserve to be acknowledge and addressed.  Genius Hour gives our learners the opportunity to become aware of their own strengths and weaknesses through an authentic learning experience. 

Finally, reflection gives our learners the opportunity to consider their own learning.  Reflecting on what they've learned and why it matters to them requires them to be self-aware.  Reflection is an important part of Genius Hour and should be prioritized every time that learners work on their project.  This practice will help learners make connections and understand more about themselves, as learners, as they move throughout the Genius Hour process.

Self-awareness...it's an important skill and it's one of the reasons that I think Genius Hour can be so beneficial for our learners.  If Genius Hour is something that you'd like to implement in your classroom or learn more about, please check out my Genius Hour resources HERE.