Harnessing Genius Hour school-wide: examining teachers' perceptions of the implementation of personalized inquiry across an international middle school

2018-07-23While educational researchers increasingly examine the implementation of both personalized learning and inquiry-based learning in K-12 schools, few of these studies focus on teachers’ experiences (Taylor, 2016). The purpose of this qualitative study was to gather the perceptions of middle school teachers charged with implementing a Genius Hour program pilot at a large, pre-K-12, private international school located in Southeast Asia in order to determine the program’s strengths, challenges, and next steps. The Genius Hour program pilot was meant to provide students with an opportunity to engage in personalized learning through the lens of personalized inquiry, allowing students to pursue their own curiosities during the school day. Guided by a constructivist theoretical framework, I gathered data through four focus groups made up of teachers who taught either electives or grades six, seven, or eight. Focus groups followed a semi-structured interview protocol, each interview was transcribed and coded, and codes were organized into six emerging themes. Perceived successes that emerged were connected to the (1) professional development and resources provided to teachers, (2) the relationships that grew between teachers and students, and (3) fulfillment of the pilot’s purpose. Perceived challenges that emerged included (4) the pacing of the pilot, (5) lack of access to supervised spaces, and (6) maintaining student motivation. Implications that emerged connected to each theme included (1) providing ongoing professional development to teachers, (2) developing mentoring opportunities for students, (3) expanding inquiry work across classes, (4) continuing to play with time devoted to the program, (5) expanding both space and supervision availability, and (6) developing new opportunities for students to share their work with authentic audiences