Last year, my school rolled out iPads for every student, and with the transition to Common Core, it was the perfect time for a massive curriculum shakeup. I'm lucky that my department gave me ample time to start working on this process. Simultaneously, I started experimenting with Genius Hour for my 8th grade students. Genius Hour equated to one hour a week, or one class day, where I let the students become experts in anything they wanted. This allowed them to explore their passions, and I saw engagement like never before. All of these things coalesced into a different mindset for me as a teacher. I'm nowhere near a full personalized education model, but I'm keeping the student-centered approach in the forefront as I continue this process.

There is a difference between differentiation and personalized learning . In the last year, I've been shifting toward the personalized learning aspect of curriculum design. How do I engage my learners and make their classwork more authentic?

So what are the essentials of personalized education, and how does something like Genius Hour play a role? Keefe and Jenkins found six basic tenets of personalized instruction.

1. Dual Teacher Role

To use Genius Hour effectively, get all your pieces together and ready to go so that you can use your valuable face-to-face time with the students. Your job is to coach and advise them through the process. While some students won't need much interference from you, others will need more intense coaching, so it's good to touch base with all students at least once during this hour. Because this should be a self-paced activity, with a bit of structure introduced by the teacher, you'll be able to offer regular 1:1 help.

2. Learn About Your Students

You'll learn more than you ever thought possible by watching your students go through this process. They are picking what they're passionate about, so the topics will be quite varied. Through this process, you'll also learn who is intrinsically motivated by their topic and skills, and who will need help. If you can learn a little about your students before jumping in (their developmental levels, what type of workers/learners they are, their prior knowledge on the topic), the better off you'll be in your dual role as coach and adviser. Last year when I went through this process, it was a second-semester activity. I have since reflected that the students needed more time. This year, I'll start in November so that I have time for getting to know my students before we begin.

3. Create a Culture of Collaboration

Because you're working so closely with your students, Genius Hour naturally develops a culture of collaboration. Some students chose to work as a group -- I allow up to four per group -- but many preferred to work on an individual basis. I required them to create a video pitch for their project, and then critique each other’s ideas and provide feedback. We also teamed up with other classrooms across the country to do the same. So we established the positive skill of learning from others how to make our project better.

I also had the students find a mentor and conduct an interview on their topic. Some were people in our own school or community. We're lucky to have a small university just blocks from our school, and many of the staff were willing to open their doors to provide help and support. Some students went further, contacting authors and other professionals for help. I even had one student that Skyped with an author who was then in Hawaii doing research but happy to talk with an eighth grader. I found this part of the process to be the most rewarding for students.

4. Create an Interactive Learning Environment

I often had the students brainstorming with each other or having online discussions via Schoology on different pieces of the process. At the end of the project, students were asked to give a TED-style talk on their topic. After watching and analyzing several TED talks, they did a discussion thread about what makes a successful TED talk.

The students also worked together on various topics and projects. They practiced their TED talks with each other prior to giving them, and provided critiques and feedback on their video pitches and websites. I asked them to use their own websites to reflect on their process, and then review each other's Genius Hour posts at least once through this process.

I would also challenge teachers to rethink their classroom workspace. This Edutopia video series inspired me to turn a previously unusable space at the back of my classroom into a Genius Bar and Recharging Station.