MOUNT VERNON – Knox County students who devoted several months to researching and developing projects on topics of interest to them presented their work during a public Genius Hour program May 14 at the Eastern Star’s Gallagher Centre.
The program was facilitated by Taylor Gingery, gifted and talented coordinator at the Knox Educational Service Center.
Students in grades 3 through 12 at Centerburg, Danville, East Knox and Fredericktown were eligible to participate as long as they were identified as gifted and teachers were fully engaged in the required process.
Fredericktown did not respond to an invitation to participate.
Gingery said the Genius Hour format is designed to push students out of their academic comfort zones.
“It is a framework that guides students through an independent project about a topic of interest,” she said. “Its goal is to push students beyond ‘research, summarize, present slides’ and into ‘What can I do or create after learning from my research?’
“This is a difficult format because students are very comfortable with regurgitating and memorizing information, due to decades of traditional academic routines. It forces them outside of the habit of risk avoidance – ‘Is this the right answer?’ – and into open-ended exploration: ‘Look what I learned and created, here is how it fits into the real world and what more can I investigate?’”
Students who presented at the Genius Hour symposium, their school, grade and topic included:
– Hollis Banks, East Knox, grade 5, Japanese Culture
– Keegan Connell, Centerburg, grade 5, Donald Ross Golf Course Architecture
– Aria Dunmire, East Knox, grade 4, The Privacy Bus
– Vincent Frazee, East Knox, grade 8, The Evolution of Sports
– Mia Ison, Danville, grade 4, The Planet Saturn
– Ellie Lepley, Danville, grade 4, Art is Life: Is art a form of therapy?
– Kalista Mathia, Danville, grade 4, Sewing Onesies
– Will Meyers, Danville, grade 4, Computer Safety - Phishing Warnings
– Cora Parks, Centerburg, grade 5, Upcycling: How can I turn trash into art?
– Hendrix Penrose, Centerburg, grade 3, Protecting Endangered Sharks
– Noah, Pfettscher, East Knox, grade 4, Cat Care Kits
– Junia Pfettscher, East Knox, grade 6, Expanding on Greek Mythologies in Story Writing
Grace Weaver, a Genius Hour student at East Knox, presented her project at the East Knox School Board meeting on the same night as the Gallagher Centre program. Her work focused on the science behind sourdough and documenting her breadmaking journey. She was accompanied by Lauren Mohnasky, East Knox gifted intervention specialist for grades 3-6.
Spectators at the Gallagher Centre included teachers, Eastern Star residents and parents and family members of the students,
Gingery designed the Genius Hour event to be a science fair/gallery-style presentation format.
“Students were not on stage. Instead, they stood next to their post boards and presented their projects to small-group rotations,” she said.
A “silent sticker” voting process allowed spectators to place stickers on cards next to posters to nominate projects in four categories of honorable mentions. Recipients included:
– Thought Provoking: Hendrix Penrose
– Community Impact: Cora Parks
– Creative Approach: Keegan Connell and Junis Pfettscher
– Favorite Conversation: Noah Pfettscher
All students received a certificate of accomplishment for completing a project and demonstrating the public speaking skills required to present at the symposium.
Gingery’s work encompassed a myriad of responsibilities, including creating the Genius Hour curriculum materials, supporting teachers and students, managing parent communications and deploying Mount Vernon Nazarene University volunteer mentors to work with students weekly from January to April.
Bryan Connell was among many parents who expressed gratitude for the Genius Hour program. In an email to Gingery, he said, “I wanted to send a quick note to thank you for organizing and leading the Genius Hour project. My son truly loved working on his project, and we are so proud of what he and all the students accomplished. We appreciate all the effort you put into making this such a great experience.”
Teachers who participated in Genius Hour included:
Centerburg: Laura DiMarco, Becky Thompson, Tonia Gregory and Beth Stimmel.
Danville: Toni Lyons.
East Knox, Lauren Mohnasky, Lisa Downes.
Staff who served as project advisers were:
Danville: Emma Brewer, Danielle McFadden, Cody Straub, Carol Newbold, IT department and Principal Laura Holler.
East Knox: Tyler Rosshirt
“A big thank-you to the host, Marci Thomas, and her staff at Eastern Star for providing the venue, refreshments and set-up assistance for the Genius Hour program,” Gingery said. “Eastern Star staff accompanied residents around the room to listen to student presentations and facilitate conversations.”