The history of burgers, world hunger or teaching styles: these topics are just a few of the many projects students in Freshman Seminar are presenting in class. A new addition this year, the librarians and freshman seminar teachers have added Genius Hour projects, a national movement that allows students to explore their own passions and encourages creativity in the classroom, to the curriculum.

“They have to present a product,” Lee Mitchell, head librarian said. “It can be a PowerPoint, a video, a demonstration, anything they choose to do. They spend about six to eight weeks doing research and picking a topic and then they work on putting the product together.”
The librarians heard about Genius hour from other districts at a conference and then brought the idea back to the Freshman Seminar teachers here, and now the other RSD high schools are participating as well.

“Once it is over, we will sit down with the Freshman Seminar teachers and talk about what we can do better and even if they want to continue it,” Mitchell said. “We will have a survey for the students to fill out too. I hope we do it next year.”

Junior Principal Rick Regina oversees Freshman Seminar and agrees with the addition of Genius Hour.

“It gives the kids a good experience in research for the first time at a high school level and gives them a chance to know the library and the librarians,” Regina said. “The most important thing is they get to present in front of a class and for students that is usually something that can be intimidating.”

He even watched in on some of the presentations on topics varying from steroids to concussions.

“It was neat for me to see the students taking ownership in something they are interested in and to really dig deep into it,” Regina said.