{"id":100230,"date":"2020-04-29T10:25:29","date_gmt":"2020-04-29T17:25:29","guid":{"rendered":"\/blogs\/?p=100230"},"modified":"2025-08-20T05:35:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T12:35:12","slug":"school-from-home-project-based-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/school-from-home-project-based-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"School From Home: Project-Based Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"

School from Home: Project-Based Learning<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If keeping your kids on task and engaged with schoolwork from home is proving to be a challenge, you aren\u2019t alone. We recently surveyed<\/a> families and found that keeping kids focused was at the top of parent concerns right alongside establishing a routine. Just as school-aged kids can often struggle with homework completion during a normal school year, the challenges are magnified right now at home. If you\u2019re a parent living through this pain right now, here\u2019s something that can help: project-based learning.<\/p>\n

Like adults, kids often engage more authentically with project-based work that they feel connected to on a personal level. Finding those connections without the in-person presence of a teacher to help create context makes it all just a little (or a lot!) harder for many of us right now as we try to make sure our young scholars are continuing to engage with learning.<\/p>\n

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How are your children spending their time? <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Depending on grade level and the number of weeks your student has been learning from home, you might be encountering varying levels of work assigned by teachers and varying levels of work completed by your kids. Assignments from school might be non-negotiable for many students, especially high school-aged kids who are receiving credit and, in some cases, preparing for high-stakes tests such as AP exams, being taken this year from home.<\/a><\/p>\n

If your personal situation at home is one of optional assignments or work from school that\u2019s finished quickly leaving your student bored or going on autopilot on a device, here\u2019s a self-directed project almost any age child can enjoy: Genius Hour. It\u2019s relatively easy to get started and best of all, there\u2019s no grading at the end!<\/p>\n

Project-Based Learning That Gets Kids Motivated <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Genius Hour (sometimes known as 20% time) is a concept implemented at some innovative companies like Google in which employees take 20 percent of the work week to pursue projects of their own interest. Many teachers in recent years have adopted the practice as a way to increase engagement among students by giving them time to explore a project of their own choosing while connecting components of the project to scholastic skills connected to research, critical thinking, reading, writing, and presentations. Teachers set certain requirements to keep the expectations high and then provide resources and guidance along the way.<\/p>\n

How does Genius Hour work?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Here\u2019s a quick snapshot of how Genius Hour works\u2014followed by a few details and some helpful links to help you get your child started:<\/p>\n