[1] Teachers allow students to pick a topic of their own, usually framed around an inquiry question, based on their own passions or wonders.
A Genius Hour project begins with the selection of the topic and the essential or driving question.
The final product should be able to reflect on the findings of the research, and go beyond by analyzing the information found and provide the student's own discoveries.
Students are passionate about the topics they picked, and will interact and engage more in the learning and research process, therefore, get more from the 20% of time.
[3] Furthermore, Genius Hour is based on the belief that "No longer is the teacher a dispenser of all knowledge, but students must be entrusted to make learning their own.