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Finding the Time: Teachers Must Preserve Their Most Valuable Resource
By Ben Johnson
3/18/08If I were to ask you what the most valuable resource that teachers have at their disposal is, what would you answer?
You might consider the teacher's knowledge or skills in teaching as his or her most valuable resource. You might think support from the school administration, a well-written curriculum, sufficient teaching aids, varied strategies, or perhaps even the students themselves would be the most valuable resource to an educator. Amazingly enough, though, it is the resource that we often pay the least attention to and end up abusing (wasting) more than any other. I contend that the most valuable resource that a teacher has is time.
In many states, teachers have only about 180 days (177 days in my district) in which to get their students to acquire the knowledge and skills state requirements dictate. Add in numerous activities that may be worthwhile but that still chip away at those 180 days. Some activities -- such as sports, band, drama, and special celebrations -- do so in large chunks:. But there are also the small time wasters that add up: morning announcements, classroom business, students being summoned to the office, and other classroom interruptions.
The most important aspect of time for educators is the amount students spend actively engaged in the learning process, not simply the amount they spend on school grounds. In a previous post, I discussed some ways to develop a sense of urgency and how to provide a reason to do things now in the classroom. How teachers and schools spend their time is the critical issue in establishing urgency.
I see three aspects to a teacher's time: preparation time, instruction time, and professional-duty time. I would like to discuss instruction time and how to reclaim it.
Instruction time begins the moment the teacher greets his or her students in the hallway and ends the moment the young people leave the campus. Wait! Is that really the end of instructional time? No. Most schools employ a simple trick to extend the instructional time of the classroom: homework. (Unfortunately, homework is sometimes otherwise known as busywork.) So, if students view homework as a review and extension of what they learned in class, learning time can and should extend into the home.
During a typical lesson, a teacher employs the professional teaching-and-learning cycle: study, select, plan, implement, analyze, and adjust. You can read a brief explanation of the cycle in a comment I made to another previous blog entry. During the implementation phase (Madeline Hunter would be proud of me), the teacher spends time introducing the lesson, giving direct instruction, and modeling the lesson. The teacher then gives the students guided practice and individual practice, followed by a final closure activity.
Of all of those time segments, which one is the most important? To answer that question, I'll ask another question: When are the students learning the most? Wouldn't that be when students are practicing? Looking at this issue more closely, in a traditional class, are all students learning if they are simply listening to the teacher talking?
Not likely. Even though some students may be able to retain the information in short-term memory, the rest will have difficulty remembering what the teacher said without notes or aids. The only ways to push knowledge or comprehension-level information and skills into long-term memory is practice, memorization, or participation in varied higher-order thinking activities. (See Bloom's Taxonomy.) These activities are, by their very nature, engaging activities. A student cannot easily sit by while all of the other students are actively engaged in a project.
Please share your thoughts, and click here to read part two of this entry.
Time Savers
Submitted by Amy Butler (not verified) on March 26, 2008 - 20:49.
I enjoyed reading all of the time saving suggestions. I have begun to think about what time I waste through out the day. I will have to change this. I am going to try the ticket idea to leave the classroom for recess.
Different approaches to starting class
Submitted by Taking the time back (not verified) on March 26, 2008 - 20:29.
During the course of the year I have tried many different approaches to the start of class. When entering a high school atmosphere I knew the students were focused on their social life and not so much the math I would like for them to learn. There had to be a way to gain back those firt few minutes lost in each class and I think I have finally found a method that works for me.
As the sudents walk into class their warm up page is already on the board. This isn't the typical five math question warm up; instead, the students have five ice-breaker questions. I started out small with questions such as, "if I were an animal, I would be _______, because ________." As the weeks go on I try to get questions that make the kids think more about their lives and about their future.
This is the best procedure I have in my class. The students come in, put their bookbags to the back and get started on their warm-up. They know the clock will stop after about 3 minutes and all answers must be in complete sentences. We go around the room giving three people the chance to share their answers. After three people we move onto the next quesion. When the questions are complete, the students beg me to answer (which is why I'm careful of the questions asked), and then we move on with the lesson.
All students are accountable for their questions. Every Friday the warm-ups are collected and put in as a quiz grade for the week. I can't ask for anything better; my students are focused from the time they enter the room until they leave. This is the best thing I have ever done for my students and for myself. Questions/Situations from the "IF..." book work just as good. And don't think I spend hours thinking of questions, there are plenty of websites with ice-breaker questions.
Hope this helps some other people gain back their time and focus into the classroom.
And...I completly agree with the comment between 4th graders and 9th graders...they are very similar with their needs and wants. It is almost crazy to think that my ninth graders are at the level of fourth graders, but in many ways they are.
Prime the thinking pump
Submitted by Ben Johnson <author> (not verified) on April 6, 2008 - 07:29.
Taking the Time Back:
Engaging the students is the very first thing a teacher has to do. The faster that happens in the classroom, the easier the lesson goes. As a Spanish teacher I did journal writing to help the students in very similar ways to yours. The prompts for the student writing, came from Spanish refrains, sayings, and words of wisdom. This was a double benefit for my students because it got them thinking in the language and it made them evaluate what they believed. It was difficult at first because the students were not accustomed to thinking figuratively (What does moss have to do with rolling stones?). After they got used to it, though, they really enjoyed it.
Ben Johnson Natalia, TX
The importance of time
Submitted by Leah (not verified) on March 26, 2008 - 19:30.
I also agree with the importance of time in the classroom. I teach first grade and don't want to waste what little available instructional time that I have with my students. I also sing learning songs, practice math facts, and ask questions during transitions and free time. Luckily, by nature, I am a person who likes to keep things moving. At times, I don't give my students enough down time or "slow down" time. I feel like my problem is that I sometimes try to do too much in too little time. Having a routine and sticking to a routine is not only good for the students but the teachers. One extra comment I would like to add is that although homework may extend instructional time, it is not always a resource that is an option. I come from a school with a high transient rate and my students come from homes with very little parent support. This makes homework a difficult task. Our school did offer an after school program for a few years when we qualified for a grant. This was a great resource that did lenthen instructional time and helped focus on more individualized needs.
Homework as an extension of the classroom and time saver
Submitted by Ben Johnson <author> (not verified) on March 27, 2008 - 06:42.
Leah:
I understand that homework is a program that has limited success, especially in areas where the parent is not intimately involve with their child's education. But ultimately, regardless of the age of the students, we expect the student to be the one to do the homework, not the parent. I know the parent has a vital role in helping the student be successful, especially in homework, but the parent cannot do the homework for the student. So, irregardless of parental support, a student can do homework if he or she wants to.
Having said that, we know that having the student individually embrace the topic of study is a life long habit that we want students to learn, prek- 16. The key is to first provide homework opportunities that the students will want to do. I don't know what student will tell you they want to fill out worksheets or answer math problems. But some of the most interesting homework assignments have been ones that the students become part of the next day's lesson. If in math you want to graph some measurements, have the students get measurements from all of their family, shoe sizes, nose sizes, hat sizes etc... In English they can interview family members, relatives or neighbors for topics to write on. One thing that always motivates students is when they get to choose what to do for homework from a range of options (all calibrated to be equally challenging, but using different learning and assessment modalities).
If we accustom our students to want to do homework with more engaging and realistic assignments, then when they periodically have to do the drill and kill practice, they will be more likely to do it, especially if they understand that their practice will help them in class the next day.
At our high school some teachers told me that because of the same reasons that you listed, they do not assign homework (we have over 70% of our students on free and reduced lunch). Yet there are several other teachers at that high school who assign daily homework and get daily homework back from these same kids. I believe that it is because the teacher has successfully shown the students that the homework is essential to do well in that class, and has set the expectation that each student can and will do well. Certainly, there are consequences for not doing the homework, but I believe the focus is on rewarding those that do do the homework.
So what I am saying is basically, don't give up on homework. Start easy, and work your way up to more complex homework assignments. Make sure that every homework assignment is related and relevant to the next day's learning. Celebrate small successes along the way.
Good luck.
Ben Johnson Natalia, TX
Where does the time go?
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on March 26, 2008 - 19:26.
I absolutely agree that time is one of the most important resources for teachers. This is a subject of discussion on a daily basis between my colleagues and I. In my district,there 184 days in the school year. I only get to see my students every other day, so if we miss a day because of snow, I am now behind in those classes from that day and have to play catch up. Then, you also have to take into account early dismissals, field trips, assemblies, and the countless interuptions during the day. One technique that I have heard from another teacher is to have someone appointed as the "disruption police". If someone comes to the door, they will go to the door and hand them a note stating for them to come back when they won't be interrupting an education. I thought this would work great in an elementary classroom. As a middle school teacher, I am not sure how this would work. I share classrooms with other teachers and they are constantly coming in and out of the room.
One thing I try to do to save some time is to check the homework as the students are working on their warmups. I have 90 minute blocks with my students and still feel like its not enough time to get my activities accomplished. Being a second year teacher, I am still working on the whole classroom management piece of teaching. This takes a big chunk of time.
Wasted time
Submitted by Colleen (not verified) on March 26, 2008 - 18:13.
I really enjoyed reading your blog. You are so right about all the wasted time we have throughout the day. I teach kindergarten and as you know, everything takes time! I try to make the most out of my time by playing little games during transition time and restroom breaks. The children love participating because I make it like a game show. We review rhyming words, sight words, letters and sounds. I have found restroom breaks go so much smoother because the children are interested and would rather be in the game than playing around in the bathroom. It can be hard when you have these block times you need to fulfill with language arts and math and constantly have interruptions! I just continue with my routines and classroom management to minimize the interuptions and maximize the learning!
Time...
Submitted by jks (not verified) on March 26, 2008 - 18:11.
Wow, I thought it was just a private school thing to have teachers who wear many hats! It must just be a teacher thing. My school day is longer then the area public schools yet it seems we still spend more time out of classroom.
More Learning Time
Submitted by Michelle Rossi, Stockton, CA (not verified) on March 26, 2008 - 17:39.
Reading the article and the thoughts of others, I too agree that time needs to be better utilized. However, I do see this as a challenge for most teachers. There are many things that seem to effect the schedule or classroom activities. One of them is the incredible amount of testing. This is just one example but I find that my planning needs to be flexible because there are going to be interruptions. Even still, I think I do need to work on time in transitions. This seems to be a problem for me because my students do not want to change subjects until they finish the one they are working on. I guess you could say they are engaged but when we have to move onto another subject and clean up, this takes up a lot of time. I have tried music and timed transitions, and I would say, they are taking atleast 5-7 minutes to clean up and prepare for the next lesson. This time adds up through out the year and I really want to cut it down to 2 minutes. I will continue to look at ways of doing this. Any ideas would be helpful.
Juggling Time
Submitted by Daniel Glover (not verified) on March 26, 2008 - 15:28.
I feel that the best comparison that can be made between teaching and another profession is a juggling. A juggler has to keep as many things up in the air and spinning as possible. Teachers do the same. Teachers juggle instruction, student engagement, behavior and participation, decsion making, planning, meetings, standards, and the list goes on and on. And the whole time keeping time in mind. Time for covering state curriculum, planning, grading, and of course every other thing in their own lives. I would have to say that the most important thing when it comes to "time" is to make the most out of it. Just like we teach our students "use your time effectively."
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