We examine the fundamental and complex role that time plays in the learning process. We begin by developing a conceptual framework to elucidate the multiple obstacles schools face in converting total time in school into active learning time. We then synthesize the causal research and document a clear positive effect of additional time on student…

Despite its centrality in teaching, what it takes to identify the goals of instruction and use those goals to manage the work has yet to be articulated in ways that it can be adequately studied or taught. Using data from preservice teachers' mathematics lessons, this study identifies and illustrates seven central tasks of "steering…

Little is known about the skills children need to successfully collaborate with classmates on academic assignments. The purposes of this study were to identify grade-schoolers' collaborative skills, evaluate the importance of identified skills for collaborative work, and determine whether differences in skill use were related to children's social…

This study follows from the premise that there is a positive and substantial correlation between achievement and instructional time. Specifically, the author describes multivariate relationships existing between proportions of time spent on instruction and behavior in the classroom, and six potentially important contextual variable subsets. For a…

To assess the effects of enthusiasm training for teachers on students' academic performance, teachers were randomly assigned to training and no-training conditions. All teachers taught the same curriculum unit following training. Students of trained teachers did not achieve more than other students but were observed to be more often on-task.…

To test a deduction from Carroll's Model of School Learning (i.e., increasing a learner's perserverance will not alter degree of learning or learning rate), time needed to learn a task under an encouragement condition designed to increase perserverance was compared to learning time under a discouragement condition. As predicted, no significant…

Student ability and behaviors during small-group interaction as mediators of effective small-group learning were examined. Comparison of test results indicated that students trained in small-group interaction participated in more task-related interaction than control students, and task-related interaction enhanced achievement and retention.…

Time on task and time on reading were observed during free reading periods. Poor readers especially spent less time on reading with comics than books. and showed more improvement in reading comprehension with books than with comics. A link between reading ability, time spent on reading, comprehension gain, and reading material was observed.…

This study tested a model of teacher interventions (TIs) conducted during cooperative learning to examine how they affected students' subsequent time on-task (TOT) and problem solving. TIs involved groups of ninth-grade students working on an algebra problem; videotaped lessons were transcribed and analyzed. Results showed that teachers initiated…

The degree of implementation of the Adaptive Learning Environments Model in special education and its association with efficient use of student's time and other classroom resources and processes were examined. Primary grade teachers were able to establish and maintain the model at moderate to high criterion levels. (Author/DWH)

The consequences of using alternative measures of time and achievement are examined in an observational study of 18 elementary school classes. The extent to which choice of the same model linking time and learning for all students was implicated in the inconsistent results is examined. (Author/GK)

The SOBR observation technique was used to observe reading instruction in special education resource room programs for mildly disabled students. Disabled and nondisabled students in regular classrooms were also observed. There were considerable differences in reading instruction across programs and students. The amount of reading instruction was…

The causal effects of time spent in learning (TSL) and time needed for learning (TTL) on the reading and spelling achievement of 171 fourth and fifth grade students were investigated. TTL contributed significantly to achievement, and its direct effect was greater than TSL. Results also support a Carroll's learning model. (Author/BS)

Disruptive pupil behavior increased during teacher-initiated transition time as opposed to nontransitional time. Procedures for structuring transitions to increase time-on-task and maintain smoothness and momentum are described, and teachers' conceptions of time and classroom time flow are discussed. (Author/RD)

Primary grade students of varying mathematics and reading abilities were assessed with appropriate standardized measures. Peer-directed activities were recorded. Results indicated ability groups differed in achievement and use of requests and responses. The implications for children's acquisition of skills in peer-directed instructional groups are…