This booklet focuses upon ways in which a teacher can increase the amount of time students apply themselves to learning. Methods are presented for observing how much time students actually spend learning, for identifying which students are off-task, and for selecting teaching methods to increase students' learning time. Contents include…

In time-on-task observations, the effects of variations in methodological characteristics on the importance of time-on-task for student achievement were examined. Substantive conclusions were affected by variations in five areas with the greatest differences due to changes in the duration and number of days of observation. (CM)

This paper addresses four issues in the design and execution of behavioral observation in classrooms. These four issues relate to the consequences of using different observation intervals, schedules of observation, student sampling methods, and definitions of on-task and off-task behavior for reliability, means, and correlations of time on-task…

Momentary time samples (MTS) of 2, 4, and 6 minutes were compared to continuous recording samples of on-task behavior for three elementary-aged students with emotional/behavioral orders (EBD). Results indicated that the 2-minute, but not the 4- or 6-minute, interval MTS were consistent with the continuous measure. Implications for research and…

Thirty third and fourth grade students were observed over two entire school days to examine the nature of instruction and academic responding time for students of high, middle, and low teacher-perceived behavioral competence. Across all groups, it was found that students spent about 45 minutes in a typical school day actively engaged in academic…

Twenty-six elementary grade learning disabled (LD) students were observed over two entire school days to examine the extent to which students in different service delivery levels were provided with varying instructional approaches and opportunities to learn. Several differences were found in instructional approaches: less severely learning…

Collecting time-on-task data is necessary in order to research methods for increasing student time-on-task and to provide feedback to teachers on what teaching behaviors produce high levels of on-task behaviors in students. A student and a teacher behavior data collection instrument developed for research in the area of academic learning time is…

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)

A study examined (1) whether students whose teachers possess a higher level of professional development exhibit greater time-on-task in reading than students whose teachers exhibit a lower level of professional development, and (2) if any specific aspects of teachers' professional development were related to a significantly greater amount of…

How various methodological decisions may influence studies of the effect of time-on-task on achievement are examined. Subjects were students in grades 2-5 in 18 classes taught by 12 teachers in a rural Maryland school district. All students were pre-tested in February 1978 in reading, language arts, math and social studies using the Comprehensive…

A model of Academic Learning Time (ALT) is described, where ALT represents ongoing student learning in terms of student engagement, low student error rate, and relevance of the instructional task to the specified outcome. This model was validated in a correlational study of the relationship between these variables and student achievement in…

The study evaluated the reliability and validity of SCAN, a measurement technique for assessing class involvement in the learning process (classroom climate for learning). Concurrent validity was investigated by comparing SCAN ratings to a point-sampling of on-task performance behaviors. The Engaged Time Observation Instrument (ETOI) was used to…

The overall purpose of this project was threefold: (1) to gather task descriptive data concerning engagement rates of students across grade levels, abilities, classrooms, contextual factors, subject areas and task structures; (2) to link various teacher behaviors with student engagement rates, focusing on correlational results between a number of…

The use of time in school, specifically the portion of time defined as active responding time, has been shown to correlate significantly with achievement. The comprehensive observational methodology of the academic engaged time studies provides the basis for systematically investigating student responding time and elements of the educational…

This study examined the verbal behavior of students and teachers in three learning activities: microcomputer work, group work, and conventional (teacher-directed) instruction. Verbalizations were coded into seven task-related and one non-task-related categories. Variations in verbal interactions during each activity were recorded and are…