The purpose of this action research was to study the potential of block time lesson planning (BTLP) as a viable alternative to detailed daily lesson planning in managing teachers' workloads. The study delved into primary responsibilities of a teacher such as resourcing lessons, carrying out assessments and daily lesson planning as workloads. A…

Background: During self-study, students need to monitor and regulate mental effort to replete working memory resources and optimize learning results. Taking breaks during self-study could be an effective effort regulation strategy. However, little is known about how breaktaking relates to self-regulated learning. Aims: We investigated the effects…

This SoTL study aimed to discover how teacher education students engaged with a 30-minute unstructured break during a weekly three-hour lecture. Cognitive fatigue and resulting stress accumulation have negative effects on wellness. Education students can accumulate significant stress when studying and preparing. This, in turn, affects their career…

Purpose: We report the qualitative findings from a survey of elementary teachers regarding reading instruction. The purpose is to extend on quantitative findings in a previously described survey to gain a more in-depth understanding of Australian elementary teachers' approaches to the literacy block in their schools: how this is used, who makes…

About 20 years ago, a number of Yukon schools took a different approach to outdoor education and outdoor pursuits. During the 1970s and 1980s, most Yukon high schools and junior high schools offered a course called Outdoor Education. These courses fit into the conventional blocks in a school timetable. Outdoor activities longer than these blocks…

In today's teaching and learning approaches for first-semester students, practical courses more and more often complement traditional theoretical lectures. This practical element allows an early insight into the real world of engineering, augments student motivation, and enables students to acquire soft skills early. This paper describes a new…

Studies have shown that the amount of time students spend engaged in learning tasks is related to learning outcomes. However, schools often offer to the students only a fraction of the time that governments pay for, and schools in lower-income areas often offer less time than governments plan for students. Instructional time ought to be an…

Based on his experience with the Copernican block scheduling plan used in British Columbia secondary schools, a principal identifies administrative challenges (abuse of tutorial time, uneven distribution of teacher-preparation time, teacher fatigue, pedagogical changes, and unrealistic expectations) and suggests ways to address them. Involving…

Stresses the need for higher education students in the Soviet Union to budget time for classes, studying, research, leisure, and miscellaneous activities such as sleep, transportation, and personal needs. Outlines an efficient student time budget. (Author/DB)

The influence of two time variables (allocated time and pupil time on task) was compared with the influence of two context variables (aptitude and socioeconomic status), on primary level mathematics achievement. Results showed that the time variables accounted for significantly more variance in achievement, with pupil time on task having the…

A national study was designed to examine open-space education in Great Britain. The study's purpose was to provide an accurate, comprehensive description of the teaching-learning processes within such schools and their administrative and architectural services in order that policy implications could be delineated. (Author/DB)

This study examined special services in four elementary schools in British Columbia (Canada), finding conflicts between mandated inclusion and integrated-curriculum block scheduling. Interviews with 31 teachers revealed that nearly half of the students received special services, and most teachers needed to coordinate planning with several…

This report gives an overview of the organization, scope, and content of the physical education and games program provided for children and youth in the primary, intermediate, and secondary schools of 48 countries. The report is a synthesis of information received in response to questionnaires sent to key individuals in each country. Information…

A controlled experiment conducted in Canada, the Trois Rivieres regional experiment, investigated the effects of increased physical education instruction on elementary school students. Results indicate that more time can be spent in physical education and that the increased time may result in improvement in other academic areas. (CJ)

School systems face the challenge of meeting high expectations with limited resources. Reductions in operating grants and increasing expenditures have exaggerated the problem. The Innovation Network was established by the Saskatchewan School Trustees Association in 1995 to help boards of education make the best use of available resources. This…