To make sure students' time in school is used efficiently and advantageously, some simple ways to improve time use are suggested. It is important to assess time use to ensure that a school schedules enough time for basics, is using learning time and teaching time well, and is not duplicating subject matter. (MD)

A self-management procedure used with 10 students (8-12 years old) in special schools was found to alter behavior directly without the need for a prior period of externally managed contingencies and was equal or superior to the externally administered tokens in its effects on time-on-task and out-of-seat behavior. (Author/CL)

Among findings from a comparison of 13 preschool hyperactive and control males assessed on receptive-communications tasks that required listening and delayed response were that Ss did not differ in task-related movements or verbalizations, but that hyperactive Ss verbalized impulsively during transitions and tasks requiring response delay. (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…

Practice in oral and silent reading is an important component in the development of reading skills. Observational techniques were used to investigate the actual amount of time a second-grade class spent reading during reading instruction. Results are discussed with regard to effects of practice time on student reading. (Author/DF)

The instruction that we provide, the intellectual climate that we create, and the policy decisions that we make should all start with the question, "But will it improve students' learning?" Basic to any answer is the state of our knowledge about learning. A spate of recent research has resulted in comprehensive and lengthy reviews of surveys of…

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…

An attitude that students could, and would, master their lessons resulted in raised student test scores and improved school discipline at a Florida elementary school. Increasing time on task and dividing lessons into manageable blocks contributed to the school atmosphere. (MLF)

Two experiments were conducted to assess whether the distribution of fixation times might be related to the prevailing cognitive activity involved with two different tasks, i.e., driving and observing colored fields. The results suggest that the distribution of fixation times can be associated with the prevailing cognitive activity while viewing.…

Classroom observation and interviews in 55 schools with high concentrations of economically disadvantaged students indicated that more time on instruction, greater correspondence between tests and curriculum material covered in class, and increased on-task behavior (activities related to acquisition of subject matter information) raised student…

Two experiments are reported concerning the effects of the differential use of verbal approval by problematic adolescents serving as tutors in a remedial reading program for an inner-city school. Data are discussed as evidence that tutors had acquired the ability to recruit reinforcement from the classroom for appropriate behavior. (Author)

Time spent on homework was found to be important in determining student grades. Further, it was suggested that increased homework demands and more stringent grading standards might increase both student achievement and confidence in schools. (Author/AL)

Much effort has been invested in time-on-task research. Time-on-task is described as a proxy term for the notion of "attention," and the findings of time-on-task research are described as less relevant to the classroom teacher than information contained in methods texts. (JN)

Research on teaching has begun to yield important distinctions between the teaching performances of more effective and less effective teachers. More effective teachers are shown to use a wide variety of teaching behaviors at appropriate times. Teaching behaviors comprising Direct Instruction are most effective for keeping students on task. (JN)

A model is used to show that teaching behaviors which influence student learning have five interrelated functions: diagnosis, prescription, presentation, monitoring, and feedback. Fourteen major findings from field research report relationships between academic learning time and student achievement, and a relationship is shown between teaching…