Types of Time Flashcards
Types of Time
Total, attended, available, instructional, engaged, productive
The total number of days a state allocates toward instruction
Most states the school year runs 180 +/- days
In SC students must attend at least 170 days to earn course credit
Typical school days run from 7:30-2:30, ending up with about 1260 hours of _____ time each school year
Total Time
The total time MINUS the hours lost due to delays, closings, etc.
Examples include: closures due to hurricanes, teacher strikes, etc.
Governors normally forgive at least some of these days; districts make up others
Attended Time
Even when school is in session, not all of those seven hours per day (420 minutes) are available for instruction and actual learning
We must subtract the time students spend going to lunch, recess, assemblies, other teachers’ classrooms, fire drills, picture day, etc.
This time will vary tremendously from one school to the next; on average, students lose probably 30 minutes per day
A best-case scenario leaves teachers with about 6.5 hours to conduct instruction in their own classroom, but that rarely happens
Available Time
How teachers spend those 6.5 hours varies tremendously from one teacher to another
These are the activities NOT directly related to instruction and meeting state standards, that occur throughout the day: taking attendance, recording lunch options, collecting permission slips, taking call from the office, technology problems, assigning consequences, students getting supplies
Instructional Time
One student found that non-instructional activities ate up as much as __% of instructional time!
30
This is the “time on task” or the time students spend engaged and focused on their teacher’s instruction or their academic work
One or more students still may not give teachers a particular task their undivided attention
Teachers must do the best they can to keep as many students engaged for as much of the day as possible
Engaged Time
Some research suggests that students are engaged for only __% of the time they are in school
50
This time is the “gold standard” for what teachers should aspire to increase
Refers to the amount of time (on task) students spend on MEANINGFUL instructional tasks
These are compelling, interesting, truly beneficial educational experiences
Productive Time
