Blog

Is More Time the Answer to Unfinished Learning?

One of the most popular responses to the disruption of learning due to COVID is to increase the students’ time in school. Many educational leaders are betting that when students are in person with teachers for more minutes and hours every week, learning that did not happen during the pandemic can be made up and students will be back on track. However, pre-pandemic research calls this bet into question. Consider a 2019 study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a respected international source for information regarding education around the world. The report documented that American students spend on average 8,884 hours in school during their elementary and secondary years. By comparison, the average time in school for students in other countries is closer to 7,500 hours. It is true that some countries have longer school years, but the total number of hours students spend in school in the United States generally far exceeds their international counterparts. The difference represents more than a full school year of additional time for students in the United States. Yet, international academic comparisons show American students generally perform in the middle ranks. It is also true that American teachers traditionally spend a larger portion of their days and more total time instructing than the international average. The general assumption in the United States has been that time spent in front of students is the most valuable time, and teachers should spend as much of their time in front of students as possible. The obvious questions are: If American students are spending a full year of additional time in school during their elementary and secondary school years, and teachers are spending a larger portion of their days teaching, why are we not already out performing our international counterparts? And is adding more time in school now to make up for unfinished learning during the pandemic the solution? The answer to both questions is that what matters most is not how much time, but how time is used. Our assumption has been that if students spend more time being taught, they will learn more. This notion seems reasonable, but it misses an important point: It is not time or teaching that matters most, it is learning. We have been so preoccupied with how much teaching is happening – measuring productivity as teacher time in the classroom – that we have missed the key point that learning needs to be the organizing element. What is most important is what is learned, not what is taught. Many countries provide teachers with much more preparation time to ensure that each moment in the classroom is leveraged to ensure maximum learning. Some countries give students more time and opportunities for inquiry and discovery and less time subjecting them to “telling.” Still others engage students in longer term projects focused on deeper learning and problem solving. The point is that how the time we have with learners is used is even more important than the amount of time invested. Adding days and hours to the school year will provide little benefit unless the time is used to increase learning opportunities and outcomes, not just more teaching. The question we need to ask is how we can change learning experiences to improve outcomes. The answer to this question will tell us how to design experiences and support to improve learning results. Of course, instruction will be a part of this formula. But, so will a more active role for learners, leading to more investment in and ownership of their learning. Learning grows when learners find the experience purposeful, meaningful, and worthwhile.

Three Ways to Capture Important but Often Hidden Learning

In Your Corner, Student Learning

March 31, 2022

Three Ways to Capture Important but Often Hidden Learning

We know that not all the learning students gain is the result of our instruction. Some students make connections beyond our lessons. Other students become interested in topics of study that stimulate learning beyond the scope of study we plan. Still other students will learn what we offer deeply and build knowledge and skills beyond what our assessments may capture. Yet, these dimensions of learning are often ignored when grades are assigned. Rarely is learning not captured on assessments noted and honored as important to the learning profile of students. Still, the learning is real and worthy of notice and respect. So, how might we capture learning that is outside and beyond our instruction? Further, how can we honor and reward this learning? We can start by recognizing its existence in our interactions with students. Discussing the insights student develop is a good place to start. However, there is more that we can do. We can invite students to reflect on and share the additional learning they have gained. For example, following administration of a summative assessment we might give students the option of responding to one or more of three questions. First, what did you learn during this unit that I did not teach you? Responses to this question can provide information about connections students made as they reflected on what they were asked to learn. We may hear about family discussions related to what students were learning that extended beyond the scope of our instruction. We may also find that projects and tasks we assigned students led to further insights and understandings beyond our intentions. Second, what did you learn about this topic or skill that was not measured on the test? This question gives us access to what students believed was important as they prepared for the test. It also speaks to the breadth of knowledge and understanding the student possesses, even though the assessment grade may not reflect it. Third, what do you know now that you did not know before studying this topic or skill? This question invites students to reflect on what they have learned, not just information for which they are accountable. By asking this question we invite students to engage in a process that helps them recognize and organize what they have learned. Importantly, this type of reflection has also been shown to increase understanding and extend recall, two important goals of our instruction. At first, students are likely to find these questions to be curious, as their learning is typically assumed to have been demonstrated through their performance on the test. Yet, the information can be crucial to understanding the full scope of learning students have gained. One way to incent students to take these questions seriously and invest time in formulating responses is to offer additional credit for responses that are substantiative and reflect important learning extensions. This step also allows us to recognize the full scope of the learning gained. Some of us may question the wisdom of giving extra credit. We know that awarding extra credit for activities that are non-learning related is problematic because it contaminates the information grades are to articulate: learning progress. When bringing supplies to the classroom, covering textbooks, and other non-learning related activities are given weight, grades no longer represent what they are intended to communicate. Yet, awarding additional credit that will be reflected in students’ grades in this context captures important learning. It may be incidental and unplanned. It may be beyond the scope of our instructional intentions. Yet, it reflects legitimate academic progress. It is worthy of respect and reflects value. It also represents the type of learning that our students will need in the future as they confront novel learning challenges, are asked to solve complex problems featuring unknown factors, and make connections where they have not been previously known.

In Your Corner, Student Learning

Four Learning Strategies to Teach Yet This Year

March 31, 2022

In Your Corner, Leadership and Change Management

Lessons From History About Overcoming Pressure and Stress

March 24, 2022

In Your Corner, Leadership and Change Management

Our Power to Make a Difference – Every Day

March 16, 2022

Climate and Culture, In Your Corner, Relationships and Connections

It’s Time to Tap a Powerful but Underappreciated Morale Booster

March 16, 2022

Share Your Tips & Stories

Share your story and the tips you have for getting through this challenging time. It can remind a fellow school leader of something they forgot, or your example can make a difficult task much easier and allow them to get more done in less time. We may publish your comments.

Send Us An Email