Time Management and Teaching Transitions and their Problems

1
Time Management and Teaching Transitions and
their Problems

• UNIT 3
• Dr. Martha Pelaez

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Basic Assumptions About Time

• Time is like money
• Once it is gone, it is gone.
• It can be managed.
• It is cumulative.
• Time IS money
• Time is the basic currency in education, like
  money time needs to be managed in order to have
  an efficient and effective classroom
• The most precious educational resource.
• Converts directly into student learning.
• The amount you have depends on your management.

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Two Elements of Instructional Time

• Allocated time time allocated for school over
  all, including nonacademic activities.
• Actual time time spent on academic activities

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3 Levels of Allocated Time

• School time amount of time students are in
  school
• Factors length of day, student absences
• Class time amount of time students are in your
  classroom
• Factors Lunch, recess
• Instructional time amount of time in which
  students are engaged in instructional activities
• Factors organizational activities, interruptions

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Actual Time

• The way in which instructional time is actually
  used regardless of plans or intentions.
• Variables affecting actual time
• Start and stop times
• Transition times
• Time on-task
• Opportunities to respond (OTR)
• Matching student ability
• Interruptions

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So what?

• You must make the most of every minute and
  squeeze as many minutes as possible out of the
  day, because
• There is a very strong correlation between time
  used in school and student learning.
• You, teachers, are primarily responsible for
  managing instructional time.

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Whats In It For Me?

• The benefits of following these time management
  guidelines are
• Your classroom is more efficient and orderly.
• Your students pay better attention (more on-task)
• Your students are less disruptive (less off-task)
• Your students achieve more
• Youll feel like you are in control and be a more
  effective teacher

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How to manage instructional time

• Who is involved in time management
• The teacher
• The students
• The parents
• The students job
• Maintaining a high level of academic productivity
• Coming to class with a pencil, paper, and book
• Coming to class on time
• In seat and working when the bell rings
• Coming to class with homework completed
• Transitioning quickly and quietly
• Following classroom rules

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How to manage instructional time

• The parents job
• Knowing the expectations of the teacher and
  school
• Making sure the student has homework finished
• Sending the student to school
• Making sure student is at school
• Maintaining regular contact with the teacher

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How to manage instructional time-the teachers job

• Save time by organizing materials the day before
  you are going to use them
• How to manage interruptions
• On the outside of your door post a note
• Our time is short, were busy trying to stretch
  it. Please leave a note
• Have a pencil and a piece of paper for notes
• Select extracurricular activities carefully with
  attention on their educational value not on their
  entertainment value

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How to manage instructional time

• When selecting the importance of educational
  activities use the big rocks criteria
• Think of instructional time as an empty jar
• The big rocks are the most important activities
• State mandated activities (3 Rs), concepts that
  take time to learn
• The small rocks are the least important
  activities
• If you have to get the most rocks in the jar, put
  the big ones in first and the small ones will
  fill up the spaces left by the big rocks

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How to manage instructional time

• Use a digital timer to help you to manage time
• Reward students for work productivity and
  accuracy
• the faster they work the more time you will have
  to do other more fun things
• Limit planning interruptions

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Managing instructional time

• Arrange activities in logical sequence
• Basic skill instruction before lunch (peak level
  of functioning)
• Structure periods of low alertness with praise
  and participation (active student responding)
• Grandmas Law (Premack Principle) induce a low
  probability behavior by making a high probability
  outcome contingent upon it. (If you want your ice
  cream, then eat your peas first.)
• Schedule an activity that students like
  immediately after one that they dont like.

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Managing instructional time

• Give students frequent opportunities to respond
  (OTR) during instruction. (e.g., guided notes,
  response boards)
• The most efficient way to do this is through
  active student responding -ASR. Well discuss
  this under managing group instruction.
• Match materials and assignments to students
  abilities/skill level.
• Individual instruction (e.g., peer tutoring)
• Ability grouping

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Managing Actual Time (contd)

• Manage disruptions that occur during planned
  activities
• For students who disrupt class reinforce
  appropriate behavior (try this first) or provide
  warning or loss of privileges when misbehaving

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ASR

• Q Who is involved in managing time?
• A Teacher, parents, and students
• (21, 16, 27)
• Q What is the teachers job in managing time?
• A Protecting in-class instructional time
• (11, 13, 3)

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• Q What should every good teacher have to help
  her or him manage instructional time?
• A A digital timer
• (29, 17, 4)

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Managing instructional time

• Develop roles for others
• Using people to assist you will enable you to
  assist others who need it
• You are outnumbered in the classroom and need to
  turn a possible liability into an asset

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Develop roles for others

• Develop a list activities for others
• In developing the list ask yourself
• Which jobs are the most difficult
• Which jobs are the most important
• Which jobs require good math, reading, or
  spelling skills
• Which jobs require good organization and neatness
• Which jobs require good observational skills

20
Developing roles for others

• Recruit people to volunteer in your classroom
• Parents, volunteer groups, senior citizens,
  college students, retired teachers, professors
• Teach classroom helpers EXACTLY WHAT, WHEN,
  WHERE, AND HOW TO help you

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Develop roles for peers

• Paper passer
• Attendance taker
• Good behavior monitor
• Group leader
• Teaching assistant

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Develop roles for school personnel

• Good behavior ticket passer
• Parent caller
• Student praiser
• Teacher of unique activities
• Personal mentor in secretarial, janitorial, or
  other duties

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Reward helpers often and well

• Notes and cards from the students
• Take the helpers out for lunch
• Make an in class appreciation lunch
• Give the helper a certificate of appreciation
• Call their supervisor and tell her what a
  wonderful job the helper is doing

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Transitions

• Transition time is the time it takes to change
  from one activity to another
• Examples
• Changing from one subject to another
• Moving seats for group activity
• Changing classrooms
• Coming/Going to lunch or PE
• Because transition time tends to be less
  structured, students tend to be more disruptive.

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Managing transition time

• Transitioning is often the largest thief of
  instructional time
• Teach students how to transition quickly and
  quietly just like you would any other subject

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What Makes Efficient Transitions?

• Well planned and taught transition procedures
• Clear expectations of student behavior during
  transition
• Student readiness, to end a current activity and
  to begin a new one
• Teacher readiness for the next activity

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Managing Transition Time

• Prepare in advanced for each lesson/activity for
  the entire day
• All materials should be prepared before school
  and placed where they are to be used.
• Why? Because it allows you to monitor and praise
  student behavior during transitions
• Teach students how to handle transitions

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Benefits of Teaching Transitions

• Minimizes the amount of nonacademic time students
  spend in school
• Provides teachers with more academic instruction
  time.
• Decreases the number of behavior problems that
  occur during unstructured time.

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Teaching Transitions

• 4 rules that should be posted
• Move quietly
• Put your books away and get what you need for the
  next activity (you may need to be specific)
• Move your chairs quietly
• Keep your hands and feet to yourself
• Define transitions
• You and students read rules
• Model the rules
• Have students practice with feedback
• Have them go back and do it again, if they didnt
  get it the first time.

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Other Tips for Transitions

• Have a clear signal for transitions
• Use a timer and tell students how long their
  transitions take
• Use praise more often than you do during work
  times
• From time to time, review the rules
• Provide time warnings (i.e., You have 1 minute
  left.)

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Typical Problems with Transitions

• Students talk loudly at beginning of period.
• Establish a routine with clear expectations and
  have activity ready to begin at once.
• Teacher delays activities to look for materials,
  finish attendance, pass papers, etc.
• Have materials organized ahead of time and avoid
  doing anything that interferes with your
  monitoring during transitions

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Typical Problems with Transitions

• Students socialize too much during transitions,
  especially after assignment is given but before
  they begin working on it. Students dont start
  the activity for several minutes.
• Post the assignment. For whole group, work on
  first few items together. For small group, assign
  task-focuser for each group. Monitor all work.

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Typical Problems with Transitions

• Teacher attempts to transition students, but
  students keep working on previous activity and
  delay the start of the next activity or results
  in confusion.
• Give a few minutes warning before the end of an
  activity. Actively monitor transitions. Do not
  start the next activity until students are ready.

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Typical Problems with Transitions

• As teacher gives directions, students dont pay
  attention.
• Dont give instructions DURING the transition.
  Give whole class instruction before the
  transition. Wait to explain activity until
  students are ready and listening.
• One or two slowpokes delay the rest of the class.
• Dont hold up the class. Find out why they are
  having trouble and give feedback and supervision.

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Typical Problems with Transitions

• Students leave their seats, come ask the teacher
  questions, request hall pass, sharpen pencils,
  etc. during transitions.
• Review transition rules. Provide specified times
  to talk to teacher and procedures for pencil
  sharpener, etc.
• Five or more minutes before the period ends,
  students quit working, put up books, and begin to
  socialize. Often desks are left out of order and
  paper on the floor.
• Establish end-of-period routine so students will
  work until you give signal to pack up. Include
  cleaning their area. You dismiss the students,
  not the bell.

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ASR

• ________ _______is the time it takes to change
  from one activity to another
• Transition time
• What do we call time actually spent on academic
  activities?
• Actual time
• True or false. There is no correlation between
  time used in school and student learning.
• False

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ASR

• What item can you use to help manage start and
  stop times of activities?
• Timer
• What do we call time allocated for school over
  all, including nonacademic activities?
• Allocated time
• True or false. The student is always right
  means the students behavior will always indicate
  what instruction is effective for him or her.
• True

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ASR

• List one of the four student rules for
  transitions.
• Move quietly
• Put your books away and get what you need for the
  next activity (you may need to be specific)
• Move your chairs quietly
• Keep your hands and feet to yourself

39
ASR

• List one of the benefits of using the time
  management guidelines?
• Your classroom is more efficient and orderly.
• Your students pay better attention (more on-task)
• Your students are less disruptive (less off-task)
• Your students achieve more
• Youll feel like you are in control and be a more
  effective teacher

40
ASR

• One way to manage actual time, is to manage
  students on-task behavior. How do you do this?
• By using reinforcement (e.g., praise, token
  economy, point system)
• Another way to manage actual time is to provide
  students with plenty of _____ ____ _____.
• Opportunities to respond (OTR)
• Give an example of Grandmas Law or Premack
  Principle.
• If you want your icecream, then you have to eat
  your peas first. Or, give students a task they
  like immediately after a task they dont like.

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ASR

• List one of the six ways to manage ACTUAL time.
• Manage start and stop times of all planned
  activities
• Manage transition times carefully. (See
  transition section)
• Manage students on-task behavior by using
  reinforcement.
• Give students frequent opportunities to respond
  (OTR) during instruction.
• Match materials and assignments to students
  abilities/skill level.
• manage disruptions that occur during planned
  activities

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ASR

• List one problem characteristic of many
  classrooms
• Too much waste of time
• Emphasis on non-academics
• Ineffective curriculum and instruction
• Insufficient measurement

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• Name one person or group of people to recruit to
  work in your classroom
• Parents
• Community service organizations
• Senior citizens
• Retired teachers
• College students

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• Name one job for peers
• Paper passer
• Attendance taker
• Good behavior monitor
• Group leader

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• Name one job for others
• Good behavior ticket passer
• Parent caller
• Student praiser
• Teacher of unique activities
• Personal mentor in secretarial, janitorial, or
  other duties

46

• When should you reward classroom helpers
• Often and well