Applying ALT to Instruction

In most cases, effective instruction consists of identifying appropriate objectives (including thinking skills and affective outcomes, as well as simpler cognitive and physical skills) and devoting appropriate academic learning time to these goals.

The problem of using ALT effectively becomes more complex when we realize that a unit of instruction may be designed to attain multiple outcomes. Devoting time to one outcome may reduce the time devoted to another important outcome. For example,

For a student to benefit fully from a unit on poetry, it is essential that the student achieve two instructional outcomes: (1) to understand the poems being studied and (2) to enjoy poetry. It would be a mistake to devote excessive time to one of these outcomes at the expense of the other.
A student who spent many miserable hours deciphering and memorizing poems would not be likely to voluntarily read poetry when the unit was finished; and so devoting part of the time to less intense but more enjoyable activities would actually be a wiser use of ALT. A truly outstanding instructional unit might permit all the time devoted to the first outcome to be simultaneously devoted to the second outcome as well.
A student studying algebra must not only (1) master the computational procedures, but must also (2) develop a tendency to use these to solve problems in real life.
A student of biology is expected to both (1) master basic concepts and (2) understand the processes by which these concepts are derived.

In each of these examples it would be possible (but unwise) to devote ALT very efficiently to one of the desired outcomes while neglecting or actually prohibiting attainment of the other. However, the basic principle of ALT is still valid: when there are multiple outcomes, students will be likely to attain these goals to the extent that they are actively and successfully involved in activities directly related to the attainment of each.

In an ideal situation, of course, a single set of activities (for example, very enjoyable poetry) can effectively assign time to all of the appropriate outcomes of a unit of instruction.

Most of the research on academic learning time has been done on students using worksheets. This gives the unfortunate impression that the best way to help students learn is to have them spend a great deal of time doing worksheets. This is an emphatically inaccurate conclusion.

There are many instances where students do need repeated practice, and in such cases devoting large amounts of ALT to worksheets (or computerized drills) would meet this need. On the other hand, it is obvious that there are other occasions when some other activity - such as reading a textbook, taking part in a discussion, or collecting data for a science experiment - would be more productive than completing worksheets. In such instances the logic of ALT is still the same - students should spend their time attending to relevant academic tasks while performing those tasks with a high rate of success.

Table 2.4 lists a sample of published articles that describe some of the many ways in which educators can promote the effective use of academic learning time. The following sections of this chapter give detailed descriptions of techniques that enhance academic learning time in widely diverse ways.

Table 2.4. Published Articles Applying Principles of Academic Learning Time.

Guideline

Source

Factor
Influenced

Manage classroom effectively.

Myers (1990)

Allocated time

Conduct instruction with enthusiasm.

Brigham (1992)

Engaged Time

Employ schoolwide procedures that facilitate effective use of time.

Murphy (1992)

Scheduled time

Manage seatwork efficiently.

Cunningham (1991)

Allocated time

Have students monitor their own academic activities.

DiGangi et al (1991), Prater et al (1991), Hughes & Hendrickson (1987)

Engaged Time

Use peer tutoring.

Greenwood (1991), Berliner & Casanova (1988)

Engaged Time & success rate

Use games and entertainment.

Haas (1990)

Engaged Time

Manage students effectively at computers.

Blickham (1992)

Engaged Time

Instill family and cultural values that promote spending time at learning.

Redding (1992)

Engaged Time

10.

Minimize passivity during cooperative learning.

Mulryan (1992)

Engaged Time

11.

Use background music to rule out distractions.

Davidson & Powell (1986)

Engaged time

12.

Teach students to organize and use time effectively.

Dickinson & O’Connell (1990)

Engaged time

13.

Give feedback that insures a high rate of success.

Dickinson & Butt (1989)

Success rate

Online Links:

Academic Learning Time

Educational Time Factors by Kathleen Cotton and Karen Reed Wikelund.
http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/4/cu8.html

This is an exceptionally thorough analysis (with references) of the use of time as part of the instructional process. This 1989 article is online at this web site:

What's All the Fuss About Instructional Time? by David C. Berliner.
http://courses.ed.asu.edu/berliner/readings/fuss/fuss.htm

This article analyzes instructional time and relates it to Carroll's Model, which will be discussed in chapter 3 of this book. This comprehensive 1990 article can be found online at this web site:

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