The following are the objectives of this chapter:

1. Define academic learning time and its components.
   

   Unit Quiz Questions 1 - 8

2. Define and give examples of the specific factors contributing to the effective use of academic learning time.
   
   
3. Describe and identify examples of direct instruction, active teaching, and generative teaching.
   
   Unit Quiz Question 9
   
   
4. Give examples of the application of the concept of academic learning time to specific subject areas.
   
   
5. Describe possible errors that can occur through the misapplication of the concept of academic learning time and ways to avoid these errors.
   
   
6. Describe Bloom's two-sigma problem and its relation to aca-demic learning time.
   
   

   Unit Quiz Question 10

7. Describe the relationship of academic learning time to the major strategies of learning discussed throughout this book.

Who Does What?

One good way to understand the elements of academic learn-ing time is to determine who is responsible for each component. It is best that you try to figure this out yourself. In the ordinary school situation, who is normally most directly responsible for the amount of time devoted to each component of ALT?

1. Scheduled time _________________________________

2. Allocated time _________________________________

3. Engaged time ___________________________________

4. Academic learning time _________________________

Answers: Who Does What?

1. The school (or systemwide) administration usually establishes the amount of time scheduled for various areas of the curriculum. (Very specific decisions, such as how much time will be scheduled to study Act III of Hamlet may be made by classroom teachers.)
   
   
2. The teacher is the person who usually establishes how much time will actually be allocated to specific topics. The teacher usually does this by giving high or low priority to various topics (and thereby adhering more or less rigidly to scheduled time) and by generally being efficient in the management of the classroom.
   
   
3. The student determines how much time he/she spends actively engaged in the allocated activities. The teacher, of course, can do things to make it more likely that the student will remain engaged; but it is the student who ultimately is engaged or disengaged in learning.
   
   
4. The student determines the degree to which he/she is per-forming at a high rate of success. The teacher contributes to this rate of success through such activities as providing appropriate activities (at which the learner can succeed), providing useful feedback (to turn failures into successes), and generally teaching effectively.

A Parallel Example

To understand academic learning time, it is often useful to examine some parallel examples that do not focus on academic activities. The textbook uses "baseball learning time." Let's apply these principles to an affective task: learning to express affection in interpersonal relationships.

An adolescent boy who spends only one hour a week with adolescent girls will not learn as much about interpersonal skills with the opposite sex as one who spends five hours. (This would be allocated interpersonal time.)

However, it is not only the amount of time, but the quality of the relationship that matters. A boy who merely "hangs out" without paying any attention to what is happening will not develop interpersonal skills as effectively as one who is sensitive to what is happening. (This would be engaged interpersonal time.)

Finally, a boy who follows a faulty strategy (such as exploita-tion) will not develop interpersonal skills as effectively as one who follows an appropriate strategy. A boy who interacted frequently and at a high rate of success would develop interpersonal skills most efficiently. (This would be most directly parallel to academic learning time.)

The River City School System allocates 1 hour each day for reading. Mrs. Smith and Mr. Jones teach reading in this system.

Mrs. Smith spends five minutes at the beginning of the class and five minutes at the end on paperwork of various types. She also spends an average of ten minutes out of each hour on discipline problems.

Randall Jefferson is a student in Mrs. Smith's class. He spends about ten minutes per hour daydreaming. The rest of the time he spends attending to Mrs. Smith's instruc-tions and constantly performs activities at about a fifty percent rate of success.

Helen Jurgens is a student in Mrs. Smith's class. She spends no time at all daydreaming. She attends to Mrs. Smith's instructions and constantly performs activities at about a ninety percent rate of success.

Mrs. Jones spends one minute at the beginning of the class and one minute at the end on paperwork of various types. She also spends an average of ten minutes out of each hour on discipline problems.

Mike Zimmerman is a student in Mrs. Jones's class. He spends about ten minutes per hour daydreaming. The rest of the time he spends attending to Mrs. Jones's instruc-tions and constantly performs activities at about a fifty percent rate of success.

Wilma Wong is a student in Mrs. Jones's class. She spends no time at all daydreaming. She attends to Mrs. Jones's instructions and constantly performs activities at about a ninety percent rate of success.

The Gotham City School System allocates 1 hour and twenty minutes each day for reading. Mrs. O'Hara and Mr. Gamez teach reading in this system.

Mrs. O'Hara spends five minutes at the beginning of the class and five minutes at the end on paperwork of various types. She also spends an average of ten minutes out of each period on discipline problems.

Joseph Thompson is a student in Mrs. O'Hara's class. He spends about ten minutes per hour daydreaming. The rest of the time he spends attending to Mrs. O'Hara's instruc-tions. When he tries to follow these instructions, he performs activities at about a fifty percent rate of success half the time and at a ninety percent rate of suc-cess the other half.

Alice Fonda is a student in Mrs. O'Hara's class. She spends no time at all daydreaming. She attends to Mrs. O'Hara's instructions and constantly performs activities at about a ninety percent rate of success.

Mr. Gamez spends one minute at the beginning of the class and one minute at the end on paperwork of various types. He also spends essentially no time out of each hour on discipline problems.

Stephen Hamilton is a student in Mrs. Gamez's class. He spends about ten minutes per hour daydreaming. The rest of the time he spends attending to Mrs. Gamez's instruc-tions. When he tries to follow these instructions, he performs activities at about a fifty percent rate of success half the time and at a ninety percent rate of success the other half.

Teresa Maples is a student in Mrs. Gamez's class. She spends no time at all daydreaming. She attends to Mrs. Gamez's instructions and constantly performs activities at about a ninety percent rate of success.

1. Stephen Hamilton is actively involved in learning reading for about an hour and eight minutes each day. During this time he tries to follow instructions, and he performs activities at about a fifty percent rate of success half the time and at a ninety percent rate of success the other half. This hour and eight minutes is referred to as

a. academic learning time
b. allocated time
c. engaged time
d. scheduled time

{Check your answer.}

2. Helen Jurgens is actively involved in learning reading at a high rate of success for about forty minutes each day. This forty minutes is referred to as

a. academic learning time
b. allocated time
c. engaged time
d. scheduled time

{Check your answer.}

3. Since she spends ten minutes a day on discipline problems and ten minutes a day on paperwork, Mrs. Smith's students have only forty minutes a day that they can actually spend on reading. (Some will spend less.) This forty minutes is referred to as

a. academic learning time
b. allocated time
c. engaged time
d. scheduled time

{Check your answer.}

4. The Gotham City Schools feel that their students can learn to read better because they allocate an hour and twenty minutes rather than the standard hour to reading each day. This hour and twenty minutes is referred to as

a. academic learning time
b. allocated time
c. engaged time
d. scheduled time

{Check your answer.}

5. How much time does Alice Fonda spend actively involved in academic learning time each day in her reading class?

a. None
b. 30 minutes
c. 50 minutes
d. An hour
e. An hour and twenty minutes

{Check your answer.}

6. How much time does Randall Jefferson spend actively involved in academic learning time each day in her reading class?

a. None
b. 24 minutes
c. 38 minutes
d. 48 minutes
e. An hour

{Check your answer.}

7. Which of the following students spends the most time each day actively involved in academic learning time in reading class?

a. Stephen Hamilton
b. Teresa Maples
c. Joseph Thompson
d. Helen Jurgens
e. Wilma Wong

{Check your answer.}

8. Which of the following students spends the least time each day actively involved in academic learning time in reading class?

a. Stephen Hamilton
b. Teresa Maples
c. Joseph Thompson
d. Helen Jurgens
e. Wilma Wong

{Check your answer.}

9. Which of the following would least likely be listed as an essential component of direct instruction?

a. Make sure the students understand the goals of the unit of instruction.
b. Present a sequence of well organized instruction.
c. Give the students frequent opportunities to respond to questions.
d. Encourage cooperation and interaction among learners.
e. Give quick and accurate feedback for responses.

{Check your answer.}

10. According to Benjamin Bloom, which of the following strategies is likely to lead to the most effective learning?

a. direct instruction
b. computer-assisted instruction
c. individual tutoring
d. mastery learning
e. discovery learning

{Check your answer.}

Match each term with the appropriate definition.

a. Academic learning time

b. Active teaching

c. Allocated time

d. Direct instruction

e. Engaged time

f. Generative teaching

g. Scheduled time

1. _____ The amount of time a student spends attending to relevant academic tasks while performing those tasks with a high rate of success.
   
   
2. _____ The time that the teacher actually devotes to an instruc-tional activity.
   
    
3. _____ The time during which the learner is actively involved in trying to pursue that instructional activity.
   
    
4. _____ The time designated by a school system, by a teacher, or by a student for pursuing a specified instructional activity.
   
    
5. _____ A teaching strategy that takes learners through the steps of learning systematically, helping them see both the purpose and the result of each step.
   
    
6. _____ A teaching strategy in which the teacher attempts to help students become active and responsible for constructing meaning from class activities by building relations (1) across subject-matter concepts and (2) between the subject matter and students' existing knowledge.
   
    
7. _____ A teaching strategy in which the teacher is active in presenting concepts, providing appropriate engagement and practice activities, and monitoring those activities carefully.

Click here for Matching Exercise Answers.

(This fill-in-the-blanks exercise can be a useful way to verify that you can recall and understand the main concepts covered in this chapter. When the answers you give differ from those in the answer key, think about it. If your answer is as good as mine, that's great! However, there's a good chance that in many cases my answer may be better than yours. Try to find the logic behind my answer. The more actively you think - by looking for reasons and explanations - the more valuable this exercise will be for you.)

(Also note that after you have filled in the blanks, this set of Key Ideas provides a good summary of the chapter.)

1. _____________ is the amount of time a student spends attending to relevant academic tasks while performing those tasks with a high rate of success.
   
   
2. Allocated time is the part of time _____________ for an instructional activity that the teacher actually devotes to that activity.
   
    
3. Engaged time is the part of allocated time during which the learner is _____________ _____________ in trying to pursue that instructional activity.
   
    
4. _____________ is the time designated by a school system, by a teacher, or by a student for pursuing a specified instructional activity.
   
    
5. _____________ merely sets an upper limit on allocated time.
   
    
6. Whatever the area of instruction, students learn efficiently to the extent that they turn their class and study time into useful _____________.
   
    
7. Neither class time nor study time automatically qualifies as aca-demic learning time, but both may become academic learning time to the extent that the learner _____________ to relevant tasks with a high rate of success.
   
    
8. For the most successful teachers, instruction occurs during _____________ discourse with students rather than during extended lectures, presentations, or demonstrations.
   
    
9. The major strength of extremely unstructured approaches is that learners are likely to be highly engaged and successful during whatever time they themselves have chosen to _____________ to a given topic; the major weakness is that they may fail to _____________ enough time to important topics.
   
    
10. In most cases, effective instruction consists of identifying appropriate objectives (including thinking skills and affective out-comes, as well as simpler cognitive and physical skills) and devoting appropriate _____________ achieving to these goals.
    
     
11. Direct instruction does not _____________ that students will develop insights on their own. Rather, direct instruction takes learners through the steps of learning _____________, helping them see both the purpose and the result of each step.
    
     
12. _____________ believes that when teachers explain exactly what students are expected to learn, and demonstrate the steps needed to accomplish a particular academic task, students are likely to use their time more effectively and to learn more.
    
     
13. Setting _____________ goals for students and making sure they understand these goals is an important component of direct instruction.
    
     
14. Presenting a sequence of well-organized _____________ is an important component of direct instruction.
    
     
15. Giving students clear, concise explanations and _____________ of the subject matter is an important component of direct instruction.
    
     
16. Asking _____________ questions to see if the students under-stand the work is an important component of direct instruc-tion.
    
     
17. Giving students frequent opportunities to _____________ what they have learned is an important component of direct in-struction.
    
     
18. _____________ topics are amenable to direct instruction.
    
     
19. Direct instruction _____________ a synonym for good teaching.
    
     
20. Teachers whose students learn effectively are _____________ in presenting concepts, providing appropriate engagement and practice activities, and monitoring those activities carefully.
    
     
21. Generative teaching attempts to help students become active and responsible for constructing meaning from class activities by building _____________ (1) across subject-matter concepts and (2) between the subject matter and students' existing knowledge.
    
     
22. To teach students that learning with understanding is a generative (_____________) process is an important responsibility of the teacher in generative teaching.
    
     
23. To teach students that success in school begins with a _____________ in themselves, in their abilities, and in the value of effort is an important responsibility of the teacher in generative teaching.
    
     
24. To teach students to attend to the processes of constructing _____________ for instruction and for subject matter is an important responsibility of the teacher in generative teaching.
    
     
25. To teach students to generate _____________ for what they are studying is an important responsibility of the teacher in generative teaching.
    
     
26. In general, research _____________ the notion that homework tends to lead to higher performance.
    
     
27. Bloom has shown that students provided with individual tutors typically perform at a level about _____________ above where they would perform with ordinary group instruction.
    
     
28. Bloom proposes the impressive but attainable goal of trying to make group instruction as effective as _____________.

Click here for Key Ideas Answers.

Answers to Review Quiz amd Exercises:

Unit Quiz

1. Answer to Question 1: (c) This time is considered to be engaged time, because Stephen is trying to devote the allocated time to the appropriate tasks. It is not academic learning time, because Stephen is not performing at a high rate of success.

Return to Question 1.

Go to Question 2.

2. Answer to Question 2: (a) These forty minutes are also engaged time, but the question focuses on what we would call this time when Helen is performing at a high rate of success. That's the definition of academic learning time.

Return to Question 2.

Go to Question 3.

 

3. Answer to Question 3: (b) Mrs. Smith has lost some of the scheduled time and has allocated only forty minutes to reading. Therefore, this forty minutes is allocated time. For the students who devote this time to the required task, this same forty minutes would become engaged time; but that's not the focus of this question.

Return to Question 3.

Go to Question 4.

4. Answer to Question 4: (d) School systems generally schedule time, and somebody with more direct responsibility allocates it. Don't let the word allocate in the first sentence throw you off. This is scheduled time.

Return to Question 4.

Go to Question 5.

5. Answer to Question 5: (d) Alice has 80 minutes of scheduled time for reading, 60 minutes of allocated time, 60 minutes of engaged time, and 60 minutes of ALT.

Return to Question 5.

Go to Question 6.

6. Answer to Question 6: (a) It's not necessary to do any calculations. The final sentence of Randall's description says, "The rest of the time he spends attending to Mrs. Smith's instructions and constantly performs activities at about a fifty percent rate of success." No matter how much scheduled, allocated, or engaged time Randall has, none of it is effective academic learning time.

Return to Question 6.

Go to Question 7.

7. Answer to Question 7: (b) Teresa has 78 minutes of ALT. (Stephen Hamilton = 34 mins.; Joseph Thompson = 0 mins.; Helen Jurgens = 40 mins.; Wilma Wong = 48 mins.)

Return to Question 7.

Go to Question 8.

8. Answer to Question 8: (c) Joseph Thompson = 0 mins. (Stephen Hamilton = 34 mins. Teresa Maples = 78 mins.;. Helen Jurgens = 40 mins.; Wilma Wong = 48 mins.)

Return to Question 8.

Go to Question 9.

9. Answer to Question 9: (d) All the other statements are essential components of direct instruction. Cooperation among learners is often a good idea, and it can be integrated into direct instruction, but it is not an essential component.

Return to Question 9.

Go to Question 10.

10. Answer to Question 10: (c) Bloom's goal was to find other strategies that were as effective as individual tutoring, which he considered to be the most effective instructional strategy.

Return to Question 10.

Matching Exercise

1. a

2. c

3. e

4. g

5. d

6. f

7. b

Key Ideas

1. Academic learning time (ALT)

2. scheduled

3. actively involved

4. Scheduled time

5. Scheduled time

6. academic learning time

7. actively attends

8. interactive

9. allocate; allocate

10. academic learning time

11. assume; systematically

12. Direct instruction

13. clear

14. assignments

15. illustrations

16. frequent

17. practice

18. Not all

19. is not

20. active

21. relations

22. active

23. belief

24. meanings

25. meaning

26. supports

27. two standard deviations

28. individual tutoring