1. Time Management and Teaching Transitions and their Problems
UNIT # 3
Dr. Martha Pelaez

2. 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.

3. Two Elements of Instructional Time
Allocated time: time allocated for school over all, including nonacademic activities.
Actual time: time spent on academic activities

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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.

7. What’s 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
You’ll feel like you are in control and be a more effective teacher

8. 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

9. 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

10. How to manage instructional time-the teacher’s 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, we’re 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

11. 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 R’s), 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

12. 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

13. 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)
Grandma’s 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 don’t like.

14. 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. We’ll discuss this under managing group instruction.
Match materials and assignments to students’ abilities/skill level.
Individual instruction (e.g., peer tutoring)
Ability grouping

15. Managing Actual Time (cont’d)
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

16. ASR Q: Who is involved in managing time?
A: Teacher, parents, and students
(21, 16, 27)
Q: What is the teacher’s job in managing time?
A: Protecting in-class instructional time
(11, 13, 3)

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

18. 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

19. 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

21. Develop roles for peers
Paper passer
Attendance taker
Good behavior monitor
Group leader
Teaching assistant

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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.

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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.

29. Teaching Transitions 4 rules that should be posted: Define 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
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 didn’t get it the first time.

30. 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.)

31. 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

32. Typical Problems with Transitions
Students socialize too much during transitions, especially after assignment is given but before they begin working on it. Students don’t 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.

33. 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.

34. Typical Problems with Transitions
As teacher gives directions, students don’t pay attention.
Don’t 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.
Don’t hold up the class. Find out why they are having trouble and give feedback and supervision.

35. 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.

36. 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

37. 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 student’s behavior will always indicate what instruction is effective for him or her.
True

38. 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
You’ll 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 Grandma’s 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 don’t like.

41. 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

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

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

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

45. 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