Research consistently shows that the more time students spend involved in learning activities, the more they learn. That is, there is a strong positive relationship between the amount of time students are actively engaged in learning activities and their achievement. Further, increased time spent in academic learning does not result in negative attitudes toward school or learning.

Learning time in the school day has been divided into four categories: (a) scheduled time - the amount of time the teacher plans to spend on various subjects; (b) allocated time - the amount of time actually devoted to the learning activities; (c) academic engaged time - the time students are actually on-task in a learning activity (e.g, taking notes, listening to teacher, solving a problem); and (d) active academic responding time - the time a student spends making responses that are active and observable (e.g., discussing tasks).

Most teachers schedule and allocate the appropriate amount of time for learning, but few teachers actually ensure that their students are engaged or actively responding during the allocated time  It has been found that in some classes, students spend less than 50% of the allocated time engaged or actively responding. Two major factors that contribute to such low rates of engagement are (1) instructional design, and (2) classroom management. This brief provides the teacher with techniques for increasing academic engaged and active academic responding time (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2000; Polloway & Patton, 1997).

Selecting  materials and tasks that are at a correct level of difficulty, motivating, and interesting characteristics of both the student and the material and task must be considered in order to make an appropriate match. Student factors to consider include interests, prior knowledge, current skills levels, strategy use, processing skills, and task persistence. Material factors to consider include difficulty level, relationship to student interests and background, and processing demands.

Use teaching strategies that are appropriate for the stage of learning. Different instructional strategies are required in different stages of learning (i.e., acquisition, proficiency, maintenance, generalization). For example, use modeling and demonstration as a teaching strategy when the stage of learning is acquisition and instruction is aimed at response accuracy. Use drill and practice when the learning stage is proficiency,

Use an effective instructional sequence. In order to help  to maximize the likelihood that a skill will be learned, use the demonstration-guided practice-independent practice model. In this model, the teacher first shows the student how to do the behavior or skill that is being taught. After the demonstration, the teacher provides guidance to the students as they perform the skill. After the student can perform the skill at an acceptable level (90-100% accuracy), the student practices the skill on his or her own.

Ensure that students’ opportunity to respond is high and active responses are part of the lesson. The opportunity to respond is positively related to academic achievement. That is, the more opportunities students have to respond to a particular content or practice a skill, the better their understanding of the material or skill. Additionally, increasing opportunities for responding tends to increase the amount of material covered. Ways in which to increase opportunities to respond include making sure that all student are called on, using choral responding techniques, peer tutoring, and cooperative learning. Further, when students are actively involved in an activity (e.g., writing, solving a problem, reading out loud), in contrast to being passively involved (e.g, listening), greater achievement gains are made. Strategies that facilitate active involvement include (a) providing cues and prompts that lead students to correct answers, (b)  sequencing instruction so that high rates of accuracy are achieved, (c) asking frequent questions, (d) peer tutoring, and (e) cooperative learning.

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

Strive to make the scheduled time the same as the engaged time. The closer the scheduled time is to the academic engaged time, the greater the gains in achievement. Organization and management decisions can aid in increasing engaged time. For example, start class as soon as the bell rings. If attendance needs to be taken or other administrative duties need to be performed, have students involved in instructional activities like answering questions or solving problems related to the previous day’s work or  writing in a journal, or doing math. Limit classroom interruptions and teach to the end of the period.

Have efficient transition procedures in place. Transition activities such as going to the rest room, sharpening pencils, and getting materials can decrease academic engaged time. Therefore, it is important that efficient classroom organization and management procedures are in place. One the way the teacher can do this is to set time limits for transitions and reinforce adherence to limits. Begin class at the sound of the bell. When the bell rings, students should know that they should be in their seats and ready to begin work (e.g., pencils sharpened). Limit the  number of times students can go the restroom, their locker, etc. Also, it is important that the teacher is prepared ahead of time. This means having materials ready for the next activity, rather than spending time looking for materials.

Reduce inappropriate verbalizations. Learning time can be lost if discussions drift from the point of the lesson. This can occur because the teacher digresses from the main point of the lesson or students ask questions which are irrelevant to the topic. To get a handle on this, the teacher can audiotape or videotape a lesson and then evaluate the content of the comments to see if or when verbalizations stray from the content of the lesson. This information can then be used to help guide further discussions.

Circulate around the classroom. Circulating around the classroom can help decrease off-task behavior during demonstration, guided practice and independent practice. This is particularly important during independent practice, though, when many teachers feel they do not need to monitor student responses as closely. Research has shown that students who work independently are off-task over 70% of the time.

Minimize inappropriate behavior. Inappropriate behaviors such as whispering to a neighbor, passing notes, teasing, and arguing are one of the greatest threats to academic engaged time (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2000). These behaviors interfere with the student’s own learning and the learning of other students, as well as disrupt the teacher’s delivery of the lesson. To minimize inappropriate behavior, teachers should have clearly stated rules, expect and reward appropriate behavior, be consistent, and handle inappropriate behavior efficiently.

Mastropieri, M, & Scruggs, T. (2000). The inclusive classroom: Strategies for effective instruction. Columbus, OH: Merrill.

Polloway, E.A., & Patton, J.R. (1997). Strategies for teaching learners with special needs (6th ed.). Columbus, OH: Merrill.
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*Part of an Educational Series  for Promoting Positive Change in the Public Schools. Auburn University special education faculty were contracted through  the State Improvement Grant
(SIG) to prepare an educational series of  ‘briefs’  for promoting positive change in the public schools. In response, 32 three-page documents were prepared and are now being made available
as part of AFCEC’s on-line publication.