Topic: How do we consider time differently to rebuild school schedules and calendars to maximize learning?

Sometimes, when I’m out and about on the roads early in the morning, I see a school bus and think to myself, “Why on earth do we make kids start their school day so early?” It wasn’t too long ago that I was one of them, I can remember how torturous it was to get up before the sun rose and try to get my brain out of hibernation mode.

Many times I’ve wondered what it might do to our education system if we just pushed back the beginning of school by an hour or two. I suspect it would improve focus and, by extension, learning and knowledge retention. I’m sure there have been more than a few studies on the subject, although the fact that we still are doing things the same way suggests that either the correlation between later start times and better student performance just isn’t there or that we just don’t care to change the status quo.

Either way, my thinking on adjusting school schedules never extended beyond pushing the start of the day back a bit. This week’s #edchat, however, went much deeper than that. It was amazing how quickly the community spat out more suggestions in a single hour than I would have been able to come up with in a week. Of course, that’s what I expect when I sign on to #edchat these days.

Ideas ranged from the realistic to the radical; from the small tweak to the complete overhaul. I fear that even some of the simpler suggestions will go completely unheard thanks to the rigid administration that seems so prevalent in public schools these days. But at the same time I have some hope that teachers can make some of these new ideas work on their own – or maybe they can bring them up in a private school setting, where things aren’t set in stone.

Change may come slowly, but it is encouraging that there are so many good teachers (and other school staff members) out there who are working on it every day.

Main themes from the discussion:

• What do we want to do: extend the school day or restructure the current school day? This is a central question that needs to be answered, and carefully. Do we think that we need students to spend more time in school (kids in other countries often do go to school longer and for more days every year) or do we think we can do better with the time we have? We also need to consider how homework plays into this. Do we want to effectively extend the school day “unofficially” by giving more homework or by flipping the majority of classrooms?
• Should we extend the school day? It seemed like there were a good number of teachers who favored extending the school day. Most of these folks admitted that they wouldn’t just focus on academics if they had more time, however. They wanted more time for extra-curricular activities, sports programs, and tutoring to help those students who were falling behind. There was some discussion over whether participation in “after hours” activities should be mandatory or optional. I think convincing cases can be made for both sides.
• If we extend the school day, won’t that cost us more money? No #edchat discussion would be complete without a discussion about how we plan to pay for all these brilliant ideas. It certainly seems logical that if we extend the school day we’ll have to be paying a lot more salaries and hiring quite a few more people. But what about volunteers, such as parents or older students? What about private tutors who wouldn’t get paid by the school system but would be compensated by the parents who decided to enroll their kids in their programs? And what about renting out the school building during off hours to various organizations as a way to defray some of these extra costs?
• Restructuring the school day is the way to go. There were just as many folks who preferred to rearrange the school day as wanted to extend it. I think that makes sense (and is itself an argument in favor of making an extended school day optional). Tom Whitby had an interesting idea to teach students five subjects per semester and to have each subject meet once a week all day long so that teachers could go really in-depth. David Wees suggested making the school day more “fluid,” allowing teachers to bargain amongst each other for extra time when necessary. And Jerry Blumengarten (better known as the Cybraryman) wondered if we should try to combine subjects a bit more. Each of these suggestions is a way for teachers to have the time to go deeper into their subject matter, and I think each one deserves some consideration. Unfortunately, they’re all a bit on the “radical” side.
• What about just focusing on not wasting so much time? This, I think, is one of the best and simplest suggestions from this week’s conversation. Every school (and teacher) should, on an annual basis, reexamine their general practices to see where time is being spent inefficiently or completely wasted. For example: do all students need to sit and listen to the announcements for every grade level every morning? Or couldn’t announcements be made via email or other social networking services? The possibilities are probably endless.

My favorite tweets from the discussion:

<> Great questions:

birklearns Is there a need for a longer school day, or is the solution restructuring the day that we have?

cybraryman1 How do you feel incorporating more self-directed http://t.co/HtLsFiGC and blended learning? http://t.co/cgTtePy9

cybraryman1 How do you feel about combining some subject areas?

<> In favor or rearranging the day:

davidwees We need to examine our school schedules and ask ourselves, where does this schedule come from?

bjnichols Time cannot be segmented into blocks. It should be around projects or problems. Life is integrated, not isolated.

mikevigilant Just let each team decide–if nothing’s going on in science and math is blowing up, shift a little time around.

davidwees @drdouggreen Ever been in the middle of a deep learning activity with students and been interrupted by the end of class?

tomwhitby Teaching 5 periods a day for 5 diff classes: How about each class one day a week for 5 periods? Result: more continuous project time.

<> In favor of integrating the school day more:

DoeMiSo As a music teacher, I’m integrating other subjects all the time. Why should it be so hard for others?

MertonTech @rliberni @TestSoup Give the kids social time with their emotional peers, and learning time with their intellectual peers.

stumpteacher @cybraryman1 There are so many natural connections in learning that teaching in isolation no longer makes sense.

<> Challenges to integrating the school day more:

mikevigilant @cybraryman1 Combining subjects would be great IF we weren’t accountable for test results on *our* subject. Would you give up time?

<> In favor of a longer day:

Loldsteach My son’s high school stays open three hours after dismissal to allow students access to the resources. It’s a start.

rliberni Think of all the art, drama, and sport that could be done at school!

cybraryman1 @rliberni I would like to see more choice given to students after academics of areas (arts, sports, etc.) to explore.

mr_isaacs Open the school for more activities. Let students stay because they want to stay.

MertonTech @TestSoup Keeping the building open can be a revenue generator.

<> Challenges to extending the day:

birklearns For students who are not fond of school, more school would be awful. Eating more brussel sprouts doesn’t make me like them…

davidwees @PrincipalPC @tomwhitby ’It will cost too much’ is an excuse to continue to do what we always do; it keeps us ‘safe.’

rliberni Does an extended day need to have teachers? What about parents? They have expertise too. I think we often underestimate the skills that others have (parents and other people attached to school).

<> Great miscellaneous comments:

tsocko @jswiatek I’ve found that time isn’t wasted if teachers are properly prepping and recreating lesson plans, not just extending old ones.

PrincipalPC @drdouggreen @ShiftParadigm We should not worry about gaps — we should worry about maximization of capacity.

TeachPaperless One problem is that we tend to think that if a student isn’t learning in our classroom, they aren’t learning.

Mamacita My own memories of elementary school are mostly of waiting, waiting, and waiting. And being punished for working ahead.

To follow the complete discussion, look for the full archive here.  They’re usually posted up by the end of the week.

Looking to discuss #edtech in depth? Check out the LinkedIn group: Edutech Trends, Visions, Passions.

###

New to #EdChat?

If you have never participated in an #Edchat discussion, these take place twice a day every Tuesday on Twitter.  Over 400 educators participate in this discussion by just adding #edchat to their tweets. For tips on participating in the discussion, please check out these posts:

• Edchat: Join the Conversation
• Using TweetDeck for Hashtag Discussions

More Edchat

• If you would like to join others in transforming the discussion into action, please feel free to join the Edchat group on the Educator PLN ning.
• Jerry Swiatek does an incredible job of posting each archived transcript on the #edchat wiki created by Steve Johnson. This way you can look back at your favorites!
• Find previous summaries here on this blog – see #edchat category on right sidebar
• Follow other Edchatters and make sure you are on this Twitter list if you participate in #Edchat!
• Read summaries of the 7pm EST/1 am CET Edchat discussions.

Challenge:

If you’re new to hashtag discussions, then just show up on Twitter on any Tuesday and add just a few tweets on the topic with the hashtag #edchat.

What do you think? Leave a comment! We would love to hear from you.

Mondays are busy days for me.  Unfortunately, they are also the days that I am most prone to distractions, with the possible exception of Fridays.  When you work in an office, distractions like funny websites and coworkers to chat with can be a problem.  When you work at home and can technically do whatever you want without anyone knowing, distractions can become a disaster.  Students find themselves in an awkward place here: they are constantly asked to do work at home — and they aren’t even getting paid for it!

When I was in school, there were certain things I had to do if I wanted to get any real studying done.

1) Listen to music without words. On the other hand, I knew a lot of people who could only study in complete silence.  Whatever works.

2) Find a place where you have to be productive. For me, this was either the library or my desk at work, which involved a lot of down time.  At either of these places, distractions were at a minimum for me, and the more I got used to studying in these places the more natural it felt.  Find these places for yourself.

3) Silence the phones. How much studying are you going to get done if you’re chatting?  Remember, the sooner you get things done the sooner you can catch up with people.  Let that be your motivation.

4) Schedule your day. I had to plan when I would work and when I would take a break in advance.  Trying to “catch as catch can” always led to forgotten assignments.  I used (and still use) daily to-do lists to keep myself on track.

5) Only work when you’re productive. Some days I know that I’m not going to get much done.  So I take care of the bare minimum and do some rescheduling to be more productive the next day.  This way I’m not fighting my own inertia.  I also try to work/study only during the day, because after dark I am completely useless and would much rather goof off.  If you’re better at working during the night, try scheduling your personal time during the day and your work time after dark.

Remember, the habits you make now will dictate how you work in the future.  If you spend four years getting used to procrastinating and scraping by then those will be hard habits to break.

If you want some more concrete tips, here are two excellent articles I found (that pretty much say the same things but differently).  The first states things more generally (take short breaks, limit inputs, start the day off right, etc. etc. etc.) while the second has some great tips with a more specific “business feel” to them.  I recommend them both.

To close, I’d like to bring up an idea that I first learned from a high-school history professor.  He was diagnosed with ADHD as a child but his parents didn’t believe in medicating him for this.  So instead, they taught him to meditate.  He learned a number of quick meditation techniques that he would use before (and during, if necessary) every test he took to help him stay focused.

So arm yourself against distractions with some of these basic tips while finding what works for you alone.  Then you’ll be ready the next time they strike.

I have said it before and I will say it again: sadly, summer is coming to a close. So, there is no time like the present to reflect on it right!? Let’s take a journey through your summer internship. How do you decide if it was worth it? Was it worth your time, your efforts, your free labor? Here are a few simple steps to help you decide.

1. Look at the cost versus the benefit. How many hours did you work? Where did you work? A lot? Not much? Somewhere in the middle? BUT, how much did you gain; either monetary or experience. Personal example my internship called for approximately 10 hours a week, unpaid. However, the experience I gained from the opportunity was priceless. A few things I learned were how to effectively market a product using social networking like Twitter and Facebook; provide feedback as well as look at mock-up websites or product logos with a critical eye; and that it is ok to make a mistake as long as you learn from it.
2. Evaluate your relationships. How would you rate your boss on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best)? We you in agreement with the decisions and business practices of your boss? Did you respect the way situations were handled and did her/her share the same mutual respect for you? Personal example: I felt and still do feel very involved in the company/product I worked with this summer. I receive update emails regularly and have been included on teleconference calls with the board of advisors and was able to speak and share my thoughts. Additionally, I know I have made a long-term contact with not only my boss but with the company. I feel as though I was a part of its building and whenever I look back on it and see its progress I will know I was a part of it and that is where my real hands-on learning/experience began. In other words, I will know who and what to thank!
3. Remain in contact. Once your internship ends, do you feel a desire to remain in contact with your product/task and/or boss? Do you feel connected to it in some way? Personal example: in years to come I plan on looking back on my internship company and seeing how far it progressed after my time. In fact, I plan on checking on it and even using it within the next academic year!
4. Resume. Do you feel as if your resume deserves a new section called Internships? Did you learn enough and perform well enough to add this to your resume and as a possible reference? Do you feel that you, even in a short period of time, required a wealth of skills to utilize in the academic setting but also in the real world (like for your next internship or job)? Personal example: My summer internship was my first formal one. It was a very positive experience and provided me with a  wonderful sense of the real world, accelerating my drive even more to do my best and get out there and make my mark as soon as possible.

All in all, summer and/or any internships are great. They provide everyone with valuable learning experience, especially in the area of communication. However, I will leave you with my one line of caution before accepting an internship: get a BlackBerry before your internship!

These days it is more difficult than ever before to stop working.  Nearly all of us are carrying around miniature computers that allow us to receive calls, check emails, and access our company’s website 24-7.  While we love our blackberries, iPhones, and androids for how much easier they make things, we also curse them for being such unforgiving masters of our work life.

This age of constant communication is a boon for business but can be a major source of stress for employees.  Americans have never been great at taking all of our vacation days, but at this point more and more people aren’t even allowing themselves a vacation at all.  The pressure to perform, especially when so many have been laid off, drives us to push too hard.

There are lots of people talking about this already, often on a macro scale.  What do we do when we find that our lives have grown too busy; too complex?   Simplify, simplify, simplify — right?  But easier said than done.

The important thing to understand about this “go go go” lifestyle and work ethic is that it has immediate, short-term effects on the quality of our output on top of the long-term, “stressed-out” feeling we get from being our own slave drivers.

In short: there is as much a need for us to simplify in our day-to-day schedule as in our lives in general.  Cluttering each day with so many little time-sinks is the stress-inducing equivalent of having too many possessions.  The stress that they create just isn’t worth it, and more importantly they make us worse at paying attention to the stuff that really matters.

Change does not have to be a radical, life-altering sacrifice.  It can begin as a simple effort, each day, to take some time to yourself to make sure that you’re not running yourself ragged.  Sometimes one of the most productive things you can do is choose to be truly unproductive for a short while so that you can come back to your work refreshed and ready to start again.

What works for you may be completely different from what works for other people, but the basic idea of taking a break every now and again — a real break — is solid across the board.  Do some experimentation to find how you decompress most effectively.  And, to get the ball rolling, here are a few suggestions.