Academic Learning Time

Description

Academic learning time (ALT) is defined as the portion of total instructional time in which students are actively engaged in instructional tasks and are highly successful. In considering ALT, three important requisite components interact to affect student learning: (a) total amount of allocated instructional time, (b) time student is engaged in the task, and (c) time student experiences success on the task.

Time during a school day can be constrained by a multitude of factors (e.g., assemblies, recess, disruptive behavior, etc.). Allocated time is the amount of time scheduled for instruction on a particular instructional objective or topic; for example, reading instruction is from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m., and math instruction is from 10:45 to 11:30 a.m. Allocated time is the upper limit available or dedicated to instructional time and presumes a close approximation of the total time available and the total time spent in instruction. This approximation assumes that instruction begins and ends as scheduled, with limited and expedient transitions and no interruptions. In reality, the amount of actual instructional time typically has been found to be significantly less than the time reportedly allocated to instruction.

The second dimension, engaged time, is likewise vulnerable to a number of factors that interrupt or sidetrack the focus of instruction. Specifically, the primary focus during engaged time is on student behavior. Engaged time is the amount of time the student appears to be learning, as demonstrated by behaviors directed toward the academic task. These student behaviors, which are mediated by the type of instructional task, can be categorized as active (e.g., writing, talking, or reading aloud regarding the targeted topic) or passive (e.g., student attention directed toward the teacher lecture or reading materials). Learning is positively influenced by the amount of time students are actively engaged in instructionally relevant behaviors.

The third component of ALT, success rate, is the degree to which a student successfully completes the [Page 1126]instructionally related behaviors or tasks. Success can range from accuracy of written responses to thorough, accurate retells of passages read independently. The challenge is that student success is dependent on task difficulty, which has two components: (a) knowledge and skills the student has previously learned and (b) knowledge and skill requirements of the instructional task (e.g., writing a report, computing division problems). If the student has the necessary knowledge and skills to complete the given instructional task, student success rate should be high. However, if the knowledge and skills of the instructional task are beyond the student's current skills, student success rate would be low. Although the minimum threshold for success is not fully agreed on in the field, success can be quantified as students engaging in responses (e.g., words spelled correctly, number of correct math problems solved) that are at least 85% accurate. If student responses are less than 85% accurate, future learning is likely to be affected negatively. The challenge for the teacher is creating an instructional match between the requirements of the task and the instruction so students perform at 85% accuracy or higher.

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