How Does A Student’s Schedule Affect Their Learning?

1. How Does A Student’s Schedule Affect Their Learning? Chapter 5 Discussion Dean Papadakis SED 697

2. Overview of the Study How students learn, is based on many factors. I have focused my research on one of these factors, which is, How does the amount of time a student is in class, and the frequency of coming to class, affect their LEARNING?

3. Overview of the Study Specifically • I have focused my attention on what STUDENTS think about the affect their schedule has on their learning, and • What do test scores reveal about the difference in performance between students in a traditional schedule vs. students in a block schedule?

4. The Results of My Study Were Obtained From the Following Four Sources of Data Essay Responses Survey Questions Interview Test Scores

5. Summary of Findings • A majority of students who met for physics every day for 50 minutes, preferred this schedule. • For those students who were in a block schedule, that met every other day for 100 minutes, an EQUAL number preferred this schedule to the traditional schedule. • A majority of the traditional students, believed they had enough time in their class to understand concepts. The result was the SAME for the block students. • Students in both groups, believe that having class for 100 minutes in a block schedule, is too much time and it makes it easier to “tune out” and not pay attention.

6. Summary of Findings, Continued • Both groups of students feel that it is easier to forget material, when meeting every other day. • However, students in the traditional schedule often feel rushed, and that more time would be helpful, when it comes to lectures, tests, and laboratory experiments. • Most of them agree that daily interaction with the teacher, helps them to remember concepts more easily and increases the rapport between them and the teacher. • For 2 tests out of 8 tests given, traditional students performed better than the block students. For 5 tests out of the 8 tests, block students performed better.

7. Conclusions • Though block students outperformed traditional students on tests most of the time (63% of the time), the difference was on average, only 3 percentage points higher. • The results of my findings tell me that MOST students are able to adapt to their environment (or type of schedule), and will learn in either type of schedule. • However, students differ among themselves in the ways that they learn best. Just as there are kinesthetic learners vs. Auditory learners, some students can focus for longer periods of time and wish to engage more deeply in a topic for a longer period of time. • Other students simply cannot focus for an extended time and therefore do better in a shorter period.

8. Conclusions, Continued • The problem is that many students are very active in athletics after school and for those who would do better in a traditional class, cannot be in one, due to sports. Even if they are not in athletics, they rarely get to choose what type of schedule they learn best in and there is only one traditional class offered each day. • The implications of these findings are that firstly, teachers who teach a traditional, academic class, need to become AWARE of the types of students they have. Maybe this can be done through a student questionnaire at the beginning of the year. • Secondly, if students could be given more involvement in their scheduling, then, a BETTER MATCHING could take place for appropriately placing students in the best environment.

9. Recommendations • Based on my findings, what may improve the learning in my classroom, in the future, will be to give my students a questionnaire, regarding the type of learner my students are, and which type of schedule they would prefer. Though I may not be able to change their schedule, I might be able to modify my teaching style to be more in line with their needs. • This questionnaire could be shared with other teachers at my school and with administrators.

10. Limitations of the Study • One limitation of this study was that the sample size of 30 students was somewhat small. A larger sample size would provide more reliable information. • Another limitation was that the opinion of students in the traditional class, may have been influenced by the class being at the end of the day, when students are tired and anxious to go home. • If a traditional 50 minute class were in the middle of the day, its value could be better evaluated.

11. Limitations of the Study, Continued • Another limitation was that the sample of block students came from two different times of the day, whereas the traditional sample group was only at the end of the day. • The other limitation was that the two groups studied were science students (physics). This group has opportunities for class activities and experiments that can help with engaging students. • Further study of other groups of students, who are not science students, would be interesting and provide information about which type of schedule is best for a student’s learning.