Time Spent in Learning: Implications from Research

Common sense suggests that the amount of time spent in learning is an important factor in determining a student's achievement. Theories of instruction and research findings confirm this observation. Many different measures of time have been examined, ranging from the number of days in a school year to the number of minutes students actually spend working successfully on specific tasks. This paper provides an overview of the research findings on time that are most relevant for administrators and teachers. Implications of this research for improving the use of time are also discussed. Three of the measures of time to be discussed concern the availability of time for instruction: school year, school day, and allocated time for a subject area. Much early research on time was concerned