Use Of Student Time Research Articles

Curricular Information Demand in Theological Degrees: Operationalizing a Key Concept for Library Services

If seminary libraries exist to support student information needs, then librarians need specific knowledge about how a given school's curriculum shapes such needs. This article puts forward a model of the intended curriculum in master's-level theological education. Based on analysis of the intended theological curriculum (giving special attention to the use of student time), the author posits curricular information demand (CID) as a way to describe with precision how courses and degree programs expect students to find, retrieve, analyze, and use information. CID has a weaker measure based on analysis of syllabi and a stronger measure based on analysis of actual student work. The author presents examples of CID for courses at Austin Presbyterian Theological School. Finally, the author calls for research to analyze the usefulness of the model.

Undergraduate Time Use and Academic Outcomes: Results from the University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey 2006

Background/ContextPrevious research has established the significance of academic study time on undergraduate students’ academic performance. The effects of other uses of time are, however, in dispute. Some researchers have argued that students involved in activities that require initiative and effort also perform better in class, while students who engage in mainly passive entertainments perform less well. Other researchers have argued that students who are connected to the campus through residence, work, or extracurricular activities perform better, while those who are separated perform less well.Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of StudyThe purpose of this study is to develop a theory-based framework for examining the academic consequences of student time and to test hypotheses drawn from this framework using survey data.Research DesignThe framework focuses on three dimensions of student time use: study/non-study, active/passive, and connecting/separating. The survey analysis is based on more than 6000 responses to the 2006 University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey (UCUES).Findings/ResultsControlling for students’ socio-demographic backgrounds, previous academic achievements, and social psychological stressors, we find that study time is strongly connected to both academic conscientiousness and higher grade point averages. We find that “activating” uses of time, such as physical exercise and volunteering, are associated with higher levels of academic conscientiousness, but not directly to higher grade point averages. Time spent on “passive” entertainments show negative associations on academic conscientiousness. Uses of time that connect students to campus life showed relatively weak and inconsistent effects, as did uses of time that separate students from campus life. Off-campus work was an exception. It showed a strong net association with lower grade point averages.Conclusions/RecommendationsOur findings have implications for theory: They lead to a stronger focus on academic study time as the central key to positive academic outcomes, and a renewed focus on off-campus work as a major obstacle to positive academic outcomes. They suggest further that college and university administrators should find ways to “unplug” male students from their computer entertainments and to help minority students who need to work to find employment on campus.

Learning needs time and effort: a time-use study of engineering students

Several time-use studies in engineering education have shown that students use less time studying than has been allocated in the curricula. It is questionable whether a scarce use of time can lead to deeper understanding and the ability to apply knowledge in problem-solving. The alarming results from earlier time-use studies led to a search for answers to the following questions: How much time do first-year engineering students use for their studies and other activities? Do they spend enough time on studying and other learning activities? Is their time use in agreement with the curriculum? What learning outcomes and grades do students achieve from their studying efforts? Factors that influence student time use and approaches to learning are discussed. A deep approach to learning is desirable and is seen to support comprehension and lead to better learning outcomes. Learning approaches that students choose are both student-related and influenced by the learning environment. How can the learning environment be designed so that students are motivated to assume a deep approach to learning and devote more time and effort to out-of-class studying? Answers to these questions will be helpful for teachers, tutors, teacher educators and designers of curricula, as well as students themselves.

Do our engineering students spend enough time studying?

In higher education one of the most important learning goals is deep understanding. Achieving this goal needs time and effort. The authors discuss their observations of student time use on the basis of several case studies which they have conducted in the field of engineering education in Finland. The time that the students spend studying is clearly less than has been stipulated in curricula. Also other time-use studies reveal controversy between the curriculum and actual studying. The authors raise questions dealing with reasons for this problem such as is the workload too high or are the courses too easy. The observations and discussion will hopefully motivate courses to be dimensioned more realistically when taking the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) in use.

The Schoolwide Enrichment Models an Overview of the Theoretical and Organizational Rationale

We are pleased to have this opportunity to share with the international community of gifted educators the theoretical, research, and practical aspects of our work. Since the Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM) has been described in great detail in various books and other publications, this introductory article will present an overview of the major theoretical and organizational issues underlying the model Other articles in this special issue will deal with a summary of research and examples of how the model is used at various school levels and in different countries. Interested readers are also invited to visit the SEM folder at our web site [ www.gifted.uconn.edu ] for additional resources that can be used to aid in the implementation of the model I have also listed at the conclusion of this article a number of key resources for interested readers. There are two main considerations that educators should think about when exploring the use of this or any other model for use in their schools: the underlying theoretical (or pedagogical) models and organizational (or administrative) models around which service delivery is arranged. When most people are asked what “model” is being used to guide their special program, they almost always answer in terms of organizational models. Although we believe that both types of models play important roles in guiding program quality and effectiveness, theoretical models should be the first and most essential consideration in program planning. Theoretical or pedagogical models consist of the principles and derivative experiences and activities that are designed to accomplish particular kinds of learning. Theoretical models usually draw upon the work of leading philosophers, researchers, and learning theorists, and they are located somewhere on a continuum of learning theories ranging from highly didactic or prescriptive learning on one end to highly inductive or investigative learning on the other. The work of Pavlov, Thorndike, and Skinner are examples of didactic theories, whereas inductive or constructivist theories are represented by writers such as Dewey, Pestalozzi, Piaget, and Montessori Theoretical models should be the first and most important consideration when examining the quality of services for gifted students. Organizational models are concerned with how we group students, move them around between and among various service delivery options, plan schedules and events, allocate time blocks, assign teachers, and do other things that contribute to the efficient and effective use of student time and human and material resources. Examples in this category are pullout programs, full-time special classes, cluster grouping, after school programs, Saturday programs, grade skipping, advanced classes, college courses, special schools, and differentiation in the regular classroom. Organizational models are obviously important, but they do not tell us why, what, and how we present learning experiences within any of the organizational models mentioned above that are qualitatively different from the learning experiences that take place in regular education 2 2 Covering more material faster is a quantitative rather than qualitative difference in learning. Rapid coverage of large amounts of material certainly has value and should be an option in special programs, but the pedagogy and the role of the learner generally are the same as in regular education. . A special class for gifted students could, for example, be very didactic or prescriptive in its approach to learning, or it could be an environment in which students engage in self-selected investigative activities using the authentic methods of practicing professionals, even if their methodology is at a more junior level than adult scientists, writers, or other professionals. The most important consideration is that students in the special class are thinking, feeling, and doing what real world investigators and problem solvers do, as opposed to being consumers of knowledge who are mainly involved in accumulating information and practicing thinking skills, albeit at a faster level. The same theoretical distinctions can be made for all of the types of organizational models listed above. It's not when or where we do it, or even with whom we do it. The key issue is how we do it!

The effective use of student time: a stochastic frontier production function case study

The relationship between student study time allocation and examination performance is little understood. We model the allocation of student time into formal study (lectures and classes) and self study and its relationship to university examination scores using a stochastic frontier production function. This case study uses unique time budget data and detailed personal records from one university in Spain. The results suggest that, within the formal system of teaching in Spain, both formal study and self study are significant determinants of exam scores but that the former may be up to four times more important than the latter. We also find that self study time may be insignificant if ability bias is corrected for.

Adaptive Instruction and Classroom Time

The study described in this paper assessed (a) the degree of implementation of a program of primary grades instruction—the Adaptive Learning Environments Model; and (b) the association of the degree of implementation with efficient use of student time and other classroom resources and processes. Data were collected on 156 kindergarten- through third-grade classes (138 teachers) that included students with economically disadvantaged backgrounds and mainstreamed mildly handicapped and gifted students. The classes were located in 10 school districts across a wide geographic region and differed in ethnocultural and socioeconomic characteristics. Results from the study showed that 96 percent of the teachers were able to establish and maintain the Adaptive Learning Environments Model at moderate to high criterion levels, and that the degree of implementation was associated with students’ efficient use of learning time and with constructive classroom behaviors and processes.

Experience in Educational Design for Interactive Videodisc and Quadrasync Presentations

Educators prepared to use new electro-mechanical technology are on the threshold of a revolution in education through the use of packages that are interactive, multimedia) and designed to provide the learning experience at a time, pace and place of individual convenience. Sample script pages illustrate how programs can be written to integrate audiovisual communication with the systems approach automated by data processors. A flow chart illustrates the complex branching capabilities of new equipment. The particular concerns involved in programming the QuadraSync and computer-managed videodisc players are described including the videodisc capabilities to keep in mind for educational design. Microcomputers are compared with large computers. Preliminary evaluation is reported. By making the most efficient and effective use of student time these systems offer unlimited opportunities for significant improvement in educational communication.