A new study conducted by the University of Georgia has found students in elementary school can lose out on valuable instruction by dawdling between activities.
Interesting, however, the study also found a way to make up for lost minutes and help students become more engaged in new subjects. Scott Ardoin, professor of school psychology in the College of Education Department of education psychology, has co-authored a new method that results in adding an average of 39 extra minutes a week of instruction, or about 2.6 extra hours per month.
The method better prepares students by giving them cues as to when the transition to another class will occur. The reminder is projected onto a computer screen whereby a timer appears. Given this information, students were given less and less time to prepare to go on to the next class. The study revealed they got excited watching the clock and aimed to beat the buzzer, quickly preparing for the next instructional session.
The findings were published in the September issue of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis.
The concept mirrors a software called “Keep Busy and Carry On”, which was created by Ardoin and Jeffrey Hine, a former school psychology doctoral student in the department of educational psychology. The software gives students a notice before it is time to transition to a new task. Its creators have found that it helps reduce the time children spend between activities by 67 percent. Instructional time also increased by more than 20 percent. Ultimately, students remain engaged and it also takes some of the burden off the teacher.
“Teachers are busy instructing students, so we wanted to create something simple for them,” Ardoin said in a released statement. “The system takes the responsibilities from the teacher and automates the intervention.”
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