Increasing Time on Task - Part 2: Passing Periods

In case you missed it yesterday, the Super Secret Formula for Improving Student Performance is as follows:

1. Teach the Right Thing. If you aren’t doing that, quit reading right now. Because until you get that rectified, everything else you are doing just doesn’t matter.

2. Teach the Right Thing, Better. This is where the Fundamental 5 comes into play.

3. Teach the Right Thing, Better, and Longer. This is where the master and daily schedules come into play.

Yesterday, we discussed the master schedule and depending on what schedule you are currently running a trimester schedule can produce up to 12½ more days of instruction in a given year. Today we are going to examine the time that is lost during your passing periods. Once again, we will look at the 4 different schedules. First up, the 8-period day.

The 8-period day has 7 between class transitions. With a standard 5-minute passing period, the 8-period day squanders 6,195 minutes a year in the hallways.

The 7-period day has 6 between class transitions. With a standard 5-minute passing period, the 6-period day squanders 5,310 minutes a year in the hallways.

The 5-period trimester day has 4 between class transitions. With a standard 5-minute passing period, the 5-period day squanders 3,550 minutes a year in the hallways.

The 4-period A/B block theoretically has 3 between class transitions. But in practice, due to lunch, one period is usually split, creating 4 between class transitions. With a standard 5-minute passing period, the 4-period A/B Block day squanders 3,550 minutes a year in the hallways.

Now consider what would happen if you shortened passing periods to 4 minutes instead of 5 minutes. This is an easy transition to make. Here is the impact on each schedule.

The 8-period day would recapture 1,239 minutes or about 3½ days of instruction.

The 7-period day would recapture 1,062 minutes or about 3 days of instruction.

Both the trimester and A/B Block day would recapture 708 minutes or about 2 days of instruction.

As you can see, it doesn’t matter what schedule you are running. If you maintain your traditional 5-minute passing periods, you are giving away days of instruction.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool)
• Confirmed 2012 Presentations: NASB Conference; TASSP Conference (multiple sessions); Region 10 ESC Fall Leadership Conference (Keynote)

Increasing Time on Task - Part 1: The Master Schedule

The Super Secret Formula for Improving Student Performance is as follows:

1. Teach the Right Thing. If you aren’t doing that, quit reading right now. Because until you get that rectified, everything else you are doing just doesn’t matter.

2. Teach the Right Thing, Better. This is where the Fundamental 5 comes into play.

3. Teach the Right Thing, Better, and Longer. This is where the master and daily schedules come into play.

It is scary how simple the formula is. But what is scarier is the excuses we make for deviating from the formula. The first two parts of the formula are regular topics on the blog but we don’t discuss the third part that often. However, with every school working on next year’s schedule now is the time. Let’s look at the master schedule first.

Most secondary schools are running either an 8-period day (45 minute classes) or a 4-period AB block (90 minute classes). So the question becomes, “How many instructional minutes do these schedules create?”

The answer for the 8-period day and the 4-period AB block is approximately 63,720 minutes (177 instructional days X 8 periods X 45 minutes) or (177 instructional days X 4 periods X 90 minutes). These two schedules also produce 32 credits in a 4-year high school career.

Now, what if you are running a 7-period day (50 minute classes), how many instructional minutes are in that schedule?

The answer, approximately 61,950 minutes (177 instructional days X 7 periods X 50 minutes). This schedule produces 28 credits in a 4-year high school career.

But what about the 5-period trimester (75 minutes classes), how many instructional minutes are in that schedule?

The answer, approximately 66,375 minutes (177 instructional days X 5 periods X 75 minutes). This schedule produces 30 credits in a 4-year high school career.

Thus, once again the trimester wins. Offering 4,425 more instructional minutes than the 7-period day and 2,655 more instructional minutes than the 8-period day in a given year. Or to frame this discussion in a more concrete manner, what could teachers and students accomplish with 12½ more days of instruction (trimester vs. 7-period schedule) or 7½ more days of instruction (trimester vs. 8-period schedule)?

My guess is a lot. Especially if you follow Steps 1 and 2 of Super Secret School Improvement Formula.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool)
• Confirmed 2012 Presentations: NASB Conference; TASSP Conference (multiple sessions); Region 10 ESC Fall Leadership Conference (Keynote)

A Reader Writes... If We Could Just Keep Our 'Friends' From Helping - Part 1

In response to the 3/14/2012 post, “If We Could Just Keep Our ‘Friends’ From Helping,” a reader writes:

SC,

In response to "...running out of things to do" when teachers are using a ‘flipped’ environment.

Teachers and students would actually have time to have a conversation about the subject matter and possibly veer off into related areas of interest. After many years in education I am convinced that the most effective way to develop higher order thinking and problem solving skills is to have teacher-student conversations. From conversations, teachers can figure out what students are actually thinking and understanding and from there can lead them to higher plateaus of understanding/learning.

It's so basic and one of the very valuable things that the over-emphasis on standardized testing has stolen from the teaching and learning in our educational environment today.

SC Response

You are absolutely correct in your belief that conversation is a critical element in increasing instructional rigor. This is one of many reasons why the Fundamental 5 is able to dramatically change student performance. It is through academic conservation that students create meaning, make connections and expand on ideas. When teachers monitor or participate in these conversations they are able to formatively assess student understanding, guide learning in the appropriate direction, and have a window into the student’s brain to more accurately determine levels of cognition (rigor).

However, I disagree with your blanket assessment that accountability has stripped this practice from today’s classrooms. The sad truth is that this practice was rarely occurring prior to the current accountability era. Instruction, to this point, has been primarily at the knowledge and comprehension level, rooted in the specific content area. In other words, chronically low rigor, chronically low relevance. This isn’t to say that educators don’t work hard, with the best of intentions. It is to say that we are notoriously poor at objectively self-assessing our practice (and who isn’t, at both a professional and personal level) and accountability is forcing us to address weaknesses in our collective craft.

In fact, every day I see where the realities of increased accountability have improved the lot of our students. Because for our most fragile student populations the key to performance is not drill and kill, it is high rigor / high relevance (more build, more talk, more write). It just so happens that what is good for our weakest students is also what is best for our strongest students. Accountability just provides the incentive for us to do this everyday, instead of when it is convenient.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool)
• Confirmed 2012 Presentations: NASB Conference; TASSP Conference (multiple sessions); Region 10 ESC Fall Leadership Conference (Keynote)

Top LYS Tweets from the Week of April 1, 2012

According to a recent PEW report more than 75% of all teenagers have a cell phone. Visit any mall on the weekend and you will swear that 75% is a conservative estimate. Add to this fact that each day the number of smart phones over the number of regular cell phones increases. As you are looking at your tech budget for the upcoming year, ease up on the typical computer-buying spree. Instead beef up your Wi-Fi and carve out some time and money to help teachers figure out how to embed the use of bootleg technology in daily instruction. At least 75% of your student body is already in possession hardware that is faster and more relevant than the desktops in your computer labs and the laptops in your charging carts. As it now relates to technology, our job is to catch up with our students and figure out how to let them use their hardware.

A number of you in the LYS Nation are now using your own bootleg technology devices to follow Twitter. If you haven’t done so yet, we want you to join us. To let you see what you are missing, here are the Top 10 LYS Tweets from the week of April 1, 2012.

1. If you spend the first 5 minutes collecting papers & taking attendance why would any kid care if they were on time to your class? (By @justintarte)

2. Bad practice + a good excuse = bad practice.

3. When your school/district improvement plan primarily focuses on skimming the cream from the top, what exactly is being improved?

4. Here's an idea. Why not send progress reports and report cards to parents via text and/or e-mail?

5. If people take refuge at an elementary school, is that a government handout? (By DrJerryRBurkett)

6. Most DAEP's do a decent job of playing the hand they are dealt. The problem is that the most districts deal them a losing hand.

7. Leadership Malpractice: Moving teachers to less desirable classes, grades or settings with the hope that they will leave.

8. Proactive Leadership: Putting your best people in your toughest settings. Great for kids, great for the organization!

9. A teacher said yesterday when we were discussing The Fundamental 5, “Isn't this what we are supposed to do for PDAS!” :-) (By @fosterbkay)

10. A second grader is showing me tricks on my I-Phone. Every day you keep bootleg technology out of your school you are falling behind.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool)
• Confirmed 2012 Presentations: NASB Conference; TASSP Conference (multiple sessions); Region 10 ESC Fall Leadership Conference (Keynote)