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Additional Time in Math/Science
What will teachers (and students) do with the additional 20 minutes of instructional time each day? Both our mathematics and science teachers are responsible for insuring that students master the content as required by the Illinois State Learning Standards and District 47 curriculum guidelines. Over time, expectations for what students should know and be able to do have risen steadily. Many adults have remarked that our middle school students are studying things that they (adults) did not learn until high school! One immediate benefit of the additional time, therefore, will be to allow teachers time to adequately cover the content of their subject areas.
Perhaps you are familiar with the saying, “I see and I forget. I hear and I remember. I do and I understand.” Additional time in the core areas of math and science will allow students to move beyond a classroom where the teacher has time only to lecture or demonstrate (“I see… I hear…”) and have the opportunity to experience a hands-on classroom (“I do….”) where inquiry and thoughtful discussion are the norm. This type of instruction takes time. Students who have the opportunity to explore and evaluate math or science concepts under the guidance of a skilled teacher will have a stronger understanding of the concepts and will retain them longer. Time will be available to apply learning and to make connections across the content areas of math and science. This approach to education is effective for all types of learners – the academically talented, second language learners, those with learning challenges, and the average student. Even as adults, when learning a new skill we might read about it first, but mainly we learn by working with and watching a skilled practitioner and then having the time to try it out and develop our own understanding of it.
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In this age of information and technology, there exists a world of resources outside of the classroom walls and the textbook. The textbook programs used in the District today all include technology references and resources that often go unused due to the pressures of time. The addition of time to the math and science periods will allow students to explore and utilize these wonderful resources. Students will also be able to access data, expert scientists and mathematicians, or to take virtual field trips through technology resources.
Finally, we hear calls for increasing the “rigor” of what is taught in schools today. To achieve a truly rigorous and challenging curriculum requires students to be immersed in the content over extended periods of time under the direction of expert practitioners (teachers). In classrooms such as these, students are able to experience real life situations and “problems” for which there are not simple answers. Such curricula require students to develop reasoning skills, to become literate and discerning users of information technology, to think analytically, and communicate effectively. These skills will serve them well in their classrooms and beyond. Time is a valuable resource that will help us reach this goal.
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