Classroom strategies to enhance academic engaged time

Abstract

A strong predictor of student achievement is the amount of time students are actively engaged in learning, or academic engaged time (AET). Sustained engagement, in turn, is influenced by the extent to which students are motivated to invest time in learning. Despite the importance of AET, studies reveal that engagement (determined by motivation) may be as low as 45-50% in some classrooms. Beginning with a model developed by Carroll in 1963, several theoretical conceptualizations of school learning have emphasized the critical role of engaged time in determining student achievement. Subsequently, empirical studies focusing on the relationship between time and learning have documented the role of the instructional context in explaining both student motivation (willingness to invest time in learning) and student engagement (actual involvement or participation in learning). In addition to discussing theory and research that implicate time in the teaching-learning process, this chapter describes three groupings of evidence-based practices that contribute to student engagement and motivation, including classroom management, instructional design, and student-mediated strategies.