Many teachers working in proficiency orientated institutions, whether they work in national, local teaching contexts or global ones, find themselves confronted with a heavily loaded curriculum, often split into language and separate skills, and a very limited time frame to work within. This dilemma often leads teachers to what seems to be an…

Despite the importance of first grade as a crucial period in a young student's academic development, little is known nationally about how much time first-graders actually spend in class on various subjects or about the kinds of activities and skills that they work on in class. This Issue Brief details how often per week and how much time per day…

As part of a campus self-study, more than 100 faculty members as a mid-sized private university met to explore the scholarship of teaching, and in a subsequent conversation, to focus on things that hinder the scholarship of teaching. To assess faculty workloads and determine their effect on the learning environment, a survey was developed and…

This study reports the demographic results from the 2002 National Survey of Student Engagement. In this year, comparisons were available for other urban institutions in addition to broader national institutions. The report provides information on age, gender, ethnicity, transfer status, living arrangements, parents educational background, annual…

The work of the school administrator is often described as fragmented and unrelenting. Often left unsaid is that it is lonely. The issues of administrator stress and burnout form the focus of this book. It begins with a look at the nature of stress, and an assessment of individual stress triggers and response mechanisms. Subsequent chapters…

This paper describes the activity-based costing approach used to report and capture the time spent by faculty for specified activities at one Midwestern university. For each department, four major areas (instruction, research, public service, and administration) and 14 activities were identified. During the annual goal-setting period, each faculty…

Teachers at four block-scheduled schools in the Huntington Beach (California) Union High School District were asked whether the change yielded differences in instructional practices, assessment techniques, social interaction, curriculum, and school management. Responses to an (anonymous) Likert scale indicate that block scheduling allows teachers…

A survey of chief executive officers at approximately 200 colleges and universities found CEOs consider human resources issues highly important and spend up to one-third of their time on such issues. Although relatively few human resources executives currently report directly to the CEO, survey results support an increasing role for the human…

It is often presumed that software technology will increase group productivity, but this may not be the case. Examines the impact of technology on time-to-complete-task, member satisfaction, perceived information load, number of contributing transactions, and task complexity. Three appendices provide examples of complex and simple tasks and the…

The relationship between work-family balance and quality of life was assessed for 353 accounting professionals. Those who spent more time on family than work experienced higher quality of life than balanced individuals, who experienced higher quality than those who spent more time on work. Findings were similar for level of involvement balance and…

Differentiates chronological time and the Greek concept of "Kairos" (a quality of time without measure) as they relate to Montessori philosophy. Argues that the child's need for "Kairos" time conflicts with the adult "Chronos" world of schedules, and that the Montessori classroom environment is successful due to its…

Describes as research project that examined the types of professional development activities that best meet the needs of instructors involved in online course development. Discusses barriers that prevent instructors from participating, activities that were most helpful, and a collaborative model that allows instructors to learn actively while…

Interviews with eight adult students with disabilities determined that their coping with school depended both on their ability to manage their disability and on support services that relieve stress. Their successful integration into the institutional mainstream requires empathy with their frustrations. (SK)

The Time Structure Questionnaire (M. J. Bond and N. T. Feather, 1988) and the Time Management Behavior Scale (T. H. Macan and colleagues, 1990) were evaluated through results from 701 and 453 adults respectively. Results confirm the importance of examining subscales of these measures rather than simply aggregate scores. (SLD)

Discussion of the Instructional Systems Development (ISD) model for developing instructional materials focuses on a computer program that integrates the tasks of course mapping, flowcharting, storyboarding, screen layout, and testing for courseware development. Authoring is practically eliminated, resulting in a significant time savings.…