Governor Mike Easley signed into law House Bill 1151 in July 2006, requiring schools to develop a plan to provide at least five hours of duty-free instructional planning time per week and a daily duty-free lunch period for every teacher. Acknowledging the difficulties in creating school schedules that incorporate sufficient non-instructional…

What are students doing with their time? Existing research mostly has focused on time used for study and/or work in relation to academic outcomes. This study uses a diary approach to explore business and marketing students' time use encompassing all student activities, not just study or work. A clustering procedure resulted in two meaningful…

This paper utilizes the findings of a small research project into academics' perceptions of the value of formal qualifications in university teaching and learning to reflect upon the current status of teaching and tertiary teaching qualifications in Australia. The findings are based upon a survey of and interviews with participants and…

The Center for College Affordability and Productivity (CCAP) is an independent, nonprofit research center based in Washington, DC that is dedicated to researching public policy and economic issues relating to postsecondary education. CCAP aims to facilitate a broader dialogue that challenges conventional thinking about costs, efficiency and…

Almost everyone agrees that colleges have become costly to attend and are a growing burden on society to finance. Rising tuition costs threaten the ability and desire of students to attend college. Are there things that can be done to significantly reduce the cost of college? The answer is an emphatic "yes." The Center for College Affordability…

This document updates "Accommodations: Assisting Students with Disabilities. A Guide for Educators," published by the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) in 2003. This document is written to assist school district personnel and parents when making decisions about the use of accommodations by students with disabilities in instructional…

The most frequent form of professional development for teachers--occasional workshops conducted by outside consultants--is widely regarded as ineffective. This document presents findings of a study, conducted by the Indiana Education Policy Center School of Education Office, to examine professional development and its connection to teacher time.…

This study was done to determine how much faculty in the Minnesota State University System spend out of their own pocket to support their work. A survey was distributed to all system faculty (n=2,370) and included demographic and spending pattern items as well as open-ended items. Seven hundred and eleven surveys were returned. Results indicated…

This report discusses increasing demands on teachers' time, particularly with more students with disabilities in regular education classes, and describes how teachers can use strategies, routines, and support systems to empower students to become more independent and more responsible for their own learning and study. The five underlying principles…

Surveys that ask faculty to estimate how much time they spend on teaching, research, and service do not allow for activities which fulfill more than one purpose, fail to capture the patterns of actions that faculty perform to fulfill each purpose; and do not show how different features of organizational and disciplinary contexts affect the types…

This digest examines problems inherent in the traditional school scheduling pattern. It offers block scheduling as an option and describes variations in block schedules. It then looks at the benefits and challenges of block scheduling and concludes with a few suggestions for making the transition. Proponents argue that block scheduling allows for…

In response to increasing assessment and accountability requirements, Mt. Hood Community College, in Oregon, developed an assessment matrix specifying major accountability requirements and established a calendar to help departments understand the necessary sequences for fulfilling these requirements. The matrix lists the various measures or…

The two modules in this packet provide information on planning for workplace success. The first module, "Planning MAS-107," contains seven units that cover introduction to planning, developing plans, setting goals, budgeting resources, scheduling, monitoring implementation, and how to make planning work. The module also includes a list of 18…

One critical means of reaching the goal to improve student learning is to restructure school time for professional development. This publication examines issues in promoting professional development for all staff during regular school time. The overview describes alternative strategies for effectively finding and using time to support…

Supporting efforts that promote the lifetime habit of reading professional literature should be a priority of administrators and teachers. Initiating teacher-led workshops, encouraging opportunities for collaboration, and providing time for working together are a few positive steps that complement conventional approaches to professional…