Friday, July 5, 1985
Page 2
The Nebraskan
Study stresses 'time as a tool'
Time has always been as improtant
element in our lives. It is said to "heal
all wounds," "discover truth," and be
"what we have the least of."
Education researchers know that
time also is an important variable in
learning, and several UNL Teachers
College faculty are working on a project
they hope will help teachers under
stand more about how time relates to
their task. The team mebers, Bob Egbert,
Joy Ritchie and Charles Godwin, call
their project "Time to Learn."
U.S. students spend an average of
703,700 minutes in a classroom by the
time they graduate from high school;
even more if they attend kindergarten.
How young people spend those 12,000
or so hours is crucial to their academic
success, educators say.
The Time to Learn project came out
of previous research on how effective
schools used time, according to Mary
Kluender, who wrote an article on the
project with Egbert. In the late '60s,
there was a suggestion that schools
didn't make a big difference in learn
ing that environment and intelli
gence were the factors that affected
individual learning. Eut research dur
ing the past 15 years refutes that claim,
she said.
The single most important research
base for the present interest in assign
ment and use of school time, according
to Kluender and Egbert, is the Califor
nia Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study,
done by Charles Fisher and David Ber
liner. This study spanned ten years and
used three measures of time related to
classroom learning allocated time
(the amount of time allotted to the
teaching of a given subject), engaged
time (the amount of time the student is
working on a task) and academic learn
ing time (amount of time learning is
actually taking place).
In general, studies suport a correla
tion between time on task and student
achievement, although there may be a
variation by subject matter. Time on
Task research can be useful to teacher
educators in order to help prospective
teachers understand how actual learn
ing time gets subtracted from thafr
initial block of time allocated to the
subject. (Snow days, announcements
from teachers and principals, bells,
errands run by students and the need
for discipline all account for lost time.)
There is also a need for future
teachers to realize how time becomes
lost within the instructional process
and to understand ways to use time
profitably. They should also know how
to make decisions which will increase
the amount of learning time in class
rooms. The UNL Teachers College project
involved faculty members working with
schools in the western part of the state.
Each faculty member randomly picked
10 students, observed their on-task and
off task time and checked for patterns
of time use. Then teachers were trained
to make the same observations.
"The issue isn't time per se,"
Kluender said, "but time as a tool to
get teachers to ask questions about
what they are doing with it."
It is often hard for teachers to know
what is happening in the classroom
with each child because the teachers
are so busy, she said. Using this tech
nique, teachers can get a visual profile
of what their classroom is like and then
use effective classroom research for
guiding information on how to improve
learning time.
Critics of the time on task concept
fear that the approach is too mechani
cal. Kluender, however, says the con
cept is a vehicle for getting at other
types of questions. It is a method of
analysis, not evaluation, she said.
Program offers hands-on learning
Fresh from graduating its largest
class 144 students the University
of Nebraska School of Technical Agri
culture here is looking forward to mov
ing first-year students ahead in their
educational process this summer and
enrolling a new group of students in
October for the fall quarter.
Gerald Huntwork, associate director
of the institution, a unit of UNL's Col
lege of Agriculture, said current stu
dents working toward an associate
degree in the 20-month program repres
ent 11 of Nebraska's 93 counties, 9
other states and one foreign country.
First-year students who have com
pleted work-experience will be return
ing to the 470-acre UNSTA campus
all of which is used as an instructional
laboratory on July 22, Huntwork
said. They will receive four more quar
ters of instruction on the campus, he
said.
"The school's curriculum follows the
agricultural calendar," Huntwork ex
plained, with students receiving "hands
on" instruction in livestock and crops
courses.
New students are accepted only in
the fall quarter of each year, Huntwork
said, "because of the building-block
nature of the school's instructional
program and the fact each course
includes the practical hands-on appli
cation." UNSTA programs which lead to em
ployment in agricultural production
relate to only a small portion of the
opportunities available to graduates,
Huntwork said, because of potential
employment in agricultural business
and industry for graduates.
"Placement of graduates in fields for
which they have been educated has
been 95 to 98 percent in recent years,"
Huntwork said.
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For UNSTA graduates who wish to
continue their education, a unique
transfer agreement between the Col
lege of Agriculture and the school
allows any graduate with the Associate
in Technical Agriculture degree to
transfer 56 hours into the College of
Agriculture, Huntwork said. These
credit hours subtract from the 128
hourse required for the Bachelor of
Science degree in agriculture, he said.
Huntwork ticked off unique attrib
utes and accomplishments of UNSTA:
O UNSTA is Nebraska's first post
secondary school to offer vocational
technical education in agriculture,
making it the only post-secondary school
in the state with this as a total mission.
O It is UNL's only formal classroom
educational facility west of Lincoln.
O It is nationally accredited by the
North Central Association of Colleges
and Secondary Schools.
O It is viewed as a leader in 2-year
post-secondary education, and its in
structional programs have served as a
pattern for a number of in-state and
national instructional programs.
O It has an excellent student-faculty
ratio, and carries out a complete
extracurricular program.
It is the first two-year school to
have a chartered Farmhouse fraternity
chapter.
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Burlington Northern Railroad has
donated $10,000 to the UNL's agricul
tural LEAD program to help it develop
leaders in agriculture and agribusiness.
The grant will fund one individual's
participation in the program for two
years, said Allen Blezek, executive
director of the Leadership Education
Action Development Program.
LEAD is a program designed to
improve and develop decision making
and problem solving skills by broaden
ing participants' exposure and speed
ing up the leadership development
process according to Blezek.
UNL received $5,242,708 in outside
support in May, according to Earl
Freise, assistant vice chancellor for
research.
Support for research and programs
totaled $2,705,245, while instructional
programs received $533,045, public ser
vice programs $1,892,603 and student
aid $111,813.
The largest amount of support in
May, $3,205,681, came from federal
agencies. State support totaled $406,352.
Funds from area and local agencies
totaled $4,000; from industry, $1 13,590;
and the University of Nebraska Foun
dation $719,794 Other agencies pro
vided $793,289.
UNL has received $23,540,994 in out
side funding during the 1984-85 fiscal
year, according to Freise.
By National On-Campus Reports
Minority students suffer
from reductions in aid
Minorities suffer most from the reductions in federal aid. A report from
the American Association of State Colleges and Universities says that,
since 1982, the number of minorities getting federal help has fallen 12
percent while the number of white aid recipients has remained steady.
Students protest undercover cops
Undercover police surveillance of student protests is drawing fire from
students at the University of Oregon. Students are questioning the propr
iety of undercover work at a recent anti-apartheid march. Students were
also angry that, when asked, the plainclothes officers refused to identify
themselves as police.
Survey: speech crucial in job search
What gets a graduate that first Job? According to a survey of personnel
directors, it is how well one speaks and writes. Personality and appear
ance are third and fourth in importance. College grades come in fifth. I.Q.,
college reputation, academic major and extra-curricular activities are far
less important.
Students expelled in grade payoff
Ending a 14-month investigation, the University of Southern California
expelled 17 students for attempting to change their grades through
payoffs to employees in the records and registration office.
Collegians bike for famine cause
Three Stanford University students are pedaling 3,269 miles across the
United States to raise money for the American Red Cross African Famine
Relief Fund. A r.elfthration is nlanneH fnr Aiiffust 12. when thecvclistsare
I- r- o i -
scheduled to arrive in Washington D.C.
Texas Greeks remain segregated
Greeks will remain segregated, at least for the near future, at the
University of Texas-Austin. UTs black greeks refused an invitation to join
the Interfraternity Council, saying 'We don't want to be in it as just a
token member. We want to be in as an equal member."
Computers no help in aid search
Computers don't pay off in the search for financial aid, according to a
study by the California Student Aid Commission. The study found that
private companies charging fees to match students with scholarship
opportunities are ineffective.
Phony degree dealers plead guilty
A phony degree racket was the subject of a three-year investigation by
the FBI in Charlotte, NC. Four men pleaded guilty to charges of conspi
racy, wire fraud and mail fraud. Three institutions, the American Western
University and Northwestern College of Allied Services in Tulsa, OK, and
Southwestern University in Tucson, AZ, issued 2,101 bogus degrees for
fees totaling $1,945,000.
Dean says Greeks fuel violence
Violence on campus is being fueled, in part, by the macho sexual roles
encouraged by the Greek system, according to the University of Florida's
assistant dean of student affairs. The official told a recent audience that
some fraternities pressure members to sexually coerce women, and the
conflicts often lead to violence.
T.V. image discourages students
The "mad scientist" image in television shows is discouraging students
arom entering the field of research, according to the American Institute of
SfJ00 T I? a tw-vear study by the University of Pennsylvania,
scientists have the highest mortality rate of all professions portrayed on
television. The study also found that half of the scientists on television
botched up their work, as compared to one-sixth of the doctors.
Students boycott vending machines
vJS?! llniVt?ity 0kl&hcma students are encouraging boycotting of
ISw?8 t0 protest m administrative decision to remove
S !n!ii iSpl?e soft drink in cans- The administration says the
cup-aispensing machines are more cost effective in "high volume areas."
Bugs Bunny students' favorite
RaSSri?;,!111 college students. accordins to a survey b 8
ffiSSpnrfMor- survey fcd that 82 percent of
S?s2hSS moming cartoons- Roadrunner was also a
iavome, bcooby Doo came in a distant third.
