Leveraging Time for a Learner-Centered Future

By: John DeAtley, Senior National Facilitator

I read NCEE’s new report, “Thinking Differently About Time,” with great anticipation.  This new report offers a series of innovative strategies for using time more effectively in schools to enhance teaching and learning.  Among the highlights are global examples of flexible scheduling, the integration of character education into the school day, and the emphasis on professional learning time for teachers. These insights provide a fresh perspective for American school systems looking to re-envision how they deploy their most important resource:  time.  What I find most exciting is, if you will, how timely the report actually is; particularly for one of NCEE’s most important school district partners.  

Colton Joint Unified School District (CJUSD) in Colton, CA has been partnering with NCEE to design and implement a comprehensive Professional Learning Framework aimed at transforming how their teachers work together.  The district is supporting teachers as they work in teams to engage in cycles of inquiry focused on the growth of their own practice, further enabling them to lift the learning of their students.  

Ensuring that professional learning is tied to actual teacher work in classrooms, not just “job-embedded PD,” but the centralizing of professional learning to the job itself is essential to this approach.  In addition, leaders at both the district and school levels are engaged in their own continuing professional learning, insisting that the professional learning system improve not just individual-by-individual, but collectively.  

Our partnership focuses on creating a systemic approach to professional learning and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. For the past two years, CJUSD has been dedicated to aligning its professional learning system with proven research and best practices from across the globe, working to ensure that its teachers have the support and resources needed to grow and thrive. 

However, the work involved takes time.  And lots of it.  And that time is not easy to come by in an American system that has never prioritized the professional growth of its most important asset: educators. As CJUSD is working through the complexities and challenges of making a systemic shift of this depth and breadth, the challenge of effectively managing time remains. This report comes at a time when they have established an incredibly strong foundation for their professional learning system and now must begin to consider the structures and resources that will be essential to that system’s long-term success.  

CJUSD and NCEE are working together to envision and build structures, processes, and incentives that will give teachers the time to work together to continuously improve the system’s beating heart: the classroom.  The report gives us several proven ideas to consider:

• Flexible Scheduling that organizes the school day by weeks instead of days to accommodate varied learning activities and provide a more balanced educational experience.
• Structured Collaborative Time that designates specific times within the school day for teacher collaboration, ensuring regular opportunities for professional growth and sharing of best practices.
• Character Education that integrates time for character education and well-being into the school schedule to support the holistic development of students.
• Data-driven decision-making that emphasizes the use of data to inform instructional practices and professional learning needs.
• Continuous Professional Learning that creates a culture of continuous improvement.

By rethinking how time is used in schools, educators can enhance professional learning for teachers, improve student engagement, and create a more balanced and effective educational experience. The insights from this report are going to be incredibly important to our work together as we build a system that supports schools in transforming their approach to time, ultimately leading to better outcomes for both teachers and students.