In a Time of Crisis, What Can We Learn About Learning Time?

We know many students need more learning time to reach the high academic skills required in our complex economy and society. While the overwhelming majority of districts and schools stick to last year’s schedule because it would be hard to change, evidence suggests that time use in schools could be improved. Schools might consider bringing the following lessons from the pandemic back to the in-person model: the power of innovative learning tools, expanding learning time, and personalizing learning. For example, nine middle schools across the Springfield Empowerment Zone in Massachusetts are switching to a model where lessons on the highest priority core skills in math will be refined and recorded for students to watch.