Discussion:
Longer Class Periods
An educator wanted to test the effects of class period duration on the learning of junior high students. To keep work at a manageable level, the educator decided to change the morning class period duration from 45 minutes to 90 minutes so that material that was previously covered in 20 weeks was now covered in 10 weeks. No change was introduced to the afternoon class periods. In other words, the total amount of class time for any subject remained unchanged. When the experiment was over, the students were given tests on the morning and the afternoon material. Test scores for the morning material were much higher than the scores for the afternoon material. Thus, the educator concluded that the longer class period enhanced learning in the classroom.
1) Do you agree or disagree with this conclusion? Why?