Teacher Time on Task – Potential Solutions and Interventions

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Teacher time-on-task, the time teachers spend actively engaged in teaching, is low in many Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries and adversely impacts student learning. This panel will explore evidence on potential solutions and interventions to enhance instructional time teachers spend on-task. Low time on task is a key contributing factor to why even the best-designed foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) programs fail to achieve sustained results. We know that teachers are the greatest asset to improving children’s learning and that improving the quality of pedagogy students receive from their teachers is associated with improvements in learning outcomes. At the same time, improving the dosage, or the amount of instructional time students receive, can also lead to improvements in learning outcomes, especially in middle- and low-income countries. What are the best solutions to low time on task in SSA? Achieving improvements in foundational learning requires a combination of high-quality teacher instruction and teachers having sufficient instructional time. We know a great deal about teacher interventions focused on improving the quality of teacher instruction, but what about investments that affect teacher time on task? Moreover, what can we learn about the relationship between the two? Potential solutions and interventions to enhance instructional time teachers spend on-task depend on the underlying causes of low teacher time on task in each education system. This panel explores the causes of low time on task and what we know about possible solutions. Presenters first define the underlying causes of low teacher time on task and then identify interventions that have worked to address these challenges across different country contexts.

Sub Unit

• Teacher Education and the Teaching Profession SIG

Chair

• Clio Dintilhac, BMGF

Individual Presentations

• How to “learn” about foundational learning - Barbara Bruns, Georgetown University

• Improving teacher time on task: Gaps in our understanding of solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa - Mary E Breeding, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Discussants

• Sharon Schroen, VVOB - education for development

• Margaret Peggy M Dubeck, RTI International