Teaching time management

A colleague asked for ideas and resources to teach time management. She is teaching a 45 minute session on the topic for high school students getting ready to start community college.

Here is a link to a summary of a time management unit with sample objectives, lesson plans, links to forms and models including some sample student work, and open educational resources.

Background on the unit: In Effective Learning (EL115) it's typical to spend a week on this unit, and in College Preparatory Reading (RD80 it's common to spend several few days. The focus has been on teaching students to use three paper-based tools, the master schedule (term or monthly calendar), the weekly routine (or weekly schedule) and the daily to do list.

Teaching a standalone session: I have listed below three goals that might work for a single session, with ideas for teaching. In my experience, simply telling students that they will need to change their habits to succeed in college is very unlikely to make any impact. Students (especially high school students and recent graduates) have to reach this conclusion themselves. Your overarching mission is to offer students information and second-hand experience so that they don't have to learn this lesson the hard way.

Goal 1: Students identify the need to manage their own time in college.

The need for time management is news to high school students, who often haven't learned yet that:

• in college courses you have fewer class hours each week
• you'll learn significant portions of the material studying on your own
• college teachers don't go over everything you need to know in class
• you are expected to spend 2 hrs. studying each week for every 1 class hour (or 1 credit hr.) (for example: 6 hours studying outside class every week for each of your 3 credit classes in addition to the three hours a week of class attendance)
• you have to track your own deadlines - teachers won't be doing this for you
• there may be assignments that only earn credit if they are turned in on time
• you have to read the materials for each course on Day 1 of Week 1 to see the dates & rules

Here is a link to my favorite summary of how high school and college are different.

There are several ways you could help students reach this first goal:

• give students stories of students struggling with time management and have the students troubleshoot and discuss the issues they see (see the introduction lesson in the time management unit for more on this approach)
• invite successful students to come share tales of problems and solutions in person
• collect and show short video interviews with students describing problems and solutions 

Goal 2: Students select a time management tool or tools to try out this term.

Give students sample tools to touch and see. Have students analyze and discuss the purpose and relative strengths and weaknesses of the tools, including:

• book-based planners (if the LCC planner has come out as planned that is the place to start)
• paper tools for your binder (weekly routine charts, monthly calendars, daily to do lists)
• white boards for the fridge with/without calendars 
• iphone/ipad/cell phone calendars and reminder apps, etc. 

There are several issues that bear discussion:

• Which tool(s) is the student most likely to keep with them and see regularly? 
• Which tool(s) are more like the ones they already use to keep track of dates and information that is important to them? 
• Which ones cost money? Is it worth spending money on this tool or is there a free option?
• Which ones are easy to use immediately?

Goal 3: Students recognize it's typical to need more than one attempt to establish a new routine and they know where they can get information and support to improve their time management.

Resources could include:

• High school transition program office
• Tutor Central
• Academic advisers and counselors
• List of websites
• List of books at the Lane library 

See my next post on the stages of habit change for more information related to Goal #3.