Research Library
Making Every Moment Count: Maximizing Quality Instructional Time
Author: A Collaborative Project among nine associations and national education groups
Publication Date: 2007, June
Summary or Abstract: This paper is a collaborative project that addresses the concern that NCLB is having the unintended consequences of narrowing curriculum and making learning more relevant to standardized tests rather than to real-world applications that engage students. The document stresses that emphasis on schools should not be to just increase instructional time, but rather to improve the quality of instructional time. Strategies offered include balancing and integrating curriculum, fostering staff collaboration, offering professional development to support strategies that demonstrate effective use of time, and using research to investigate new approaches to using time more effectively. Each of the following organizations contributed a brief paper to this report: American Association of School Librarians; International Reading Association; National Association of Secondary School Principals; National Council for Geographic Education; National Council for the Social Studies; National Council of Teachers of Mathematics’ National Education Association; National Geographic Education Foundation; National Science Teachers Association.