Are You a Morning Learner?
Two middle school principals changed the schedules of their underachieving math students to match the students' preferred times of day. They took them out of morning classes and put them in afternoon classes. Their grades, test scores, and behavior improved.
A New York high school found that re-scheduling students according to their time preference decreased truancy. The same pattern was seen in five alternative schools in Washington.
In one district, matching elementary school students’ schedules with their time preference resulted in significant gains in math and reading scores over two years. When the district then matched the teachers’ time preferences, it found that teachers implemented more innovative instructional strategies.
One study found that only 28% of elementary students were “morning-alert.”
Many students do not concentrate well until 10:00am, and some were at their best in the early afternoon. About 40% of high school students are early morning learners, but the majority are most alert in the late morning and afternoon.
Teachers, on the other hand, tend to be high-energy morning people who often experience a low after 1:00 pm.
If you know your child's time preference, you can help him adjust to the school schedule. You might adjust sleep patterns so that your child better adjusts to school hours. Also, you can work on weekends so that he can do homework or reading during the time of day that has his best concentration.
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