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Estimate Time to Spend on Assignments

Tags

Study Skills & Tools All Ages Strategy

Skills

Self-regulation Organization Working Memory Attention Processing Speed

Estimate Time to Spend on Assignments

If your student often spends too long or too little on assignments

Teach It!

  1. Objective: Students will manage their time and gain a better awareness of their pacing if they are provided an estimated amount of time expected for a homework assignment.
  2. Teacher Takeaways: a) Estimated Time: When giving an assignment, suggest how much time students should expect it to take. If the assignment has steps, give a rough time estimate of each step. Reinforce that this is an estimate - sometimes it might take a little longer or shorter. Give a range, such as 10-15 minutes, so students are not hung up on exact minutes. b) Track time: Encourage students to jot down the time it took (again, without getting stuck on exact times) and compare to what was expected. If there is a big discrepancy or recurring pattern, students should discuss with the teacher. c) Encourage breaks: Consider having students stop their work after a fixed amount of time, regardless of how much they finished. This might reduce stress and provide teachers with a better gauge of the student's pacing.

Why It Works (the Science Of Learning)!

Having a time estimate can help students pace themselves more appropriately. It might be especially helpful for those who tend to spend more time on work to make it perfect or get distracted. If a student is not finishing in the suggested time, it is an opportunity to explore the reason and provide additional supports.