Schedule problematic arithmetic later in the morning, except for classes of children who work before coming to school.¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 8 claims (5 for, 1 mixed, 2 against) · 1 study (1 causal), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 8 claims rest on one study

Description¶

Winch draws a timetabling recommendation from his three equal-group experiments: "These experiments seem to indicate that a later hour in the morning would be more suitable" for problematic arithmetic, most probably because of greater general mental adaptation at a later hour. He qualifies this for classes containing many children who rise early and go to work before school, for whom the present early hour is probably better. The recommendation contradicts the prevailing opinion that the earlier in the morning the better.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Tests must be of such difficulty that there is room for differential improvement, with marks running gradually from best to worst pupils so equal groups can be formed

Constraints¶

• In classes containing many children who rise early and work before school, the early hour for problematic arithmetic is probably better than a later one

Target Learners¶

• elementary school children of 6 to 13 years in London day schools

Target Learning Goals¶

• arithmetical reasoning with multi-step word problems

Claims¶

• In a Standard VII girls' class, the later-working group (11.25 A.M.) improved 21 per cent on preliminary records versus 15 per cent for the earlier-working group (10 A.M.). [+W]
• The equal-group tests showed high test-retest and between-group correlations, supporting the reliability of the arithmetical-reasoning marking method. [+W]
• In a Standard I infants class, the group working arithmetical reasoning tests at 10.25 A.M. improved more on preliminary records than the group working at 9.40 A.M. [+W]
• Section-by-section analyses in the infants and girls' series show the later-working group's advantage across proficiency levels, while the boys' series shows the reverse in every section. [~W]
• In a boys' school where three-fourths of pupils rose early for work, the earlier-working group (9.40 A.M.) improved more (about 14 per cent) than the later-working group (11.30 A.M., 9 per cent). [-W]
• In a London girls' school class, the group working problematic arithmetic later in the morning improved about 5 or 6 per cent more than the early group [+W]
• In a London boys' school class, the group working problematic arithmetic later in the morning improved about 5 per cent more than the group working it early [+W]
• In one very poor neighborhood school the exception occurred: the earlier-working group improved more rapidly than the later-working group [-W]

Related Strategies¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• W. H. Winch. (1911). Mental Adaptation During the School Day as Measured by Arithmetical Reasoning.—Part II. The Journal of Educational Psychology. https://eric.ed.gov/?q=Mental+Adaptation+During+the+School+Day+as+Measured+by+Arithmetical+Reasoning