Of time and the student: improving students’ time management skills

Student success in writing classes often depends on students’ time managment skills. When students fail to turn work in, teachers often feel helpless and frustrated because they are unable to explain or justify this self-destructive behavior.  I think it’s important to recognize that when students turn in late assignments, they do not do so from a character defect. We often contributed their behavior to procrastination, laziness, or disorganization and fail to understand the underlying causes, often imposter syndrome, a learning disability or mental illness, overcommitment, or a failure of self-care.    We also need to recognize that strong time management skills, like a strong growth mindset, can be developed in their class experience.

Reviewing student reflections submitted to the The Persistent Writer allows me to collect qualitative data, and no data is clear than student thoughts on their own time management.  At the beginning of the semester, most declare that they are in charge of their own time management, but this is belied by the number of students who drop, fail to turn in assignments, or turn in hasty work.   At the end of the semester, other than the few who started with strong time management skills, they report improvement or they describe the stress that their poor time management skills created.

Time management, which is of course connected to executive function, is obviously essential to success in college. According to educational psychologists Christopher Wolters, and Anna C. Bradytime, management is an important aspect of educational psychologist Barry Zimmerman’s idea of “self-regulatory learning”:

• Effective time management is reflected in a person’s capability, even under shifting situational demands, to use their time efficiently and in a way that both advance their pursuit of valued goals and also avoid distractions, procrastination, or other misappropriations of time. Particular strategic behaviors thought to reflect good time management include using a planner, following a daily schedule, making to-do lists, keeping a time-use diary, writing reminder notes, setting personal deadlines, reducing wasted time, and organizing one’s workspace in a way that reduces distractions (6).

The Persistent Writer devotes an entire unit to improving students’ time management practices, making it an excellent choice for first year experience classes as well as first year composition and support classes.   Students are asked to examine their time management skills in the context of their education by examining how workload is calculated in Carnegie units and how Carnegie units make their class transferable so they understand the reasons behind their workload.  Students are also encouraged to set their priorities and find time for self-care.

One way I help students gain time managment skills is to give them more control over their assignments. In my classes, I use “target dates” as opposed to hard “due dates” so students can have some control over their workload.  This allows them to develop stronger time management skills because they can make choices about their time.  Many students report that the more flexible target dates lessen their stress as they try to balance, work, life, and school.

Works cited

Barry J. Zimmerman “Self-Regulated Learning and Academic Achievement: An Overview,” Educational Psychologist, 25:1, 317, (1990)  DOI: 10.1207/s15326985ep2501_2

Wolters, Christopher A., Brady, Anna C. “College students’ time management: A self-regulated learning perspective.”  Educational Psychology Review, 1040726X, 20211201, Vol. 33, Issue 4.