The Best Time of Day
for Literacy Instruction
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract: 3
 Introduction: 4

 Statement
of the Problem: 5
 Review of the Literature: 6-14
 Hypothesis: 15

Method: 16
 Participants:
17
 Instruments: 18

References: 19-21
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
American education has shifted its
directions to include literacy as a major
focus as students continue to perform
poorly on tests that gauge their abilities to
read with comprehension.
 Schools in New York City now devote the
first 90 minutes of the day to reading
instruction.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM


At a private urban school in Brooklyn, reading
and writing is taught earlier in the morning at 9’o
clock, but students there continue to struggle
with word decoding and content comprehension.
If the time of literacy instruction were moved to
later in the day, specifically afternoon, would
reading comprehension and decoding skills
improve?
REVIEW OF THE
LITERATURE
Learning Styles: Time-of-Day
Preference

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

Pros
“Many studies confirm that people do have peak times of day…There is no
one time when all people are most alert. (Ammons, Booker, & Killmon, 1995)
“…Students have major learning styles and hemispheric processing
preferences…instruction and learning improve when teachers use multiple
teaching strategies in a systematic framework to address these preferences.
(Beck, 2001)
School schedule pilot program in Plymouth England allows students to choose
time to start the school day. (Bloom, 2007)
“Is one parent an early-bird and the other a night owl? Chances are the child
may share a time-of-day preference with a parent and have a best time
for learning.” – (Borchetta & Dunn, 2010)
“Students were grouped for reading according to their … highest energy
levels--early morning, late morning, or afternoon. Students' standardized
achievement reading and mathematics test scores between 1986 and 1989
increased from the 30th to the 83rd percentile under State Education
Department observation.” – (Braio, Beasley, Dunn, Quinn & Buchanan, 1997)
“Reading instruction should use students‘ reading style strengths and
preferences.” – (Carbo, 2009)
Learning Styles: Time-of-Day
Preference




Pros
Study finds learning style inventories are accurate. (Cropper, 1994)
Educators are obliged to provide a variety of learning. (Doolan &
Honigsfeld, 2000)
“Studies at many grade levels revealed that students who studied
for, or took tests at their "best" time of day, earned statistically
higher standardized achievement and attitude test scores than when
they studied for, or took tests at other times.(FN3) Researchers
citing these results have urged administrators to consider school
schedules based on students' and teachers' learning-style time
preferences.” – (Dunn, 1998)
”As student populations have become more diverse, the ability to
teach to the needs of different learners has become increasingly
important. “ (Haar, Hall, Schoepp, & Smith, 2002)
Learning Styles: Time-of-Day
Preference





Pros
“…we have chosen to base our classroom instruction on the 21 elements of
the Dunn and Dunn Learning Styles Model…We saw dramatic
improvements during the next two years as we implemented
the reading styles strategies and inclusion practices.” – (Hodgin &
Wooliscroft, 1997)
Teach students to use individualized learning-style homework and study
strategies, so that they can own their learning and differentiate for
themselves. (Lauria, 2010)
When instruction matches learning styles, students improve in academic
achievement. (Lovelace, 2005)
An elementary school in Aberdeen, South Dakota successfully implements
learning styles model in their classrooms. (Neely & Alm, 1992)
“There are several other benefits for teachers using the LSPI besides
identifying students as analytical or global learners. Teachers can get a
better idea of how to group students compatibly.” (Pitts, 2009)
Learning Styles: Time-of-Day
Preference




Cons
Many educational psychologists believe that there is little evidence
for the efficacy of most learning style models, and furthermore, that
the models often rest on dubious theoretical grounds. (Curry, 1990)
“…learning style instruments have not been shown to be valid and
reliable, there is no benefit to matching instruction to preferred
learning style, and there is no evidence that understanding one's
learning style improves learning and its related outcomes. This
conclusion is based on the lack of well-designed investigations by
researchers who are not committed to any particular framework, and
replicated in numerous educational settings.” – (Dembo & Howard,
2007
“What is a learning style? No one seems to know for sure. The
language used by learning style theorists is filled with ambiguities. “
(Ivie, 2009)
“The reason researchers roll their eyes at learning styles is the utter
failure to find that assessing children’s learning styles and matching
to instructional methods has any effect on their learning.” – (Stahl,
1999)
Learning Styles: Time-of-Day
Preference
Cons
 “Kavale and Forness (1987)…found little
empirical support for learning-style
instruction and concluded that “learning
appears to be really a matter of substance
over style.” (Kavale & LeFever, 2007)
Morning


Pros
“Individual instructional structures were more frequently observed in
the morning (14.2% AM; 10.4% PM), and entire
group instructional structures were more frequent in the afternoon (68.0%
AM; 78.4% PM). Considering these structures, it is not surprising that
academic responding time was higher in the morning (78.1% AM; 71.5%
PM), and inappropriate behaviors were more frequently observed in the
afternoon (16.9% AM; 19.3% PM).” – (Muyskens & Ysseldyke, 1998)
Cons
“We often operate under the mistaken assumption that reading should be
taught in the morning when, supposedly, most children are alert; the Lynch
(1981) and Virostko (1983) investigations demonstrate the fallaciousness of
that belief. Normal school hours restrict the achievement of approximately
25- 30 percent of secondary youngsters; no matter when instruction is being
offered, it is the wrong time of day for almost one of every three students.” –
(Dunn, 1984)
Afternoon


Pros
Study finds students who received instruction in
the afternoon did better than students who
received instruction in the morning. (Barron,
Henderson, & Spurgeon, 1994)
“The results of this study support the research
hypothesis that beginning readers who receive
instruction in the afternoon benefit more in terms
of reading achievement gains than beginning
readers who receive instruction in the morning.”
– (Davis, 2001)
Afternoon
Cons
 The findings of study done at a school in
Great Britain contradicts the findings of
other studies that suggest students learn
better in the afternoon than in the morning.
(Robinson, 2004)
HYPOTHESIS

If reading instruction in a fifth-grade class
is moved to the afternoon, students at a
private urban school in Brooklyn, New
York, will show gains in reading
comprehension and decoding skills.
METHOD
PARTICIPANTS
INSTRUMENTS
REFERENCES
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Ammons, T., Booker, J., & Killmon, C. (1995). The effects of time of day on student
attention and achievement. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 384
592)
Barron, B., Henderson, M., & Spurgeon, R. (1994). Effects of time of day instruction
on reading achievement of below grade readers. Reading Improvement, 31, 59-60.
Beck,C. (2001). Matching teaching strategies to learning style preferences. The
Teacher Educator, 37, 1-15.
Bloom, A. (2007). Pupils choose their shift. The Times Educational Supplement,
4743, 14.
Borchetta, J., & Dunn, R. (2010). Helping parents understand how children learn.
Momentum, 41, 40-43.
Braio, A., Beasley, T. M., Dunn, R., Quinn, P., & Buchanan, K. (1997). Incremental
implementation of learning style strategies among urban low achievers. The Journal
of Educational Research, 91, 15-25.
Carbo, M. (2009). Match the style of instruction to the style of reading. Phi Delta
Kappan, 90, 373-378.
Cropper, C. (1994). Teaching for different learning styles. The Gifted Child Today,
17, 36-39.
REFERENCES
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Curry, L. (1990). A critique of the research on learning styles. Educational
Leadership, 48, 50-56.
Davis, Z. (2001). Effects of time-of-day of instruction on beginning reading
achievement. Journal of Educational Research, 80, 138-140
Dembo, M. H., & Howard, K. (2007). Advice about the use of learning
styles: a major myth in education. Journal of College Reading and
Learning, 37, 101-109.
Doolan, L.S., & Honigsfeld, A. (2000). Illuminating the new standards with
learning style: striking a perfect match. The Clearing House, 73(5), 274278.
Dunn, R. (1984). Learning style: state of the science. Theory into Practice,
23, 10-19.
Dunn, R. (1998). Timing is everything. Momentum, 29, 23-25.
Haar, J., Hall, G., Schoepp, P., & Smith, D. H. (2002). How teachers teach
to students with different learning styles. Clearing House, 75(3), 142-145.
Hodgin, J., & Wooliscroft, C. (1997). Eric learns to read: learning styles at
work. Educational Leadership, 54, 43-45.
REFERENCES
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Ivie, S. (2009). Learning styles: humpty dumpty revisited. McGill Journal of
Education, 44, 177-192.
Kavale, K. & LeFever, G. (2007). Dunn and Dunn Model of Learning-Style
Preferences: Critique of Lovelace Meta-Analysis. The Journal of Educational
Research, 101(2), 94-97.
Lauria, J. (2010). Differentiation through learning-style responsive strategies.
Kappa Delta Pi Record, 47(1), 24-29.
Lovelace, M. K. (2005). Meta-Analysis of Experimental Research Based on the Dunn
and Dunn Model. Journal of Educational Research, 98(3), 176-183.
Muyskens, P., & Ysseldyke, J. (1998). Student Academic responding time as a
function of classroom ecology and time of day. The Journal of Special Education, 34,
411-424.
Neely, R.O., & Alm, D. (1992). Meeting individual needs: a learning styles success
story. The Clearing House, 66(2), 109-113.
Pitts, J. (2009). Identifying and using a teacher-friendly learning-styles instrument.
The Clearing House, 82, 225-231.
Robinson, S. (2004). Time is of the essence. The Times Educational Supplement,
4565, 25.
Stahl, S. (1999). Different strokes for different folks? A critique of learning styles.
American Educator, 27-31