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New Research Says Starting University Classes at 11am or Later Would Improve Learning (qz.com)
Using a sample of first- and second-year college students at the University of Nevada-Reno in the US and Britain's Open University, a group of researchers analyzed students' cognitive performance throughout the day and found that the best learning happened in classes that began later in the morning. From a report: Since every person's chronotype, or sleep pattern, is slightly different, there isn't one universal start time to benefit everyone -- but according to students' survey responses as well as theoretical data on circadian rhythms parsed by the researchers, starting classes at 11am or later benefits the greatest number of students. The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience this week, bolsters prior research indicating that teenagers learn better with late starts; it also extends the studied age group from high school students to college sophomores and freshmen.
New research says if you let kids sleep through their hangover, it will improve their learning. News at 11.
And this pretty much sums up the value of the modern college degree.
When I was in university they ran classes from 8:30 am to 10pm, this is partly due to making scheduling easier but also reduces the number of rooms they need.
One semester I had a Monday 8am lecture, only lecture for that class.
Never made it to a single one. Never met the professor once. Still passed the course, somehow.
I went to West Point - missing a class resulted in disciplinary action. I had one professor that was so bad at teaching (one of my math classes) that I had to use my infinitely valuable free period to sit in ANOTHER professor's identical class to try learning something so I could pass - because failing a course also results in disciplinary action (and dismissal from school).
Part of me is jealous that you got to skate by, and part of me is grateful that schools like yours exist to distinguish schools like mine.
Professors so shitty that you have to go to a second section just to learn the material... yeah, sounds "distinguished" to me
"In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women..." -H. Simpson
It's not the time, it's the time awake. In college-aged people especially (late nights, partying, etc) this is a factor. The military has PT every morning to make sure people are awake before work, 30-60 minutes (depending on the exercises done) each morning is enough to wake people up, another 30-60 minutes to shower and eat and you're at 1-2 hours prep time to be fully alert. The issue isn't the time (if you started at 11AM each morning you'd just have 1PM be the new "best time to start" within a month or two.)
We are talking about learning in a college environment.
Learning includes things like responsibility, good study/work habits and prioritizing your time. It's not about the success of a business. It's about your success or failure later on in life.
Have gnu, will travel.
I hate when people have this view on the military. We are not mindless robots, nor are we trained to be. Sure, initial training seems like it, but it's only because at that level you don't necessarily have the whole picture of what needs to happen, what's happening, and how to complete the mission. There are times where you need to follow orders and times where you can question the current plan.
I rank this right there with all military are conservative, racist, violent, or arrogant.
You probably got bonus points for being the only student who showed up. I once showed up for an optional final exam - I needed (I think) a B or better on the final to bump my grade from a B to an A. I was the only one who showed up, so when the professor walked in, hands full of exam papers, he looked at me and said, "what the hell, you get an A. Go home."
Proud neuron in the Slashdot hivemind since 2002.
A few comments from my perspective as a faculty member:
(1) Faculty and staff want to arrive and go home at a reasonable hour. Setting class start times to 11 a.m. will effectively push back the entire academic day by two hours. People don't want to be leaving their offices at 7 p.m. every day.
(2) You can't "compress" the academic day. In other words, you cannot just say "We'll only hold classes from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., instead of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m." You'd need more classrooms (since more classes would be held during the same time slots) and there will be more class conflicts between required courses during the same time slots. Scheduling would be a nightmare.
(3) 9 a.m. really isn't that early. Most students have the luxury of rolling out of bed after 8:30 a.m. and heading to class without a shower, a meal, dealing with family members, or tackling a 30-minute commute. Your average faculty member is probably waking up at 6:30 a.m. to get started on the day. A two hour "sleep-in" period is already built in for college students.
(4) 9 a.m. is actually late by post-graduation standards. Most jobs in the real world start at least an hour earlier. Students might as well get used to it now.