The point of the rule of twenty is to keep things dynamic. The "Rule of 20" is loosely based on the notion coming out of my experiences in youth work. When talking to youth, the good rule of thumb is "age+3", so a teacher teaching a 7 year old should keep it to ten minutes.
My assertion is that adult mental age bends this curve to about 15-20 minutes overall. Some adults can easily go longer, some get bored and disconnect after 15 minutes. (just survey the congregation whenever you're sitting in church sometime...)
Since a typical class period is 50 minutes, two teaching segments per hour with 5 minute prep pads is 20 minutes. Yes, I'm very analytic in that regard.
However, no, it doesn't mean that 20 minutes is a hard fast maxim; but it does seem to work well with adult learners - an instructors as well.
-R
Michelle,
From the students standpoint, they will also love this idea. Whether it's twenty minutes, 30 minutes, or whatever time frame, the point is to break up learning (especially in longer class sessions) into segments that create opportunites for the students to reset their mind, gear up for for a diiferent activity or exercise, and in the end, feel more fulfilled and complete about the learning that occurs. And although it may take a bit more planning by the instructor, they learn to look forward to these "chunking" breaks in the flow of their classes too.
Barry Westling
I love this idea. A break in the style of learning every 20 min or so. I think this will work well in my teaching environment.
Tatiana,
Yes, it's effective, event if the time allocation has to vary some, the principle is a sound one.
Barry Westling
I realy like this rule. I think this rule can be used for all students- adults and children. This rule can help instructors and students to use all senses in the learning activity.
Linda,
Great. It's said "telling is not teaching". Teaching involves active engagement between the instructor and her students. Students need to receive the information, have time to process it, then apply it some way before understanding is achieved. This doesn't have to be complicated. But breaking instruction into segments of time with a variety of delivery methods helps the average person retain the information provided.
Barry Westling
I like the concept of changing the environment/situation frequently to keep the attention span of the students with a captive audience.I will apply this concept to my practice.
Stephen,
I think instructors should try all delivery and presentation ideas they think have merit, and use the ones the find most helpful. Sometimes what seems like a great idea on paper doesn't work out well in the execution. I don't know of any presentation method that works perfect in every situation.
Barry Westling
I will use this for my 37 member Customer Service class. Every student tends to think that the class will be mind numbing. Let's beat that expectation.
Kevin,
In psychology circles there may be some research about average adult attention span. But the bigger point is the one about engagement. Time seems to evaporate when an individual is engaged, interested, involved, and wanting to do something they see some benefit in. So, I would dismiss the "20-minute" rule as gospel.
Barry Westling
I like this idea. Variety is a excellent way to keep students engaged. I wonder if there is any science behind the 20 minute intervals versus let's say 30 or 50 minutes.
I also agree that if students are actively learning, there is no reason to switch up the activity solely based on time.
Rick,
This is a good idea, and from my experience takes some time in planning out the variety of activities and "change-ups" that can be facilitated. I've found the concept rather the exact time limits to be most effective. For instance, to get students in a discussion activity may take more time, but because they're engaged and interested, it's worth extending the time.
Barry Westling
