TIME

By Sarah Cleary, Claire Udall and Josephine Williamson

INTRODUCTION Time is a measure that is dominant in our lives Deeply abstract, that we can only define it

practically through the units of measure and the mechanics of a measuring instrument, both human constructs (Turner and McCullouch, 2004, p.83)

A child can learn that time has a relevance to every day events (Turner and McCullouch, 2004, p89)

All measures are approximate (Haylock, 2001, p238)

Language of time (Haylock, 2001, p34)

Time is not metric (Haylock, 2001, p233) There are 7 main principles of learning time

as a measurement (Haylock, 2001, p.235)

Comparison and ordering Transitivity – breakfast/lunch/dinner Conservation Non-standard and standard units Approximation Developing number concepts Meaning of zero

RECORDED TIME

The time which an event occurs (Haylock, 2006)

This includes knowledge of the days, weeks, months and years (Suggate, Davis and Goulding, 2008)

TIME INTERVALS The time that passes between two

events ‘The length of time occupied by an

activity’ (Haylock, 2006, p.250) Seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks,

months and years. Time occurs over a long period of time,

not just specific to one day.

"Children use their memory and important events which

provide landmarks to understand the passing of

time."  (Mooney et al. 2007, P.68)

CONSERVATION AND PIAGET

“Piaget maintains that if children cannot conserve number then they are not ready to start on school arithmetic” (Hughes M, 1995, p17)

Principles of conservation – How does this apply to time?

Child’s Perception – Time flies when you are having fun – long journey, short journey but same amount of time.

SCAFFOLDING “Children’s learning is aided by social

scaffolding, in which more competent people provide a temporary framework that supports a child’s learning at a higher level” (Siegler, Deloache and Eisenburg, 2006, p.164)

The stages of learning time in primary mathematics is in a scaffolding format.

Children’s knowledge is developed and added to each year

VAK Moore states ‘ Different people learn in

different ways from one another’ (2000 p.155)

Visual learners learn by seeing, prefer information to be presented visually, and have good visual recall.

Auditory learners prefer to learn by listening, benefit from discussion and have good auditory memory

Kinaesthetic learners prefer to learn by doing, enjoy practical first hand experience, and are good at recalling events

LEARNING JOURNEY

National Curriculum LinksKS1 Ma3 4aKS2 Ma3 4d

BEFORE SCHOOL LIFE

Body clock Car journeys Time to get up Bed time Breakfast time Dinner time ANYTHING ELSE

RECEPTION

Differentiate between past and present

Use time related

language in conversation

Understand the concept of

seasons of the year

Find out about the past and

present in their own lives, and

those of their families.

Make short term plans

Taken from framework for teaching mathematics

YEAR 1 (KS1)

Know the names of the days of the

week, seasons, months

Understand and apply

terminology: how long ago/until, faster or slower

Know that one week is 7 days, and one day is

24 hours.

Tell the time on an

analogue clock to the nearest half

hour

Taken from framework for teaching mathematics

YEAR 2 (KS1)

Extend Vocabulary from

Year one

Know the significant times

of the day

Know and understand the

names of months, minutes, seconds

and fortnight

Read the time to the nearest

half and quarter of an hour on both analogue and digital clocks

Taken from framework for teaching mathematics

YEAR 3 (KS2)

Read the time on a

twelve hour

digital clock

Read the time on an analogue

clock to the nearest 5 minutes

Calculate time

intervals and find the start or end times for a given time

interval

Children learn how to

write the vocabulary associated with time

Understand the units of time and know the

relationship between

them

Children look at calendars

and are questioned on

days in a week and weeks in a

year

YEAR 4 (KS2)

Read the time to the

nearest minute

Use AM and PM and the

12 hour clock

notations

Start to use this years

calendar and simple

timetables

Choose to measure

time intervals

Calculate time intervals from

clocks and timetables

YEAR 5 (KS2)

Continue to learn and

extend knowledge

from previous

years

Continue to investigate timetables, e.g. train

timetables

Read digital/

analogue clock, 24

hour clock, 12 hour clock

Start using vocabulary of millennium, century, and

decade

Know the rhyme 30 days hath

September

Taken from framework for teaching mathematics

YEAR 6 (KS2)

Extend vocabulary

from previous years and develop

knowledge

Knowledge of Greenwich Mean Time

Know about British

summer time, and hour changes

Knowledge of world times, and be able to read

world time charts

Taken from framework for teaching mathematics

ICT RESOURCE

COGNITIVE CONFLICT

“Cognitive conflict occurs where learners are faced with discrepancies or conflicting ideas. The resolution of this conflict can lead to increased knowledge and understanding” (Haylock D & Thangata F, 2007, p23)

Important concept in constructivist theory of learning

Promotes growth and understanding

Teacher strategy – immerse pupils to cognitive conflict to initiate discussions

CONCEPT CARTOONS

Teacher strategies Children are encouraged to discuss the

cartoons Effective for mixed ability groups, SEN

children and those needing more confidence Teachers can identify areas for development

Which time is later in the day, 07:45 or 7:45pm

Is there such a time

as 24:00 hours?

Is 1500 hours, 5 o’clock?

Is one hour the same

as 60 minutes?

MIS-CONCEPTIONS 12 hour and 24 hour clock confusions

(Reference)

Clock face misconceptions (Reference)

MIS-CONCEPTIONS 2

Having to learn on an analogue clock first

The meaning of zero – ‘In interval scales zero is arbitrary. There is no particular reason why midnight should be zero hours, and certainly time does not cease exist at this moment.’ (Suggate et al, 2001, p122)

MIS-CONCEPTIONS 3

Subtraction of time – use to find time intervals

10.30 11.00 2.00 2.15 (30 minutes 3 hours 15

minutes)

i.e.: 30 + 3 hours + 15 minutes = 3 hours 15 minutes

(Drews, 2005, p14) Comparisons of recorded time – cannot

compare 10 o’clock with 5 o’clock – known as interval scale (Haylock,2001, p238)

CONCLUSION“Time is full of inconsistencies, in the vocabulary used and in the way numbers are used.” (Chinn,

2001, p.175)

ANY QUESTIONS?