Notions of Time: Student Success and Perceptions of Duration, Sequence, and Causality

Whether synchronous or asynchronous, the online classroom is bounded by time. We evaluate time on task, set both fixed deadlines and suggested submission dates, and assign tasks to be completed in chronological sequence. However, students have very different perceptions of time (“time biases”) and different comprehensions of cause and effect, and one-size-fits-all advice on time management often misses the mark.

Questions to Explore

Which lessons from current psychological and philosophical research on time and time biases might prove useful to the online educator?

Can cause and effect, sequence, and process analysis be more effectively taught across the curriculum?

How can we better support our students with their very different notions of time to maximize success in Hawkes Lab activities?