Time is one of the scarcest commodities in schools, a constraint that every teacher feels and something we all struggle to manage.
-Ron Ritchhart

Time is the cultural force all educators struggle to effectively leverage in the classroom and school environments. There is a vast array of extra-curricular commitments that often interrupt and interfere with valuable learning time. 
Educators therefore need to be strategic in the ways they provide opportunities and time for thinking. Ron Ritchhart in his book Creating Cultures of Thinking talk about distilling a number of approaches and perspectives on time that can facilitate the creation of a culture of thinking in schools: 

Recognising time as a statement of your values

• What does your allocation of time say about what you value in the classroom?
• How about the way time is spent and allocated across your school?
• What would your allocation of time say about your priorities and values?

Each and every one of the decisions we make about time sends a message about what we value and think is most important.





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Investing in time to make time

Invest time right from the very beginning to creating a culture of thinking where thinking is valued, visible and actively promoted.

The expenditure of time within the first week of school to establish routines, build community, create patterns of discourse, focus on big ideas, and set an agenda of understanding is a common characteristic  of classrooms/ schools that are a culture of thinking. 

Learning to prioritise and always prioritising learning

• How will I enable my students to use their time in class to maximise their learning?

By exploring your deeply held perceptions of teaching and learning, its mechanisms and purposes, your own principles will begin to emerge. 
When working to build a culture of thinking in our education context, there are a few key principles we want to be sure we are giving time to:

• Learning is a consequence of thinking
• coaching and providing feedback propel learning and create momentum
• we learn when we are challenged - working in our zone of proximal development

Managing energy, not time

• What are people doing differently in a culture of thinking to avoid that stressed-out feeling?
• How are they thinking about and using their time in a way that feeds rather than diminishes a culture of thinking?
• How am I spending my energy now? 
• How should I be spending my energy so that it is consistent with my deepest held values?

Giving thinking time

Learning is a consequence of thinking!
Complex cognitive processes or more contemplate, creative responses take time to construct. 

At least a 3 second wait time.
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Rowe (1986) explains that "to grow a complex thought system requires a great deal of shared experiences and conversations. It is in talking about what we have done and observed, and in arguing about what we make of our experiences, that ideas multiply, become refined, and finally produce new questions and further explorations. 

When we consider time not as periods of the day but as a cultural force sending messages about what we value and shaping students'learning, we take a step toward thinking about time differently, toward changing our paradigm with regard to time.
-Ron Ritchhart

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