Class periods are an essential part of the educational structure and their length plays a critical role in identifying the effectiveness of teaching and learning. while a 1 hour class period is about 50 to 60 minutes for most of the universities and colleges. This tradition may have different disadvantages which come with the passage of time and must be significantly challenging for both teacher and students. This article explores the disadvantages of a 1 hour class period by focusing on its impact on learning depth, with student engagement, classroom management, teacher’s workload and the whole academic performance.
One of the most significant drawbacks of the 1 hour class period is the limited time available for exploring topics in depth.This may involve different academic subjects such as sciences, mathematics , literature and other extended subjects that require more discussion, practical applications and critical analysis. Moreover, a 1-hour session often forces teachers to rush through content without giving enough time to understand the complex concepts. This type of conditioning may lead to rote memorization instead of guiding students to learn deeply. Students may not get the opportunity to ask questions , participate in meaningful discussions or reflect on what they have learned.
Maintaining student interest and attention is a major challenge, particularly in today’s fast-paced digital environment. While, a 1-hour class may seem difficult to concentrate on the particular lesson for the entire duration, particularly in back to back sessions. If the lecture is heavy or lacks interaction then students may become bored or disengaged within the first 20-30 minutes.
Furthermore, the structure of a 1-hour class often limits the time available for interactive activities such as group work, debates or hands on learning.These activities are essential for engaging students and reinforcing theoretical knowledge through practice. However, the classroom will become less effective and less dynamic without adequate time for these methods.
Another disadvantage of a 1-hour class period is the limited time available for assessment and immediate feedback. Teachers may struggle to make student concepts clear during the lesson with limited time duration. It particularly happened in large classrooms, where teachers may not get enough time to conduct in class quizzes , review assignments or in providing one-on-one support. As a result, students may leave the class with unresolved doubts and teachers may not realise which concepts need further explanation. The lack of timely feedback may affect the ability of students to improve and adapt their learning strategies.
A 1-hour period can create pressure on teachers to cover a large syllabus in a short amount of time. This time constraint often forces instructors to move quickly from one topic to the next without repeating the previous topic. Teachers may find themselves constantly racing against the clock for trying to meet curriculum requirements rather than ensuring that students fully grasp the material. Additionally, planning for shorter class periods may result in uneven lesson plans, where topics are broken into smaller parts across multiple sessions. This can mess up the flow of learning and make it difficult for students to connect ideas from one lesson to the next.
The subjects that may involve experiments, physical projects or hands-on activities including science, art or computer studies requiring more than a 1-hour period is mostly not enough. These subjects require time to set-up equipment, conduct activities and discuss results. The time constraint issue causes difficulty to students, where they may rush through experiments or may not complete the entire work which ultimately leads to the insufficient quality of learning. Moreover, the time taken for transition between different phases of a lesson such as lecture to lab work or discussion to demonstration further reduces the actual instructional time.
In schools, the multiple 1-hour periods throughout the day may cause a significant loss of institutional timings. On the other hand, moving between classrooms and starting the lesson can take 5 to 10 minutes that does not fit the whole class time period for 1-hour. This condition is considerably a loss of time which could be better used for productive learning. In addition, students may face mental health conditions from frequently switching subjects and teachers or also can negatively impact concentration and performance.
The time limitations in the classroom may lead to the increase of homework due to the incompleteness of a task or lesson. Homework is a useful learning tool but in excessive amounts it may lead to an increased workload, particularly when students have multiple subjects. In such cases, reliance on homework to cover essential content can create inequality among learners.
This post has been authored and published by one of our premium contributors, who are experts in their fields. They bring high-quality, well-researched content that adds significant value to our platform.
