It is surprisingly difficult to find an answer to this. Of course, to some extent it depends upon context but there seems to have been very little research done.
Most research seems to consist of asking teachers how long they think a lesson should last. On the whole they seem to suggest that the length of lesson to which they are most used is the best length.
So perhaps we should scrutinise research from psychologists which tell us about attention span. For example, research using the pre-school TV programmeSesame Street
Of course, this applies to pre-school children. It also tells us how long a 'segment' should last. The programme, like a lesson, is constructed from many segments: Sesame Street lasts an hour (minus adverts etc).
THIS PAGE IS STILL BEING CONSTRUCTED
Most research seems to consist of asking teachers how long they think a lesson should last. On the whole they seem to suggest that the length of lesson to which they are most used is the best length.
So perhaps we should scrutinise research from psychologists which tell us about attention span. For example, research using the pre-school TV programme
Of course, this applies to pre-school children. It also tells us how long a 'segment' should last. The programme, like a lesson, is constructed from many segments: Sesame Street lasts an hour (minus adverts etc).
THIS PAGE IS STILL BEING CONSTRUCTED
It also showed that five-year-old children distracted with toys watched half the time that children without toys watched but “the children remembered and understood … exactly the same” because they view strategically. (Gladwell 2000; p101)
References
Gladwell M 2000 The Tipping Point Abacus London
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