Block scheduling
Encyclopedia
Block scheduling is a type of academic scheduling in which each student
has fewer classes per day (e.g. 4) but each class is scheduled for a longer period of time (e.g. 90 minutes). A student might be taking 7 different classes, but only 4 per day, and the specific daily classes would rotate through a changing daily cycle that starts over every 6-7 days. This is intended to result in more time for teaching due to less class switching and preparation. It also allows for a student to take four electives, rather than two, or three. It means that homework for each class is not due each night, which is an advantage for some students, but a problem for other students.
In some cases, such as in medical school
or other intensive university program, a block schedule may mean taking one class at a time, all day, every day, until all of the material is covered. A normal university course might then be completed in three or four weeks of focused effort on a single topic. This is sometimes called "One Course At A Time" ("OCAAT") (see Colorado College
and Cornell College
). When used as a supplement change instead of the normal schedule, this approach is sometimes called a mini-mester.
Conversion to block scheduling became a relatively widespread trend in American
middle schools and high schools in the 1990s. Prior to that, many schools scheduled classes such that a student saw every one of their teachers each day. Classes were approximately 40–60 minutes long, but under block scheduling, they became approximately 90 minutes long.
However, some American high schools still use the traditional six to eight periods per day, and consider block scheduling to be a dubious education reform
scheme.
Part of the motivation for block scheduling is to prepare students for taking end-of-grade/end-of-course standardized tests used to measure student achievement (and in some school districts, teacher pay and school funding). Another rationale is social, to foster cooperation among students. This is done by having students work in groups (called "cooperative learning
") to help them learn from each other, rather than have classes that focus on teacher-delivered content, as some experts believe that students learn better from peers than from professionals.
One way of doing block scheduling, called A/B block scheduling, is shown in the example table. Instead of taking six classes every day, students attend three classes every other day and spend twice as long in each class. You can take 4 classes and then another semester you take 4 more classes. The example given here reverts to a six-period day on Fridays. Another way of distributing the classes would be to have "A" and "B" days on alternate Fridays, or to alternate "ABABA" weeks with "BABAB" weeks.
Another common block system exists in which students spend up to 100 minutes per class, and earn four credits each semester. Excluding very rare occasions, students at schools using this system take two core classes and two electives per semester. Some schools modify this system further to use one of the mid-day periods for students to take optional year-long classes (usually band) that take half of the period length and take another year-long class during the rest of the period (such as math or journalism). Under such a system most of the classes taken on a year-long basis have all students participating, however it is not uncommon for journalism or yearbook classes to operate under the normal system and only have a few students who leave or arrive half way through the period. It is also not uncommon for these classes to be scheduled as two credits, and taken both semesters.
A method called 4×4 block scheduling splits the academic year into quarters, and uses a four-period day. This leaves eight slots available for classes during a semester (four classes in each of two quarters). The 4×4 method is somewhat more flexible in that students can take two sequential classes (such as Algebra 1 and 2) in the same semester (in different quarters), which would not be possible on a traditional schedule. This also allows students in their final year to fail a third-quarter class but repeat it in the fourth quarter in order to graduate.
Some schools have compensated for this by making AP courses last for the entire school year, providing essentially double the instruction time of normal classes, but this results in a dramatic reduction in the number of courses a student can take. Some schools that make AP courses year long offset this by having students always choose a pair of AP courses during class registration. The student will go to the first AP class one day, and the other AP course the next day. Therefore, the student takes the same number of courses as other students, but both AP classes last for the duration of the year.
A University of Virginia study of 8,000 college students found that students who had block scheduling in high school performed worse in college science courses.
A systematic review on Block Scheduling was also conducted by Dickson et al. (2010) at the EPPI-Centre which asserts that there is no conclusive evidence to support the introduction of policy guidance on the use of block scheduling in secondary schools in the UK. Although the findings do not indicate that participating in block schedules would produce negative outcomes for pupils across subjects, neither are the positive effects of block scheduling strong enough to recommend their implementation.
Block scheduling can result in gaps of a day or days (or even weeks or months in some circumstances) where students are receiving no reinforcement of instruction in a specific subject like math or history, and critics say this results in retention problems and the need for more remedial review. Some observers similarly feel that summer vacation has a similar effect of interrupting the learning and retention process forcing a need to repeat material at the start of a new school year in the Fall.
Students who miss a block-scheduled day can miss a considerable amount of material in a single subject, possibly making it more difficult to catch up. Some students are better able to manage their time with nightly homework in every class, while other students do better with larger homework assignments that are spaced out over several days. Some subjects may benefit from daily drills while other subjects may lend themselves to less frequent homework projects. Mid-term transfers between schools with different schedules can be problematic in cases where the schedules are different.
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
has fewer classes per day (e.g. 4) but each class is scheduled for a longer period of time (e.g. 90 minutes). A student might be taking 7 different classes, but only 4 per day, and the specific daily classes would rotate through a changing daily cycle that starts over every 6-7 days. This is intended to result in more time for teaching due to less class switching and preparation. It also allows for a student to take four electives, rather than two, or three. It means that homework for each class is not due each night, which is an advantage for some students, but a problem for other students.
In some cases, such as in medical school
Medical school
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine. Degree programs offered at medical schools often include Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Bachelor/Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, master's degree, or other post-secondary...
or other intensive university program, a block schedule may mean taking one class at a time, all day, every day, until all of the material is covered. A normal university course might then be completed in three or four weeks of focused effort on a single topic. This is sometimes called "One Course At A Time" ("OCAAT") (see Colorado College
Colorado College
The Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell...
and Cornell College
Cornell College
Cornell College is a private liberal arts college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally called the Iowa Conference Seminary, the school was founded in 1853 by Reverend Samuel M. Fellows...
). When used as a supplement change instead of the normal schedule, this approach is sometimes called a mini-mester.
Conversion to block scheduling became a relatively widespread trend in American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
middle schools and high schools in the 1990s. Prior to that, many schools scheduled classes such that a student saw every one of their teachers each day. Classes were approximately 40–60 minutes long, but under block scheduling, they became approximately 90 minutes long.
However, some American high schools still use the traditional six to eight periods per day, and consider block scheduling to be a dubious education reform
Education reform
Education reform is the process of improving public education. Small improvements in education theoretically have large social returns, in health, wealth and well-being. Historically, reforms have taken different forms because the motivations of reformers have differed.A continuing motivation has...
scheme.
Part of the motivation for block scheduling is to prepare students for taking end-of-grade/end-of-course standardized tests used to measure student achievement (and in some school districts, teacher pay and school funding). Another rationale is social, to foster cooperation among students. This is done by having students work in groups (called "cooperative learning
Cooperative learning
Cooperative learning is an approach to organizing classroom activities into academic and social learning experiences. Students must work in groups to complete tasks collectively...
") to help them learn from each other, rather than have classes that focus on teacher-delivered content, as some experts believe that students learn better from peers than from professionals.
Schedules
| Example of 4×4 block scheduling | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Quarter 1 | Quarter 2 | Quarter 3 | Quarter 4 | |
| 08:00 - 09:25 | English 1 | Science 1 | Spanish 1 | Health | |
| 09:35 - 11:00 | Math 1 | English 2 | Woods | Spanish 2 | |
| 11:00 - 11:35 | Lunch | ||||
| 11:35 – 13:00 | Computer | Ind. Tech | Phy Ed | History 2 | |
| 13:10 – 14:50 | History 1 | Math 2 | Bus. Ed | Science 2 | |
| Other example of block scheduling | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Mon (A) | Tue (B) | Wed (A) | Thu (B) | Fri (Mixed) |
| 08:45 – 10:20 | Math | English | Math | English | Math |
| 10:20 – 12:05 | English | ||||
| 12:05 – 12:45 | Lunch | ||||
| 12:50 – 14:20 | History | Science | History | Science | Science |
| 14:25 – 16:00 | History | ||||
| Another example of block scheduling | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Semester 1 | Semester 2 | |
| 08:30 – 10:00 | Band | Band | |
| 10:00 – 11:30 | French 1 | French 2 | |
| 11:30 – 12:00 | Lunch | ||
| 12:00 – 13:30 | Science 1 | Math 1 | |
| 13:30 – 15:00 | English 1 | History 1 | |
| Other example of block scheduling | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Mon (A) | Tue (B) | Wed (A) | Thu (B) | Fri (A) |
| 07:25 – 08:54 | English | Science | English | Science | English |
| 08:57 – 10:27 | HPE | Word Processing | HPE | Word Processing | HPE |
| 10:31 – 12:31 | World History II | Latin III | World History II | Latin III | World History II |
| 10:31 – 11:00 | Lunch 1 (go to lunch before going to class) | ||||
| 11:10 – 11:40 | Lunch 2 (go to lunch in the middle of class) | ||||
| 12:00 – 12:31 | Lunch 3 (go to lunch at the end of class and go to your next class after) | ||||
| 12:31 – 14:05 | Principles Of Technology I | Science | Principles Of Technology I | Science | Principles Of Technology I |
One way of doing block scheduling, called A/B block scheduling, is shown in the example table. Instead of taking six classes every day, students attend three classes every other day and spend twice as long in each class. You can take 4 classes and then another semester you take 4 more classes. The example given here reverts to a six-period day on Fridays. Another way of distributing the classes would be to have "A" and "B" days on alternate Fridays, or to alternate "ABABA" weeks with "BABAB" weeks.
Another common block system exists in which students spend up to 100 minutes per class, and earn four credits each semester. Excluding very rare occasions, students at schools using this system take two core classes and two electives per semester. Some schools modify this system further to use one of the mid-day periods for students to take optional year-long classes (usually band) that take half of the period length and take another year-long class during the rest of the period (such as math or journalism). Under such a system most of the classes taken on a year-long basis have all students participating, however it is not uncommon for journalism or yearbook classes to operate under the normal system and only have a few students who leave or arrive half way through the period. It is also not uncommon for these classes to be scheduled as two credits, and taken both semesters.
A method called 4×4 block scheduling splits the academic year into quarters, and uses a four-period day. This leaves eight slots available for classes during a semester (four classes in each of two quarters). The 4×4 method is somewhat more flexible in that students can take two sequential classes (such as Algebra 1 and 2) in the same semester (in different quarters), which would not be possible on a traditional schedule. This also allows students in their final year to fail a third-quarter class but repeat it in the fourth quarter in order to graduate.
Effectiveness
"Where we were able to combine data to produce summary effect sizes, we found that 4 x 4 block scheduling resulted in higher cross subject achievement than traditional schedules. However, the outcome average cross-subject achievement could conceal worsening performance in some subjects and better performance in others."Some schools have compensated for this by making AP courses last for the entire school year, providing essentially double the instruction time of normal classes, but this results in a dramatic reduction in the number of courses a student can take. Some schools that make AP courses year long offset this by having students always choose a pair of AP courses during class registration. The student will go to the first AP class one day, and the other AP course the next day. Therefore, the student takes the same number of courses as other students, but both AP classes last for the duration of the year.
A University of Virginia study of 8,000 college students found that students who had block scheduling in high school performed worse in college science courses.
A systematic review on Block Scheduling was also conducted by Dickson et al. (2010) at the EPPI-Centre which asserts that there is no conclusive evidence to support the introduction of policy guidance on the use of block scheduling in secondary schools in the UK. Although the findings do not indicate that participating in block schedules would produce negative outcomes for pupils across subjects, neither are the positive effects of block scheduling strong enough to recommend their implementation.
Criticism
Block scheduling has both advocates and critics, based on different perceptions and experiences. In reality, some students and some subjects may benefit from the system while others may suffer from it. The challenge is that "one size may not fit all" yet the educational system is standardized to manage all students in a single scheduling framework.Class length
The system has been criticized by some as resulting in class periods that exceed the attention span of some students, resulting in less retention and watering down of the material to maintain interest. Supporters counter that traditional 40-50 minute classes are too short to accomplish some teaching objectives and the longer classes are better able to achieve mastery of new material. Some students take some time to establish their focus on the subject material and for them the longer classes enable them to focus better and longer and learn more.Daily repetition
Some critics believe that certain subjects suffer from a lack of daily exposure to subject matter and practice that occurs with an A/B block schedule. Courses like mathematics, foreign languages, and music may benefit from daily practice and suffer from a lack thereof.Block scheduling can result in gaps of a day or days (or even weeks or months in some circumstances) where students are receiving no reinforcement of instruction in a specific subject like math or history, and critics say this results in retention problems and the need for more remedial review. Some observers similarly feel that summer vacation has a similar effect of interrupting the learning and retention process forcing a need to repeat material at the start of a new school year in the Fall.
Students who miss a block-scheduled day can miss a considerable amount of material in a single subject, possibly making it more difficult to catch up. Some students are better able to manage their time with nightly homework in every class, while other students do better with larger homework assignments that are spaced out over several days. Some subjects may benefit from daily drills while other subjects may lend themselves to less frequent homework projects. Mid-term transfers between schools with different schedules can be problematic in cases where the schedules are different.
External links
- "Block Scheduling Revisited" by J. Allen Queen
- Collection of web links about block scheduling
- Block Scheduling- by Karen Irmsher of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management
- Block Scheduling: Is this Right for America’s Public Schools?- by John W. Cooper