Many high schools and colleges are moving toward Block Scheduling with both positive and negative results. If you attend, or will attend, a school that employs this method of scheduling classes, you might be interested in what researchers and the educators themselves have to say on the subject.
What This Scheduling Method Is
A definition found at edglossary.org says it is “replacing a more traditional schedule of six or seven forty or fifty minute class sessions a day with longer class periods that meet fewer times each day and week.” Generally, the most common are the alternate day schedule, the “four-by-four” in which there are four ninety-minute classes each day for four quarters and the trimester schedule in which the student completes two or three courses every two months. Online courses are often offered in the last method.
What Are the Pros of Scheduling in Blocks?
Research is still being done, however one of the more pronounced benefits is teacher availability. This type of scheduling is usually found in secondary and post-secondary education. With traditional scheduling, according to the NEA website, teachers may have five classes of thirty students every day. With 150 students, there is less time to spend giving individual attention. Students learn at different rates and having fewer students would allow teachers to address this issue. In addition, teachers can use experiments and materials that would not be feasible with a shorter class period. They can go deeper into a subject in a class session as well. Students with fewer subjects to study at a time can concentrate on learning the selected material. In addition, with a day or two between classes teachers can adjust class planning to the amount of material covered in the previous class. Some studies have shown that students develop a bond with teachers and have less behavioral problems as well.
Are There Negative Aspects to the Scheduling?
There are several. One is that with classes that meet only every other day or so there is a lack of continuity; there is less opportunity to build upon the material covered in a previous class. A student who is absent for a class, may see nearly a week between classes and that may affect his retention. If a course is presented in a shortened format of longer class periods over only two months instead of a year, for instance, teachers may be forced to rush their presentations or even make judgements about what material is central and what is not. Beyond this, if classes are sequential, there may be months between segments. Another “con” of this type of scheduling may be related to research that shows the average student attention span is ten minutes. Material must be varied even in shorter class periods or students get restless and their minds wander.
Because this type of scheduling is relatively new, there is still a lot of study that must be done before a definitive assessment is achieved. Teachers who are accustomed to traditional scheduling may have difficulty transitioning to the format and so it is likely only more progressive schools will attempt to use Block Scheduling until it is proven to be successful.
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