Block scheduling is a type of academic scheduling in which a student have fewer classes per day, but have those classes for a longer period of time each day. This is in contrast to the standard one-hour class for eight or nine periods a day. Students can either have four classes for half of a school year, and four classes the other half; or, the school can go on an A/B day rotation schedule which means that students will have each class every other day.
The argument in favor of block scheduling is that block scheduling allows students to become more immersed in a certain subject because they have that subject for longer than a forty-five minute period. Block scheduling, it is assumed, allows students to ask more questions and for teachers to go through a chapter more in-depth than if they were to breeze through it in just one class period. Further, many believe that block scheduling enables students an opportunity to take better notes thus tests can be more in-depth. This allows the instructor to truly check for student understanding on different levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. Students are not pressured to understand an idea or concept in a short amount of time; they are given an hour and a half each time they meet in order to understand a topic. This approach, many educators believe, boosts morale and motivation on the part of students.
However, there are disadvantages to block scheduling. Many critics say that more time does not necessarily mean more learning. In some cases, teachers find it extremely difficult to hold a class' attention for more than forty-five minutes.
What do you think? Should high school students have only four classes a day for a longer period of time or should we stick to the traditional eight or nine periods one-hour per subject per day format?
Block scheduling is great for highschool students and I wish more schools would adopt the type of scheduling. It allows for more higher order thinking since the classes are longer and you can go into more detail instead of rushing thru and just making sure that they "get" was taught. The teachers who say teaching an hour or more is tough obviously does not have a good work belt of teaching strategies and etc in order to keep the students focused. Those teacher probably think they need to be lecturing for a full hour and have no idea how to break the hour up into different segments to get the students moving and motivated!
ReplyDeleteI have observed in a school where block scheduling is used and I particularly love it; however, I agree with you when you say that more class time doesn't necessarily mean more learning time. Block scheduling is great to keep the students engaged in the subject positively. For example, a teacher may start off with a some lecture and then he/she can move onto a hands on activity or a cooperative assignment. There is so much that can be done by using a block schedule but it needs to be used to its advantage and not wasted.
ReplyDeleteI think that block scheduling sounds like a wonderful concept if done correctly. I think that schools should do the A/B schedule as opposed to the half a year schedule because students will go at least half a year before having that subject area again. For example, students can take algebra I the first half of the year their freshman year; which ends around January and then will not have algebra II until the following September. The other issue would be if teachers use the time properly. Some teachers will make the students sit through an even longer lecture without using the extra time to their advantage. This type of scheduling can help the students' understandings be a lot more successful, but it all depends on what directions the teachers take.
ReplyDeleteI think block scheduling is both positive and negative. Positive because the teacher gets to have the students longer covering more material or explaining the material better. For music it is extremely beneficial because 15 to 20 mins is spent warming up and playing exercises before the music is even covered, and that doesn't allot setup and breakdown time. For other subjects it can be useful because more group work can be done, more in class examples can be covered, and less after school time would be spend because much of the extra help can be covered while students are working on assignments. The negative to this scheduling are the boring teachers who lecture for the full 90 mins, I know I would nod off after about 20. I believe this would be annoying for students who dislike a certain subject and can cause behavior issues if they were in the class for that long. I do personally think the benefits outweigh the negatives but it is in the teachers hands to utilize the 90 mins effectively and to make it fun for the students.
ReplyDeleteBlock scheduling to me is very confusing. I went to a high school with traditional scheduling: 40 minute periods, 9 periods a day. As far as learning time, the block scheduling definitely makes more sense. My only reservation about block scheduling is that when students who aren't used to it transfer into a school with block scheduling, it might make adjusting much harder than necessary. The same can go for someone who went to a school with block scheduling and transferred to a school with traditional scheduling.
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