I don't know about you but when I went to middle and high school my class schedule was arranged in the traditional format of attending seven periods of class a day. These classes were all approximately 50 minutes each and they consisted of all different subjects. The majority of them were core subjects and then two or three, depending on which grade I was in, were electives. The electives I chose in middle school were art and leadership. As a student, the higher the grade you were in was the determining factor upon how much freedom you had in choosing your electives. So for example, in 6th grade everyone had to take computer and P.E. and those were our electives but in seventh grade we could choose whether or not we wanted to take computer or another elective but we still were required to take P.E. and a form of art. Then in eighth grade we could choose two electives but still had to take P.E. I think you get the idea. However, now I do not necessarily know how students go about choosing electives or how many they get in middle school. The reason I have such limited knowledge on the choice of electives in middle schools today is because many schools are changing and steering away from the traditional 50 minute period schedule and transitioning to block schedules.
Here is a sample block schedule:
Block schedules consist of students attending four 90 minute classes a day. However, the students do not only have four classes, they alternate the classes they go to each day so on Mondays they will have four classes and they won't go back to those same classes until Wednesday. Therefore, they only go to the same schedule two days a week and Fridays differ. Most schools evenly rotate the classes on Fridays each week to make sure students are still getting even time in all the classes. I never did block scheduling so I was curious as to why schools are changing to block schedules.
After looking further into this topic of why schools are using block schedules I found some information that supports that it is beneficial to improving student learning in the education system but I also found some information about the problems or disadvantages that stem from block schedules as well. However, overall the information and research I found suggests that block scheduling does improve student learning and is more beneficial to them. From the articles I read many of the authors said that the 90 minute time frame is better because it allows the students to have more time to engage their selves in the lesson. If students are more engaged in the lesson and they have time to immense their selves in the content then they are going to participate and be able to comprehend the material better. Another reason the time frame of block scheduling is better is because the teachers have more time to go in depth with different content strategies that the students can really benefit from. Many times teachers do not do certain strategies or lesson ideas/activities because they do not have enough time to effectively implement in class. 50 minutes really isn't a long time to do a fun and engaging activities that the students can really dive into and think about. Therefore, with the additional 40 minutes in a block schedule the students can really open up to the information and think about the content, which allows them to apply the knowledge they are learning to other situations and draw connections to other questions and situations in life. This process of drawing connections and engaging in the content is what leads to research and inquiry, which is the direction we all, as teachers, are trying to push our students to strive for.
Another reason the extra time in block scheduling benefits students is because they have more opportunities to study things they are interested in. Since there is more time, teachers can implement larger more research based projects and Project Based Learning projects. The reason students can participate in PBL experiments due to increased time is because the teacher will know her students' interests better due to increased time so she can help guide them in directions of their interest. Students also have more time to do their homework and work on practicing the concepts they are learning because they have two days to complete their homework for class periods during the week. This means that they can take the time to see if they are understanding the material from class and take time problem solving to see if they can use strategies that are implemented in class to figure it out. Students especially like the extended class time in regards to classes they enjoy. The students in the YouTube video, "Block v.s. Traditional, " said when they have a class they like or a teacher they like they appreciate the extra time because they enjoy being there.
On the flip side however, many of these pros from teachers' and students' opinions have cons as well. Many teachers say that because the class periods are longer then they have to plan more material in each lesson, which can make it hard for students because they are having to learn the material at a faster pace in class because they meet less days a week. Even though the teacher has more time to plan the material they said they are concerned because the students are expected to know the same material with less days of reinforcement of the material. Another con for teachers is that it is extremely difficult when a student is absent because it is like they are missing two days. Since there is more information in each lesson, the students who are absent are missing all the information and the practice. Most times they won't ask for the homework in advance so they really fall behind. Another reason certain teachers dislike the block schedule is because it is very difficult for certain subject areas. For example, foreign language. Language is a repetitive concept and is best learned by constant practice and emergence in the language. Teachers in the articles and videos said that students really have a hard time remembering and fluently learning the language because they are not in the class everyday, which is a key part of learning a language. Students dislike the block schedule because they say the classes are too long, especially when they dislike the class or they do not understand the material. They said it is easy to get distracted because they do not like to sit the whole time. This really goes back to the teacher though. This is where the teacher needs to make sure they are incorporating fun, rich, and engaging activities for the students to participate in. Students can learn while being active so if there is more time in class teachers should definitely use the time to have fun while learning!
Overall, the majority of people believe that block schedule is beneficial to students because they get more time in the class periods each day which allows them to better understand the material and concepts. Most people also say that the block schedule decreases the amount of disturbances throughout the day and decreases behavioral problems because students are not constantly breaking in between classes to cause problems or rough house. For many, it is a change of direction that is not yet 100% agreed upon, especially by parents, because they do not understand how much needs to get done in the classroom and how hard it is to teach all you need to in a 50 minute period. However, this is becoming so popular that I believe in the near future all schools will adapt their schedules and transition to block schedules because it is what is most similar to college therefore it is a simple way to add college prep to county and city education systems.
Here is a sample block schedule:
After looking further into this topic of why schools are using block schedules I found some information that supports that it is beneficial to improving student learning in the education system but I also found some information about the problems or disadvantages that stem from block schedules as well. However, overall the information and research I found suggests that block scheduling does improve student learning and is more beneficial to them. From the articles I read many of the authors said that the 90 minute time frame is better because it allows the students to have more time to engage their selves in the lesson. If students are more engaged in the lesson and they have time to immense their selves in the content then they are going to participate and be able to comprehend the material better. Another reason the time frame of block scheduling is better is because the teachers have more time to go in depth with different content strategies that the students can really benefit from. Many times teachers do not do certain strategies or lesson ideas/activities because they do not have enough time to effectively implement in class. 50 minutes really isn't a long time to do a fun and engaging activities that the students can really dive into and think about. Therefore, with the additional 40 minutes in a block schedule the students can really open up to the information and think about the content, which allows them to apply the knowledge they are learning to other situations and draw connections to other questions and situations in life. This process of drawing connections and engaging in the content is what leads to research and inquiry, which is the direction we all, as teachers, are trying to push our students to strive for.
Another reason the extra time in block scheduling benefits students is because they have more opportunities to study things they are interested in. Since there is more time, teachers can implement larger more research based projects and Project Based Learning projects. The reason students can participate in PBL experiments due to increased time is because the teacher will know her students' interests better due to increased time so she can help guide them in directions of their interest. Students also have more time to do their homework and work on practicing the concepts they are learning because they have two days to complete their homework for class periods during the week. This means that they can take the time to see if they are understanding the material from class and take time problem solving to see if they can use strategies that are implemented in class to figure it out. Students especially like the extended class time in regards to classes they enjoy. The students in the YouTube video, "Block v.s. Traditional, " said when they have a class they like or a teacher they like they appreciate the extra time because they enjoy being there.
On the flip side however, many of these pros from teachers' and students' opinions have cons as well. Many teachers say that because the class periods are longer then they have to plan more material in each lesson, which can make it hard for students because they are having to learn the material at a faster pace in class because they meet less days a week. Even though the teacher has more time to plan the material they said they are concerned because the students are expected to know the same material with less days of reinforcement of the material. Another con for teachers is that it is extremely difficult when a student is absent because it is like they are missing two days. Since there is more information in each lesson, the students who are absent are missing all the information and the practice. Most times they won't ask for the homework in advance so they really fall behind. Another reason certain teachers dislike the block schedule is because it is very difficult for certain subject areas. For example, foreign language. Language is a repetitive concept and is best learned by constant practice and emergence in the language. Teachers in the articles and videos said that students really have a hard time remembering and fluently learning the language because they are not in the class everyday, which is a key part of learning a language. Students dislike the block schedule because they say the classes are too long, especially when they dislike the class or they do not understand the material. They said it is easy to get distracted because they do not like to sit the whole time. This really goes back to the teacher though. This is where the teacher needs to make sure they are incorporating fun, rich, and engaging activities for the students to participate in. Students can learn while being active so if there is more time in class teachers should definitely use the time to have fun while learning!
Overall, the majority of people believe that block schedule is beneficial to students because they get more time in the class periods each day which allows them to better understand the material and concepts. Most people also say that the block schedule decreases the amount of disturbances throughout the day and decreases behavioral problems because students are not constantly breaking in between classes to cause problems or rough house. For many, it is a change of direction that is not yet 100% agreed upon, especially by parents, because they do not understand how much needs to get done in the classroom and how hard it is to teach all you need to in a 50 minute period. However, this is becoming so popular that I believe in the near future all schools will adapt their schedules and transition to block schedules because it is what is most similar to college therefore it is a simple way to add college prep to county and city education systems.
Sources
1. "Advantages and Disadvantages of the Block Schedule." North Carolina Public Schools, n.d. http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/curriculum/worldlanguages/resources/flonblock/06advantage.pdf . Accessed 21 April 2017.
2. Cromwell, Sharon. "Block Scheduling: A Solution of a Problem?" Education World, 20 October. 1997, http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin029.shtml . Accessed 21 April 2017.
3. "Instructional Strategies that Enhance Students Learning in Block Schedules, Grades 6-12." YouTube, uploaded by Bertraining, 12 May 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIdMI4GHMzg .
4. Martinez, Pablo. (2010). The Impact of a Ninety Minute Math Block Schedule on the Academic Achievement of Middle School Students (Doctoral Dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest.
5. Rettig, Michael D. and Robert Lynn Canady. "All Around the Block." American Association of School Administrators, 53.8, September 1996, pp. 8.
6. Roeker, Deegan. "Block v.s. Traditional." YouTube, uploaded by Deegan Roeker, 22 May 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYWZyBNPAT8&t=412s .
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