Block Scheduling

Block scheduling is a class schedule alternative that offers fewer classes each day for longer blocks [Page 84]of time. Following the publication of A Nation at Risk in 1983, public schools in the United States entered a period of reform and restructuring designed to improve student academic performance and to make better use of instructional time without lengthening the school day. Reformers called for a creation of smaller schools, the development of a standard core curriculum, the elimination of student tracking, and a reexamination of the use of time. Changes to pedagogical practices and the curriculum demanded more flexible scheduling. In the face of these demands, many secondary schools implemented variations of block scheduling based on Trump's Flexible Modular Scheduling Design. Robert Lynn Canady and Michael D. Rettig identified five basic scheduling models used in schools across the United States, four of which were block scheduling models. The two most frequently implemented models were the 4 × 4 design and the alternating day (or A/B) design. In the 4 × 4 design, four classes meet 90 minutes per day for 90 days, followed by another four classes, and so on. In the alternating day design, classes meet 85100 minutes per day every other day for the duration of the school year. By the year 2000, an estimated half of U.S. high schools had tried some form of block scheduling in efforts to improve the use of instructional time.

Quality and quantity of teaching and learning time were the major concerns to be addressed in the changes of schedule. Theoretically, in a longer block of instructional time, teachers and students have more time for exploration, delve more deeply into specific topics, and focus more on project-and problem-based tasks. Teachers enjoy increased planning time, face reduced preparation and grading duties, participate in professional development to diversify teaching techniques, and increase collaboration among students. Block schedules provide a less industrial, less compartmentalized framework for teaching and learning, encouraging teachers to work together across disciplines to function in teaching teams and to focus on contextual teaching. Block scheduling affords schools the opportunity to include more advanced subjects in the curriculum. Students are able to complete more courses in 3 or 4 years of high school block scheduling than in 3 or 4 years of traditional seven-period day scheduling, increasing their preparedness for the work force or for higher education. Further, the extended time available per class session in a block schedule allows the curriculum to be focused on student engagement and learning rather than on materials available, teacher convenience, or administrative preference.

Teachers and students who participated in early block schedule reforms reported positive results in modified curriculum and instructional approaches. More time was spent on activities other than teacher-centered lectures. Students settled more readily into class activities and caused fewer classroom disruptions, resulting in fewer disciplinary issues. Teachers expanded the content of lessons and both deepened and broadened the required curriculum: Students participated in more independent projects and in some teaching activities with classmates. Because block schedules allowed time to cover concepts in more depth, both teachers and students found their work more interesting, engaging, and challenging.

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