Block Scheduling

The Impetus for Block Scheduling

The short class periods associated with the Carnegie-unit system are remnants of the industrial efficiency era of the 20th century. The class schedule that resulted was designed to move the largest number of students through schools in a highly impersonal mass-production model. Although these 45- to 55-minute class periods may have been efficient in some ways and in some contexts, by the 1980s an increasing number of educators identified problems arising from them. One issue was the actual instructional time left in a 45-minute class period after the teacher and students dealt with required class management tasks, such as taking attendance, collecting homework, distributing handouts, and so on. Studies of time use in high school classrooms have revealed that large portions of class time are filled with noninstructional management tasks. In some cases teachers find themselves with only 10 to 20 minutes of instructional time. Additionally, in a typical seven-period day, all students in the school empty into the hallways at least nine times per day, with every trip into the hall further reducing potential instructional time and creating opportunities for discipline problems.

Attending six to eight different classes each day provides most students with a fragmented view of the subjects they are learning. Some students are overwhelmed with so many classes to prepare for every day. Every student sees multiple teachers, often with little opportunity to interact with the teacher in a meaningful way. Teachers also must prepare for multiple classes each day. Teachers commonly see between 150 and 200 students, with little opportunity to develop the positive teacher–student relationships necessary for positive classroom management and discipline.

A final issue that some educators cite when advocating block scheduling is the lack of time in traditional class periods for truly engaging student learning. In a 45-minute class period, the science teacher does not have enough time to engage students in open-ended inquiry. Opportunities to involve students in the writing process, simulations, or documentary research are nonexistent in short class periods. Thus educators propose block scheduling as an opportunity for teachers to plan and implement in-depth lessons and content-specific methods.

Models for Block Scheduling

Multiple models have emerged for implementing the general principles of block scheduling. Most block schedules use double periods of 80 to 120 minutes for blocked classes. Some models block all classes, whereas others use a mixture of blocked classes and traditional-length classes. One common model for block scheduling, the alternate-day block schedule, retains the year-long structure of courses seen in traditional scheduling schemes. This model, also called the odd/even or A/B schedule, can easily accommodate seven blocked class periods. The length of each class block varies according to the length of the local school day. In the alternate-day schedule, students attend four blocked classes and one standard class of 50 to 60 minutes each day (Table 1).

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