The first year in Higher Education (HE) is an international priority because of its importance to the retention of students. While initiatives to improve students' commencing experience continue to develop one area that has received limited consideration is the first-year curriculum. The aim of the research reported in this paper was to enhance…

Block mode of teaching, also called intensive mode of teaching, has received great recognition and interest from education sector. This mode of teaching is a compressed style of teaching in which classes are delivered in an intensive period of time. Block mode teaching has been found to have potential to enhance student performance. Although…

Student engagement is known to have several positive effects on learning outcomes and can impact a student's university experience. High levels of engagement in content-heavy subjects can be difficult to attain. Due to a major institutional restructure, the anatomy prosection laboratory time per subject was dramatically reduced. In response, the…

For this study, we examined the constructs of time, student groupings, and professional staffing in schools and determined their significance in whether or not schools made Adequate Yearly Progress or were required mandatory improvement. We conducted a logistical regression analysis using a national data set, the School and Staffing Survey…

In this case, a new superintendent has communicated what he perceives as a needed change affecting students and teachers on several campuses and a seemingly short timeline for making the decision to move off a block schedule. The abrupt nature of the announcement, combined with the circumstances surrounding the superintendent's recent hiring has…

This publication focuses on block scheduling. Alternative scheduling models--usually called "block scheduling" because they involve blocks of time for student learning--restructure the school day. Schools may adopt block scheduling to create more productive and personal relationships among teachers and students, to design challenging…

A study of instructional planning periods was undertaken in late 2013 pursuant to West Virginia State Code §18A-4-14 which states: "The state board shall conduct a study on planning periods. The study shall include, but not be limited to, the appropriate length for planning periods at the various grade levels and for the different types of…

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact block scheduling has on (a) student academic achievement, discipline, and attendance, and (b) administrator, teacher, and student perceptions. The study compared 2005-2010 data from a high school utilizing the A/B block schedule and a high school under a traditional schedule, in one suburban…

One of the most critical needs in Florida's "Reading First" schools is to improve the effectiveness of interventions for struggling readers. For example, during the 2005-2006 school year, only 17% of first grade students who began the year at some level of risk for reading difficulties finished the year with grade level skills on the…