Describes positive and negative school district experiences with block scheduling. (PKP)

Documents Virginia's history of adoption and implementation of block scheduling, highlights common forms of block scheduling, and describes mistakes that caused schools to abandon block scheduling. Describes three key variables (time, teachers, and students) in the use of block scheduling to improve student achievement. (PKP)

Time blocks' learning value can be increased markedly by helping staff develop brain-compatible teaching strategies. Teachers should establish relevance; hook students with short video sequences, dramatic skits, and simulations; schedule at least two learning activities per session; and capitalize on pulsed learning sequences, cooperative teaming,…

Research reveals important generalizations about block scheduling. A/B schedules are easier to implement than 4/4 schedules, which must be adapted to allow some year-long courses. Merely changing the school bell schedule will not guarantee better student performance. However, block scheduling typically improves climate, attendance, and…

Through discussions with faculty and continuing research, staff at a small Indiana high school developed a five-period schedule embedded in a trimester format. This plan enables students to earn 60 or more credits during their high school years, with fewer classes but longer class periods. Trimesters have increased learning opportunities. (MLH)

Block schedules offer many advantages, including increased usable instructional time, increased opportunities to use alternative instructional strategies, and fewer homework assignments and class changes for students. Challenges include maintaining student attention, providing balanced schedules, retaining major concepts, and accommodating…

Describes staff development components for veteran and beginning teachers planning to teach in blocked classes. Teachers need training and practice in information-sharing methods, learning-theory applications, assessment strategies, student mastery, curriculum mapping and integration, classroom organization, and lesson development. Block…

Based on his experience with the Copernican block scheduling plan used in British Columbia secondary schools, a principal identifies administrative challenges (abuse of tutorial time, uneven distribution of teacher-preparation time, teacher fatigue, pedagogical changes, and unrealistic expectations) and suggests ways to address them. Involving…

Administrators must research diverse scheduling alternatives and their effects and requirements. Successfully modifying school time boils down to a six-step recipe: believing in improvement-directed change, involving all key stakeholders, selecting the appropriate schedule, developing clear expectations, bridging the theory-practice gap, and…

An administrative team member/restructuring facilitator analyzes the failure of a block scheduling reform in a small, suburban district. The prevailing dynamics that obstructed success were fear of change, propagandizing of data, and a culture of complacency. These problems could have been avoided by training staff to work in longer periods,…