This paper is framed by Nick Zepke's, Vicki Trowler's, and Paul Trowler's concept of student engagement being "chaotic", suffering from "indigestion" and "fuzziness". This study was conducted at a UK higher education institution that recently moved to a "block and blend" delivery approach. We investigated…

Clinical Training is intended to prepare nursing students for future nursing practice in both private and public facilities. As do many nursing training institutions globally, this Higher Education Institution (HEI) uses the two-week block system as a teaching system. However, despite the two-week block system, it would appear that, due to the…

Stonington High School in Pawcatuck, Connecticut, adopted an alternating day (A/B) block schedule in 1998. The shift in schedule has resulted in less movement throughout the building and fewer instances of disruptive behaviors. In addition, the initiatives that Stonington has been able to implement have caused the daily attendance rate to increase…

This study will evaluate alternative scheduling methods implemented in secondary level schools. Students were selected based on parent selection of programs. Traditional scheduling involves numerous academic subjects with small increments of time in each class and block scheduling focuses on fewer academic subjects and more instructional time.…

A committee comprised of six veteran teachers, the principal, and one parent initiated East Lyme (Connecticut) High School's search for a workable school schedule. The alternative-day block schedule featured semester and full-year course formats, 85-minute time blocks, a 45-minute lunch/club/activity period, and a closed campus. A survey found…

A western North Carolina study explored how 31 teachers and 35 students viewed implementation of the 4 x 4 block schedule in five high schools. Teachers generally favor the 4-period schedule, but several cited absence problems, less student homework, and "uneven" student schedules. To reap full benefits from block schedules, principals…

In this analysis of 58 empirical studies of high school block scheduling, the authors report findings in and across five groupings. Within groups, data were inconsistent regarding whether teachers' practices changed, but teachers believed that staff development was necessary to teach in a block schedule. Block scheduling appeared to increase…

The block scheduling program used in a high school in a small Midwestern city was evaluated, considering the "hard" data of effects on grade point average (GPA) and attendance, but not information about student attitudes and perceptions. Data were available for approximately 500 students from the classes of 1997 (before the block…

An evaluation of the 4 x 4 block schedule in effect at Cleveland High School and East Side High School, both in the Cleveland, Mississippi School District was conducted during the 2001 spring semester at the request of the associate superintendent of the school district. Multiple sources of data were identified, and data were collected during the…

This project focused on the collection and analysis of longitudinal student data generated by six high schools from a large urban school system in the Midwest. Two of the schools recently converted to a 4 X 4 scheduling structure, while 3 additional schools have used a block-8 scheduling structure for a number of years. One school maintains a…

Describes an empirical research study conducted at one midwestern high school using a trischedule (block, traditional, and hybrid) format. Survey data revealed that the hybrid schedule appeared to benefit most students, though it increased teachers' anxiety. The block component improved students' GPA, attendance, and attitudes about school. (14…

This paper describes the 2-year outcomes of one high school's implementation of an intensive 4-block schedule. The study at Angola High School (Indiana) compared schoolwide grade-point averages (GPAs), standardized test scores, attendance data, and disciplinary records to school-baseline data from the 2 years prior to implementation of the block…

This report describes a program for the exploration of block scheduling. The targeted population consists of high school students in a growing, middle-class community, located in a suburban setting of a large mid-western city. The historical background of block scheduling is documented through data gathered using attendance reports, student…

In 1995 the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC), Richmond (Virginia) commissioned a study of alternative high school scheduling modules to determine the effects of different schedules on teaching strategies, teacher and student satisfaction, and student and school performance. This report presents results of an analysis of student…

A vocational-technical center in Delaware, launched a massive restructuring effort in 1988. Educators used frameworks provided by the National Center for Research in Vocational Education and Southern Regional Educational Board and visited High Schools That Work sites. In 1991, Sussex Technical High School opened its doors as a newly designed…