Purpose/Objective: Historically, school administrators schedule recess immediately after lunch. Recent research, however, suggests a plethora of benefits if recess is scheduled before lunch, including decreased plate waste, increased consumption of nutrients, and decreased discipline problems on the playground and in the lunchroom. The purpose of…

Several studies have found that an inordinate amount of potential instructional time is lost in the American secondary school classroom. This paper briefly overviews the history and types of block scheduling in secondary schools and presents findings of a study that examined the perceptions of administrators and teachers in two large eastern…

This study investigates how public school teacher of grades K-6 utilize their scheduled times free of students, excluding lunch and recess. A questionnaire that included items about a) respondents' position, b) time schedules, and c) usual duties performed during times free of students was sent to 36 participating schools. Sixty-three percent of…

Examined two independent sophomore cohorts from a midwestern high school (332 students and 318 students) that had implemented a multischedule system (traditional block, block, hybrid). Results show a significant difference among schedule types for only one cohort, and only for one mathematics computation test. Results also indicate that schedule…

This study was conducted to: (1) determine if the intercession calendar, an alternative calendar that reduces the total school year for students who do not need remediation, positively impacts overall student achievement; (2) to assess the explanatory ability of the intercession model in accounting for student academic achievement variability; and…

During the past 4 years block scheduling has been adopted by a majority of the high schools in Middle Tennessee. This paper presents findings of a study that explored the effects of the new schedule. Data were gathered from a questionnaire that was completed by 280 teachers and approximately 2,000 students from 6 high schools in the region. Both…

The block schedule is fast becoming the new instructional delivery format of choice for the 1990s in American secondary schools. This paper presents findings of a study that examined the effects of changing from a six-period day to a four-block schedule on two large high schools in Knox County, Tennessee. Part I of the study examined the…

Although parents are key stakeholders in the educational process, their perceptions are often neglected in studies of school reform. This paper presents findings of a study that explored the attitudes of parents of New York State high school students toward block scheduling. A survey of all parents of 11th and 12th graders in a rural New York high…

A study was conducted at Mississippi State University to assess differences in the academic achievement of two matched groups of two-year college transfer students. One group (N=30) had attended a junior college which followed a traditional semester time table of 15 to 18 weeks, while the other group (N=30) had attended a junior college with a…

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…

During the 1992-93 school year, the leadership of Benjamin Russell High School, located in Alexander City, Alabama, decided to experiment with blocked class periods. Under this option, sometimes referred to as the Copernican System, subjects are taught in double periods rather than in the conventional 50-minute periods normally used in most…

A random sample of 55 faculty and 593 students in 28 classes was surveyed to determine class scheduling preferences for three-semester-hour courses and to relate them to existing scheduling patterns at Moraine Valley Community College. Fifty-five percent of the students preferred two 90-minute class sessions per week, 27% preferred one three-hour…

Eleven classes from the San Jacinto campus and ten classes from the Menifee Valley campus of Mount San Jacinto College (MSJC) (California) participated in a survey designed to obtain students' preferences for an alternative 16-6-16-6 academic calendar. Stratified random sampling techniques were used to obtain representative courses from across the…

This student interest survey was conducted in Spring 2003 by Glendale Community College North (GCCN), Arizona. The purpose of the survey was to determine student preference for courses, course times and frequencies, and for other college student services they might need and want. In addition, an attempt was made to uncover any enrollment obstacles…

This approach to the study of classroom teaching-learning processes concentrates on pupil time and the various ways in which it is used. The conceptual framework contrasts with most earlier studies that report teacher behavior as the most direct influence on pupil achievement. Two premises form the basis of the framework: (1) The total amount of…