This commentary describes the limitations of 40-minute class period times. The forty-minute system makes hash of the lives of teachers, especially in small schools, and about 80 percent of high schools have fewer than two hundred pupils. These small schools crowd their forty-minute periods with as many diverse and unrelated activities as possible,…

About 20 years ago, a number of Yukon schools took a different approach to outdoor education and outdoor pursuits. During the 1970s and 1980s, most Yukon high schools and junior high schools offered a course called Outdoor Education. These courses fit into the conventional blocks in a school timetable. Outdoor activities longer than these blocks…

As schools continue to strive to meet federal testing requirements, many schools have been looking at ways to improve. During the 1990's many school districts thought they had found the method, tool, or program, with which to accomplish this goal: the "block schedule". This study was a comparison of the teaching strategies and attitudes of…

This scheduling plan features three quarters of 12 weeks and a school day divided into three blocks: morning and afternoon instructional blocks of two and one-half hours each and a midday period of one and one-third hours that includes lunch time, tutorial time, and unstructured student time. (Author/IRT)

THE PROJECT WAS INITIATED TO DEVELOP, BY COMPUTER, A MASTER SCHEDULE FOR HIGH SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES IN ORDER TO FREE ADMINISTRATORS FROM THE DETAILS OF THIS BURDENSOME TASK. THE RESEARCH WAS SEPARATED FROM PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS OF EDUCATIONAL SCHEDULING SYSTEMS AND THE GENERATION OF A MASTER SCHEDULE BY COMPUTER WAS EMPHASIZED. THE GENERATED…

A series of experiments with single and double mod scheduling at a large suburban Maryland high school has led to a highly flexible schedule that meets teachers' and students' needs. This schedule allows courses to be offered in the most suitable format, creates more time for students and teachers, streamlines hallway traffic, and fosters a team…

After investigating alternatives, a Missouri high school adopted the eight-block flexible scheduling model. Instead of meeting 45-60 minutes every day, classes now meet 94 minutes every other day. Staff and students are enthusiastic. Longer instructional periods allow teachers to develop key concepts and use diverse learning activities and permit…

A southwest Arkansas high school is meeting teachers' and students' needs with a reorganized 4:4 block schedule that changes the traditional arrangement (7 55-minute classes daily for 180 days) to 2 terms with 4 90-minute classes per term. Teachers can teach a concept, work with it, and discuss results in one class period. Students have homework…

This article discusses one school's experiences in planning, implementing, and dealing with the changes resulting from a modular flexible scheduling system. (Editor)

The traditional seven-period high school schedule is undergoing intense scrutiny. New schedules are reducing class preparation time; permitting students to move ahead, attend alternating full-day vocational and academic programs, and perform community service during regular school hours; and allowing teachers more productive instructional modes.…

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…

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…

Describes a laboratory method to allow students to complete electrophoresis and staining of DNA samples within 1 45-minute classroom period. (MKR)

Almost every U.S. high school uses six- or seven-period schedule, requiring students to cope daily with numerous teachers, sets of class rules, and homework assignments. If students and teachers worked with fewer classes and fewer people each day, they could focus more time and energy on improving instruction and increasing learning. Article…

OPINIONNAIRES WERE DISTRIBUTED TO 478 BUSINESS AND OFFICE PRACTICE TEACHERS, COUNSELORS, PRINCIPALS, VOCATIONAL DIRECTORS, AND SUPERINTENDENTS CONCERNED WITH BUSINESS AND OFFICE PRACTICE PROGRAMS IN UTAH HIGH SCHOOLS TO ASCERTAIN THEIR OPINIONS CONCERNING THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF TWO-PERIOD BLOCK CLASSES COMPARED TO TWO ONE-PERIOD…