Research indicates that despite controversies, teachers involved in block scheduling like it. This paper presents two educators' views on and experiences with block scheduling. One suggests that teaching and learning on the block can be more relaxed. The other notes that adopting the philosophy that less is more (fewer classes meeting longer…

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)

Offers a brief overview of the process undertaken by one school district in Missouri to explore and then implement a schedule change (in particular a block program)--a process involving parents, teachers, administrators, school board members, and students. (SR)

Discusses five types of flexible block schedules used in a team-taught middle school classroom. Briefly describes the transition from traditional scheduling to block scheduling. (JPB)

Examined qualitative data available on block scheduling and foreign language learning and conducted a study wherein end-of-course tests were administered in listening, speaking, reading, and writing to 60 classes of students in French I. Results are discussed. (Author/VWL)

The student-centered learning practices associated with constructivism could benefit from the increased class time that block scheduling offers. But, in this article, the author observes, too often block scheduling is adopted as an end in itself, not as a tool to facilitate a specific pedagogical approach. The author expands on his observation in…

In Boone, North Carolina, Watauga High School has developed an alternative schedule that blends traditional and block schedules. This composite schedule originated in the late 1990s when their faculty members and administrators were struggling to determine if the school should change to a full block schedule. The board of education encouraged…

There are those in the school community who believe that the anxious feelings and heightened sense of anxiety experienced by sixth graders as they transition from elementary to junior high school constitute a rite of passage. Teachers and school administrators in the Indiana Area Junior High School in Pennsylvania believed differently. During the…

To use a block schedule or a traditional schedule? Which structure will produce the best and highest achievement rates for students? The research is mixed on this due to numerous variables such as: (1) socioeconomic levels; (2) academic levels; (3) length of time a given schedule has been in operation; (4) strategies being used in the classrooms;…

This study examined quantitatively the effects of varying retention intervals (RI) within a 4 X 4 block schedule on knowledge retention of Algebra 2 skills and concepts. Specifically, the study contrasted the mean scores of students having an RI of 0, 8, and 12 months on a pre-review, post-review, and end-of-course test in precalculus. The study…

This is a followup study of teacher perceptions regarding block scheduling. The original study was done in 1996 at a small city high school in a predominantly rural county in Ohio. At that time, lack of communication was found to be the central theme in the resistance that emerged. This paper is based on data from written responses to open-ended…

This paper examines how block scheduling affects teachers' perceptions of school climate. It is based on information taken from 21 high schools in a southern state that used 4X4 block scheduling. Data were collected through interviews, a survey instrument that measured teacher perceptions of climate, and focus groups. Based on results from the…

Teachers at four block-scheduled schools in the Huntington Beach (California) Union High School District were asked whether the change yielded differences in instructional practices, assessment techniques, social interaction, curriculum, and school management. Responses to an (anonymous) Likert scale indicate that block scheduling allows teachers…

Despite considerable documentation and implementation of block scheduling, there is little evidence that it achieves an increase in student understanding of subject material. Field research that examined seventh-grade math achievement scores in block scheduled and regular schools showed that none of the anticipated results were realized regarding…

Grades from 112 students in 3 business courses integrated in block format were compared with those of 151 other business majors. High achievers did not self-select into blocks. Grading rigor did not suffer and grades were more correlated in block presentation, possibly because of content integration. (Contains 18 references.) (SK)