Block Scheduling way to teach students organizational skills. The following section includes summariesof websites I have found regarding block scheduling, including several http://www.musiceducationmadness.com/block_scheduling.shtml
Extractions: One of the new trends around in secondary education is the establishment of the eight (or sometimes 10)block schedule. This schedule is set up to have longer class sessions on alternate days. For instance, a student can be scheduled for four 90-minute classes on one day, then another set the next day, with them alternating. Depending on your point of view, this can be a dream come true (think lab classes), or a nightmare (for lecture classes). The basic idea behind this system is to enable the students to experience more, with more time in a block. If planned correctly and thoroughly, it can be survived. But, in a rehearsal situation, what to do? Can you keep rehearsing for 90 minutes and keep the interest and attention level up? Some suggestions (from the point of view of someone who doesn't have to do this, but has in substitute situations): Allow a "seventh-inning stretch". Get them up, let them rub each other's shoulders, walk around, whatever. Obviously, make sure your discipline is well established ahead of time. Break up into sectionals on certain days, or rehearse in sectionals for so many minutes, then rejoin as a group. Take 10-15 minutes to work on theory or technical skills that can be applicable to just about everything the group performs. This situation might allow ample time to include those new national standards that are tough to squeeze in a performance group. Make sure that important news and assignments are well-posted, possibly even written down, since they will not see you every day. This type of situation is a great way to teach students organizational skills.
Untitled a literature review of intensive education, or macro blockscheduling. Intensiveeducation and effectiveness so students study and teachers teach one subject http://vmsgopher.cua.edu:70/0gopher_root_eric_ae:[_edir]blckschd.txt
Extractions: Your request was terminated due to some error condition encountered by the server. Depending on the title of this file, you may or may not have options to relieve the difficulty: Title Resolution Document does not exist The information you requested is not available at this time. This could be an oversight, or perhaps the dynamic nature of the Internet Gopher has allowed you to request a file which is being renamed or moved at this time. Please try again later, and if you still encounter the error, contact the CUA Computer Center Help Desk at 202-319-5373, or by e-mail to GOPHER-HELP@CUA.EDU to report this Internet Gopher server error.
BLOCK SCHEDULING From A MATH TEACHER in the school, creating a place where children are excited to learn and teachersare inspired to teach. (CER scheduling on the block ) Better attendance http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/bennett1/block_scheduling.htm
Extractions: BLOCK SCHEDULING: With a Mathematics Perspective: Karen J. Bennett CTER Program at University of Illinois Tom Anderson, Instructor Innovations in scheduling seem to be a popular reform for schools across the country. It is estimated that the number of schools that have implemented some version of block scheduling ranges from 10 to 25 percent, while many more districts are considering the concept. (The Center for Education Reform : "Scheduling: On the Block" Nov. 1996) But my research has shown block scheduling to be very controversial. There are strong opinions on both sides of this issue. It's creators are touring the country, proclaiming it's virtues, and some schools are "models" for its success. Yet many websites have sprung up, in strong opposition to it, denouncing the claims made and campaigning to prevent its implementation in their local schools! Both sides are passionate in their viewpoint. My school district is researching block scheduling and considering its implementation. How does the evidence stack up? Does one side prevail? As a Mathematics teacher, I wondered what such a plan would mean for me and my students should my district decide to implement block scheduling. What is block scheduling?
Extractions: Principal, Hatboro-Horsham High School AN "UNOBJECTIVE" LOOK AT "OBJECTIVE" MATH RESEARCH INVOLVING BLOCK SCHEDULING When I saw the title on the cover of the December issue of the Bulletin , I felt a rush of eager anticipation. After reading the article entitled "An Objective Look at Math Outcomes Based on New Research into Block Scheduling", I once again shook my head with disappointment. I immediately expressed concern to my colleagues over another failed attempt at fair and conclusive research. Although I applaud the effort, I have feared all along that the educational community in general would repeat past practices and not handle the evaluation of block scheduling fairly, effectively or comprehensively. This study only helped to fuel my burning anxiety. What puzzles me is how as educators we continue to hold school reform to a higher standard than the status quo. In fact, if you take a careful look at the results that our present system of secondary education has yielded, it defies reason that many schools continue to strongly resist change. For years, schools across our nation have shown an inability to change successfully and seldom if ever measure what they do. Any reform initiative, no matter how good or bad, will struggle or fail if schools do not manage the change process effectively. In addition, timing, politics, attitude, leadership, finance, training, philosophy, and teaching techniques are variables, which can be difficult to control and often have a major impact on results at the bottom line.
Block Scheduling Page With the block scheduling system, students attend classes every other day Many studentsand teachers felt that 40 minutes was not adequate time to teach a class http://www.nscsd.k12.ny.us/schools/cns/html/Blocksch.htm
Extractions: During the 1993-94 school year, staff and students at Cicero-North Syracuse High School (CNS) began to articulate the problems caused by the former seven period schedule. At forty minutes, classes were often too short, causing discussion and work to be abruptly halted. There were too many period changes with too much traffic. Classes in the library often required too much start up time and ended too soon. Stress over the sheer number of classes per day was becoming a major concern for both students and staff. With these problems in mind, the search was on to find an alternative schedule that would solve some or all of these problems. The decision to implement a new scheduling system at CNS was not a hasty one, nor one made without extensive study. Lengthy research was conducted to discover how other systems were working in schools across the country. Numerous surveys were distributed school-wide to gather the opinions of all those who would be affected by the change. Each step of the implementation process was carefully evaluated and involved the active participation of staff, parents and students. No group was left out of the final decision.
V.82 No.3 Pages 214-222/November 2000: Queen block scheduling Revisited By J. Allen Queen All those with a stake in education must work to improve a scheduling format that offers great potential for student success. Mr. Queen provides some guidelines. improving school climate through block scheduling, and these steps remain imperative using some form of block scheduling, it is time to http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/kque0011.htm
Extractions: PDK Home Block Scheduling Revisited By J. Allen Queen All those with a stake in education must work to improve a scheduling format that offers great potential for student success. Mr. Queen provides some guidelines. IN THE October 1997 Kappan, Kim Gaskey and I outlined the major steps for improving school climate through block scheduling, and these steps remain imperative for schools examining the possibility of moving to a block schedule. However, for schools that have been using some form of block scheduling, it is time to revisit the intention and direction of these alternative models. From my own observations and analyses, I believe that a number of principals and teachers have limited the effectiveness of block schedules. While I find a majority of educators using block schedules remain loyal to the basic tenets of the model, some principals have limited understanding of the science of scheduling and lack specific skills in evaluating effective teaching practices. Moreover, a growing percentage of teachers do not follow pacing guides. And those same teachers tend to use lecture and teacher-directed discussion extensively and to limit the 90-minute class to approximately 60 minutes of actual instruction. Such problems have been exacerbated both by poor monitoring of teachers who are failing to implement the block model and by a grave lack of training for teachers new to the field and the model. In order to make this reexamination of block scheduling most useful, I will look at why schools moved to block scheduling, analyze the benefits and pitfalls that educators have experienced, compare rates of student achievement, scrutinize the overuse of the lecture approach, and review effective instructional strategies. I will conclude with some specific recommendations to maximize the benefits of block scheduling in the future.
Block Scheduling Conference Math here. CTRowley English 12th grade here; Mike60174 BS, I teachmiddle school SS. But preparation; time. block scheduling may help. BS http://tiger.chuh.cleveland-heights.k12.oh.us/Learning/Block/AOLConf495.html
Extractions: Tuesday, April 11, 1995, c. 7:15 - c. 8:45 PM EDT Moderator: Orbweaver (real name: Harvey Botzman, Rochester City School District, Rochester, NY; Social Studies Teacher 6-12 (NYS Perm. Cert. 1973); currently employed as a per diem substitute and contract teacher. Please send comments on this conference; ideas and suggestions for future Conferences to Orbweaver via AOL e-mail or to harvey_botzman@rbcbbs.win.net via the INTERNET. General welcoming message (Sent, as an instant message, to each participant as they entered the room.): Welcome to the 1st AFT Online Conference. My role is moderator. I do not plan to jump into the conversation except to keep it on track! I will also perform the logging duty. If you have any ?s please im (instant mail) me. A log will be available about a week after the conference. Feel free to JUMP into the conversation at any point. You do not have to answer this IM Suggestions for future Conferences from this conference and sent to Orbweaver: Bargaining; Professional development; making professional development useful to members; Building partnerships between the Union, Administration and Board; Inclusion; Using Internet and Online Services effectively; Back to Basics or the New Carneige Report with Ernest Boyer as a guest; LOG (unedited) of the Conference
ERIC Digest 104 - Block Scheduling Clearinghouse on Educational Management College of Education · University of Oregon http://eric.uoregon.edu/publications/digests/digest104.html
Extractions: Clearinghouse on Educational Management Previous (Digest 103) Next (Digest 105) By Karen Irmsher Six classes a day, five days a week, every day the same schedule. Telephones and radios were still novelties when high schools nationwide petrified the school day into this rigid pattern. The refrigerator and television hadn't been invented, much less the copy machine, computer, and video player. We live in a very different world now, and we know immeasurably more about how students learn. Yet most contemporary high school and middle school students are still locked into the same archaic schedule that their great-grandparents experienced when they were teenagers. This Digest looks at problems inherent in the traditional scheduling pattern. Then it examines the benefits and challenges of block scheduling, and ends with a few tips for making the transition. What's Wrong with the Traditional Six- or Seven-Period Day? For starters, say critics, the pace is grueling. A typical student will be in nine locations pursuing nine different activities in a six-and-a-half-hour school day. An average teacher must teach five classes, dealing with 125-180 students and multiple preparations. This frantic, fragmented schedule is unlike any experienced either before or after high school. "It produces a hectic, impersonal, inefficient instructional environment," states Joseph Carroll (1994), provides inadequate time for probing ideas in depth, and tends to discourage using a variety of learning activities. Opportunities for individualization of instruction and meaningful interaction between students and teachers are hard to come by.
Modular Or Block Schedule - Pros And Cons proper setting with the right students and a wellprepared teacher block schedulingcan be a good teacher is just that, no matter what schedule they teach under http://7-12educators.about.com/library/weekly/aa010600.htm
Extractions: The case I wish to look at today is the modular schedule. In Part I of this article I am going to examine the pros and cons of implementing a modified schedule. Part II will focus on useful tips for teaching under a modular schedule. First, let me give you some background. I have taught under a modular schedule for five years. Unlike a traditional school day with (in our district's case) 6 classes of 50 minutes each, our school adopted a schedule with 2 traditional days a week and three nontraditional days. During the 3 nontraditional days, teachers meet with only four classes for 80 minutes each. Because of time constraints, teachers lose out on planning one day a week. Another type of block schedule which many schools use is called the 4X4 Schedule. In this schedule, students take four instead of six classes each quarter. Each year-long class only meets for one semester. Each semester class only meets for a quarter.
Re: Block Scheduling Yes. We are in a 3X3 but the 4X4 is much better Which state do youteach in? Florida How is your block scheduling organized? http://administrators.net/chatboard/topic3768/1.27.03.11.42.32.html
By Request.... | February 1997 block schedules because they offer an opportunity to redefine the way teachers teachand the way in which students learn. In addition, block scheduling is an http://www.nwrel.org/request/feb97/article3.html
Extractions: Education ... Previous Issues Block Scheduling What's It All About? It is difficult to be involved in education today and not hear about block scheduling. It is an educational trend that has gained favor in countless schools and communities throughout this extremely diverse nation. Of the three scheduling options discussed in this booklet, block scheduling is the one most widely used in the Northwest. Schools adopt block schedules because they offer an opportunity to redefine the way teachers teach and the way in which students learn. In addition, block scheduling is an option that does not greatly affect the community, nor is it expensive to implement. In its simplest definition, block scheduling is any schedule format with fewer but longer classes than traditional schedules permit (Jones, 1995). Because a school can build a block schedule that suits its unique needs, there are almost as many different ways to arrange a block schedule as there are schools. Some of the more popular methods that schools base their schedules on are: The intensive block: The 4x4 block: The alternating plan (also known as the A/B plan): The modified block: The parallel block: The parallel block is used primarily in elementary schools, whereas the previous four formats are used primarily in secondary schools. Parallel block takes a class of students and divides them into two groups. One group of children stay with their classroom teacher for instruction in an academically demanding subject such as math or language arts, while the other group attends physical education or music, or visits the computer lab; after a prescribed length of time the two groups swap. This schedule provides all students with a more individual learning experience (Canady, 1990).
