21. Block Scheduling Articles The proponents of block scheduling say they?re able to teach students more,cover more material, and give more attention to individuals students. http://www.angelfire.com/oh/struelove/blockarticles.html

Block Scheduling Articles Remember that I have condensed these for time and space; while I did select information to include here, it is only because of those reasons. I encourage you to find these articles and pursue this information more, as I did. These are not all of the articles that I have collected, in time, I will be adding them all. Block Scheduling a Mixed Blessing "Block scheduling may have contributed to...more students staying in school, but more more stduents have earned failing grades since the concept was adopted... The 118-page report was written by Dr. Joe D. Nichols, professor of education at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. When Elmhurst (High School) became the first school in the (Fort Wayne Community School) district to move to block scheduling in 1994, it was considered experiemental. Now, as state and district officials consider raising the number of credits neccessary to graduate, some say the block schedule is becoming a necessity. South Side (High School) is the only Fort Wayne Community School not on block scheduling. (Superintendent Dr. Thomas) Fowler-Finn fears that if the state or district increases graduation requirements, students will struggle trying to meet requirements on a traditional, non block scheduled, six-period day. "Any upward increase will make it that much more difficult for a six-period day. It's just not adequate." Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, Sunday, November 21, 1999

22. Block Scheduling Concerns that is seeing the success of block scheduling, I congratulate I just feel that thisscheduling method is not the are not given the opportunity to teach in a http://www.angelfire.com/oh/struelove/block.html

Block Scheduling Concerns Anti-Block Scheduling Information Upon my senior year of college in the fall of 1995, I learned about a new schedule at my sister?s school, Angola High School in Angola, Indiana. As a freshman, she was entering this method of scheduling by one of the first schools in Indiana to do so. By the 1996-97 school year, she was being sent to Angola?s ?alternative school,? for those who were at-risk of dropping out, reportedly because of her attendance record and poor attitude at school. By the 1997-98 school year, she was a high school dropout. In all three cases, she was registered as a freshman. While I as an educator know that the school by and of itself can not be held responsible, her attitude of school was clearly diminished by the block experience. I also have other family members who are experiencing (or have experienced) block scheduling at Garrett High School in Garrett, Indiana, East Noble High School in Kendallville, Indiana and Prairie Heights High School in rural LaGrange, Indiana that have reported a severe dislike for the scheduling method given to them (the exception to that is a close friend of mine who attends Garrett High School; it is interesting to note that he likes it and is experiencing good grades and results and that he was home schooled until the 8th gradeI have no particular stance on home schooling, but I do think that fact is interesting). In one case, block influenced a cousin of mine who decided to graduate early in January of her senior year. She made that decision on the second day of her senior year, the first year East Noble High School went to block scheduling. Her dislike of school (which was never really strong in her personality) clearly caused her to make this choice, she even admitted it as being a factor.

23. Block Scheduling Other issues to consider You may need to negotiate block scheduling demands withthe teachers' contracts, since teachers may be asked to teach more hours on http://www.newvisions.org/schoolsuccess/practices/block/index.shtml

Block Scheduling Samples of Block Scheduling Appendix Internet Resources Print Resources Schools may adopt block scheduling for a wide variety of reasons: to create more productive and personal relationships among teachers and students, to design challenging curricula that helps students to learn concepts in depth, or to develop a more intimate and student-centered learning atmosphere. However, as with all restructuring efforts, successful implementation requires productive planning, time, resources, and coalition building within a school. What is alternative or block scheduling? The traditional school schedule is made up of subject-specific classes, each 40-55 minutes long. Students attend between eight and twelve classes each day and receive instruction from many different teachers. Teachers teach five classes each day, with one planning period, and see approximately 150 students. Classes are either a semester or year long. Alternative scheduling modelsusually called "block scheduling" because they involve blocks of time for student learningrestructure the school day. Block schedules are made up of fewer, longer classes, from 60 to 120 minutes each. The classes either meet fewer days each week or for less than a semester or year. As a result, students have fewer classes, and teachers teach fewer students. Because they allow for extended class time over fewer days, block classes require innovative approaches to instruction, which makes them more likely to be implemented in schools with more progressive faculty and administrators. In schools that have made the transition from traditional to alternate scheduling models, the change has resulted from a concerted reform effort involving administrators, faculty, and often parents and students. In fact, the desire to implement an alternative schedule has often been the catalyst for a larger effort to redesign a school.

24. Teachers Talk About Block Scheduling In Middle School periods every other day. block scheduling Invites Depth, Not Breadth?I teach 8th grade math and I love the block days! It gives me http://www.middleweb.com/INCASEblkschd.html

Back to the IN CASE YOU MISSED IT index An e-mail discussion about BLOCK SCHEDULING (by middle school teachers on the Middle-L listserve) ALSO: See the links at the top of this page QUESTION: Are there any middle schools who have successfully implemented a block schedule? While common at the high school level, we've not found any at the middle school in our area. We have several middle schools in the greater Los Angeles area that are considering block scheduling but would like to talk to some schools before they take the plunge. What are the pitfalls? Is it workable for some subject areas and not others? How do students this age respond to the extra time in a class? Can you give some help? How We Piloted a Flexible Block Schedule It's Hard to "Wing It" for 80 Minutes! My 7th grade team piloted a flexible block schedule this year. We see the kids 3 times/week for about 80 minutes. We went into it with some trepidation, but it's turned out to be a grand success. The teachers love it, the parent survey showed great support for the idea, and our student survey showed about 90% of the students favored the longer class periods. We had to do careful planning (it's hard to "wing it" for 80 minutes) and build in alternative plans when whole school activities were occurring, e.g., pep rallies, assemblies, etc. I think the thing that made it most successful was that all the teachers on my team use cooperative learning, lots of hands-on projects, choices based on what we know about multiple intelligences, and have that intuition to know when to switch gears in a class.

25. Scheduling, Advisories, Tracking, Retention And Other Resources Flexible scheduling NMSA's brief summary of research on flexible and block scheduling. Byallowing teachers to teach a class of students for a longer period http://www.middleweb.com/ContntNuts.html

Block Scheduling Check this growing list of resources on block scheduling and time management in schools at the emTech website. Block experts Robert Lynn Canady and Michael Rettig have a must-see book, Scheduling Strategies for Middle Schools , available at Amazon and from Eye on Education Publishers. The Nov/Dec 1996 issue (currently offline but keep checking) of the Harvard Education Letter says the plunge into block scheduling is 'just like starting over.' "The first semester of managing 90-minute classes is like being a student teacher again, but many believe the payoff is worth it," says author Michael Sadowski. Here are some ASCD resources on block scheduling. This story in the Providence, RI Journal describes several successful blocking experiments. (March 2000) If you'd like to see some real data, examine the study on the effects of block scheduling on student performance in North Carolina high schools . If all this weren't enough, you can find a few more chips off the block scheduling resource base here The American Association of School Administrators has a page devoted to block scheduling articles . There's also a teacher discussion about middle school block scheduling posted at MiddleWeb. More recently, members of the MiddleWeb Listserv took up the topic of

26. Article By John And Stephen Benham Under either form of block scheduling the director will teach fewer courses sostudents will lose these options unless the school hires additional staff. http://www.sciences.drexel.edu/block/profpaper/benham.html

27. Article By Russell Smith, Consultant, Texas Department Of teach more classes, so schools need fewer teachers. This law , in my opinion,was passed to take advantage of the growing popularity of block scheduling. http://www.sciences.drexel.edu/block/profpaper/smith.html

28. MEL Education: Hot Topics Quality Counts 2000 Who Should teach? block scheduling. AskERIC InfoGuideon block scheduling; block scheduling ERIC Digest By Karen Irmsher. http://mel.lib.mi.us/education/edu-hot.html

Michigan.gov Home HAL Home MeL Internet MeL Magazines and eBooks Education About the Education Collection Michigan Education What's New? Hot Topics in Education ... Back to the Education Index Hot Topics in Education No Child Left Behind Page Terrorism Response for Educators General Reform Block Scheduling ... Social Promotion General-Education Reform The10th Bracey Report on the Condition of Public Education a summary of national and international education research prepared for Phi Delta Kappan by Gerald Bracey. Alfie Kohn speeches and essays make the well-known education critic's case against educational standards. Annenberg Institute for School Reform Coalition of Essential Schools a school reform organization started by Ted Sizer and based at Brown University. Council for Basic Education provides advocacy and research in support of core curriculum standards. Education ReformA Virtual Library Effective Education collection of articles on education reform issues.

29. Illinois Loop: Block Scheduling The school that I teach at participates in a Math Rally every spring. For the pastseven years ALL the schools that use block scheduling finish at the bottom http://www.illinoisloop.org/blocksched.html

Introduction MAIN MENU Intro Subjects ... More Block Scheduling Your child's school is changing to 80 or 90 minute periods? Welcome to the world of block scheduling, where your child will spend long periods of time on merry projects, movies, group discussions lots of stuff other than learning anything. Block scheduling is a destructive, faddish trend nationwide. Except for whole language reading, it is perhaps the most dangerous of the progressivist viruses in our schools: it forces teachers into long project and activity sessions even when best judgment suggests an instructivist approach is indicated for a given unit or topic. If your school is considering lengthening class periods to 80 minutes, with four classes per day, or thereabouts, read the links below to learn what will may to your child's education as a result. Of special interest, Elmhurst citizen and parent Marcia Tsicouris is managing a website devoted to block scheduling issues. It is focused on current battles in Elmhurst, but will be of interest to all Chicago suburban parents: A Parent's Voice Links Intensive Block Scheduling This is a well-organized and compelling information source regarding BS and its problems. It is on a website for one grassroots group, Residents for Quality Education, but the information it presents and its clarity make it a valuable reference for everyone.

30. POST: Block Scheduling Do you have block scheduling? Which state do you teach in? How is yourblock scheduling organized? What are the pros of block scheduling? http://administrators.net/chatboard/topic3768/1.20.03.19.47.34.html

Tell Congress to Keep Kids Learning Post: block scheduling Posted by GH on 1/20/03 Do you have block scheduling? Which state do you teach in? How is your block scheduling organized? What are the pros of block scheduling? What are the cons of block scheduling? Posts on this thread, including this one block scheduling , 1/20/03, by GH. Re: block scheduling , 1/21/03, by RSL. Re: block scheduling , 1/27/03, by just my 2 cents... ChatBoard: Select Grade Board Administrator ChatBoard Teacher Chatboard Administrator Chatboard Retired Teachers Chatboard Pre-School (EC) Chatboard Kindergarten Chatboard Primary Elementary Chatboard Upper Elementary Chatboard Middle School Chatboard High School Chatboard Higher Education Chatboard Student Teacher Chatboard Beginning Teacher Chatboard Substitute Teacher Chatboard Classroom Mgmt Chatboard Classroom Discipline Multiage Classroom Chatboard Gifted/Talented Chatboard Special Education Chatboard Private School Chatboard Montessori Chatboard Prof Reading Chatboard Counseling Chatboard Jobhunters Chatboard Math Teacher Chatboard Science Teacher Chatboard Social Studies Chatboard Music Teacher Chatboard Arts and Crafts Chatboard Health Chatboard PE/Coaching Chatboard Brain-Compatible Learning School Humor Chatboard MESSAGE CENTER Letters to Editor Ed Advocacy Chatboard Current Events Chatboard Politics Chatboard Gatherings Chatboard Teacher Social Chatboard Golden Apples Chatboard Inspirations Chatboard Teachers.Net Feedback

31. BLOCK SCHEDULING: RESEARCH however, they report that the material which they do teach is taught number of interdisciplinaryteams and studies is likely to increase with block scheduling. http://coe.winthrop.edu/vawterd/block/research/research.html

Block Scheduling Research Below are some of the findings from schools around the country. Please note that not all schools will experience each advantage. Also as in any change there may be initial drop off in some areas. Our experience has demonstrated that schools that take a year to research the change, and then a year of planning and training, will find some success the first year. The new schedule should be given three years of implementation, change and adjustment before full comparison studies are conducted. Within two years after a high school moves from a daily, single-period schedule to an A/B or 4/4 schedule, the data indicate that: The number of discipline referrals to the office is reduced sgnificantly. Initially, there is greater stress for teachers until they learn how to plan and to teach in a larger block of time, but eventually the school environment becomes less stressful for both teachers and students. About 80 percent of the teachers in the school lecture less and gradually engage students in more active learning structures; therefore, students become less passive in their learning. The number of students on the A, B Honor Roll increases. In the 4/4 plan, there also may be an increase in the number of students making F's.

32. Block Scheduling: Why? Why block scheduling. is a short list on why many schools are moving to a block schedule. Littletime is left in one day to teach any subject in depth or have http://coe.winthrop.edu/vawterd/block/why.html

Why Block Scheduling The following is a short list on why many schools are moving to a block schedule. Fragmented Instruction. Some schools have as many as eight different periods a day. If we asked adults to change desks, jobs, bosses, workplaces and topics eight different times a day they would revolt. This fragmentation leaves little time for connections to be built between topics or reflection. Little time is left in one day to teach any subject in depth or have time for practice. Impersonal, factory like environments. The push to get kids through six, seven or eight classes a day does not give students or teachers a chance to develop the relationships that foster learning. While teachers may see as many as 180 students a day, students have to interact with eight different adults each day. If we are to truly meet the needs of the next generations of students, we must not leave students lost in a numbers crunch. Discipline problems are caused by too many distractions. Releasing thousands of teens into crowded hallways has the expected effect of creating conflicts. These are often carried into the classroom and soak up potential learning time. Cutting down on class interruptions would allow more time to teach and less disruptions.

33. ED393156 1996-03-00 Block Scheduling. ERIC Digest, Number 104. strategies and skills to teach successfully in large blocks of time. They observethat teachers who are most successful in block scheduling typically plan http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed393156.html

34. OUTCOMES FOR "TACKLING BLOCK SCHEDULING" 5. OUTCOMES FOR TACKLING block scheduling . OUTCOMES FOR TACKLING BLOC scheduling . a.teach leftbrain the first half of the period, right-brain the second http://users.aol.com/docwelter/blockout.html

5. OUTCOMES FOR "TACKLING BLOCK SCHEDULING" OUTCOMES FOR "TACKLING BLOC SCHEDULING" At the end of the session, the successful participant will: Be familiar with the research on Hemispheric Specialties, Learning Channels, Multiple Intelligences, and higher-order thinking skills. Be able to juxtapose the major parts of these strategies in a teaching situations: a. teach "left-brain" the first half of the period, "right-brain" the second. b. teach "lower-ordered" skills the first half, "higher-ordered" the second. c. teach self-reinforcing, mono, dual, and tri-channeled activities/lessons in different parts of a simulated period. d. teach traditional intelligences in the first part of the period and non-traditional intelligences in the second (applying the left/right brain thinking format). e. teach convergent thinking in the first part of the period, divergent thinking in the second (applying the left/right brain thinking format). Use all the above strategies as alternate evaluation instruments to measure comprehension and retention of teaching efforts for both traditional and non-traditional learners. BACK

35. NAESP - Principal Magazine: March 1997 - Integrating The Curriculum With Paralle teach more content in the same amount of time, and this is particularly true of wholelanguage and interdisciplinary instruction. But parallel block scheduling http://www.naesp.org/comm/p0397c.htm

National Association of Elementary School Principals Serving All Elementary and Middle Level Principals Home Members Only What's New Site Map ... Jobs Integrating the Curriculum with Parallel Block Scheduling Innovations like whole language and interdisciplinary instruction demand scheduling flexibility. Harriet J. Hopkins and Robert Lynn Canady Harriet J. Hopkins is coordinator of elementary programs for Area III of the Fairfax County Public Schools in Dunn Loring, Virginia. Robert Lynn Canady is a professor at the University of Virginia's Curry School of Education in Charlottesville. T he principles of parallel block scheduling (PBS), employed by many elementary schools during the past 25 years, have produced the following results: Smaller class size during critical instructional periods in reading and mathematics; Less reliance on strict ability grouping; Less fragmentation of the school day due to better integration of support programs such as special education, gifted education, and Title I; More efficient and effective use of instructional staff;

36. Pro's And Consequences Of Block Scheduling Part 2 One of the classes I was supposed to teach would change to Fred Richardson, Eisenhower'sprincipal, said it perfectly, block scheduling will make our good http://math.rice.edu/~hemphill/Professional/Papers/Block2/block2.html

Pro's And Consequences of Block Scheduling Part 2 Boyd E. Hemphill 5 May 1996 Last summer in Park City, block scheduling became a topic of concern. In my first article I explained how this new format worked at Eisenhower High School. Now the year has passed, and I can relay some of my attempts to use the 90 minute period effectively in Calculus and Extended Algebra. In Calculus, lecture is my first method for communicating large amounts of information quickly. The maturity of such students allowed me to put together many powerful 90 minute lectures. The extra time has permitted me to encourage student questions during and after the instruction. I have no clever way for teaching the product, quotient and chain rules for differentiation. The NCTM standards say that such rules should be de-emphasized, and I agree that students at this level should be master these tasks with little effort. Lecturing over these rules in one 90 minute class rather than three 60 minute days provided two extra days I used to deal with inverse functions. This is a topic my students have trouble understanding, and I have trouble communicating. In previous years, I would rush through it with a lecture, but this year I introduced inverse functions using an idea that Cindy Hayes gave us in Utah because block scheduling provided me with the opportunity to do so! All of my students could parrot what previous teachers told them about finding an inverse function by, "swapping x and y and solving for y." Most could find an inverse, but it was obvious they had assigned no real meaning to this process. When I gave them a table of values for an unknown function and asked them to make a table for the inverse, none had any idea what I wanted. When we considered the problem geometrically, all could tell me the graph of the inverse was a reflection of the function across the line y = x, but few could actually draw it. This indicated students had not visualized this process. I set out to fix this problem.

37. Pro's And Consequences Of Block Scheduling minute you are spared for preparation will allow you to teach much more scratch inthe surface of the many issues regarding the transition to block scheduling. http://math.rice.edu/~hemphill/Professional/Papers/Block1/block1.html

Pro's And Consequences of Block Scheduling Boyd E. Hemphill 1 October 1995 This summer in Park City, one of the hot topics was block scheduling. Currently, I am going through my first year of this new format. In a series of articles during the academic year, I hope to give you a feeling for the pros and cons, how the students reacted, andmost importantly in the context of PCMIhow instruction is affected. My goal is to answer questions. In doing so, I am sure to create even more. This summer I will provide a forum one evening to answer these questions. If interest is large enough, Nadine may want to organize a panel discussion. This article is intended to give you a feel for the nuts and bolts of how our block works so you can better understand what I have had to adjust to. The generalizations you make from this information should help you imitate our successes and avoid our mistakes as you make the same transition. Formerly Eisenhower followed a standard schedule: six classes per day every class 55 minutes long with 7 minutes between fourth period 2 hours with four 23 minute lunches Under the "accelerated" block scheduling students have: four classes each class is 90 minutes long with 8 minutes between 2nd period is 100 minutes for announcements and other housekeeping items all 3000 students go to a 42 minute lunch after 3rd period (starts at 12:18) students may buy and bring food to class between 1st and 2nd period Students now take in 18 weeks what used to last 36 weeks (thus "accelerated" block). The idea is for them to take two core subjects during one 18 week "session:" and two electives. A typical student's schedule might be:

38. Block Scheduling However promising, block scheduling has received mixed reviews in the educationalcommunity. systems which result in a change in the ways teachers teach. http://www.aboutlearning.com/aboutlearning/block.html

4MAT and "The Block" This paper articulates About Learning's position on the issue of block scheduling. It is our hope that this paper will aid 4MAT practitioners in articulating the connections between the 4MAT Method of Instruction and this critical educational issue. It is also our intent to distribute this information to as many qualified educators as possible since our goal is to aid them in understanding how The 4MAT Method of Instruction can provide valuable assistance in the implementation of block scheduling. To this end, we encourage you to copy and distribute this paper. About Learning, Inc. is a research, publishing, and consulting firm that provides training and consulting in the effective use of 4MAT. 4MAT is an innovative framework that capitalizes on natural learning processes. For information on our products and training, please contact us at (800) 822- 4MAT. Or write us at About Learning, Inc., 1251N. Old Rand Road, Wauconda, IL 60084. Block Scheduling: Issues and Answers A Position Paper of About Learning, Incorporated

39. Math Forum: Teacher2Teacher - Q&A #122 23 May 98 Re Algebra, calculus activities for block scheduling by Claudia. PublicDiscussion. 26 Oct 98 Software for helping to teach secondary school math by http://mathforum.org/t2t/thread.taco?thread=122

40. John Adams Protests Removal Of Block Scheduling Why Raymond's plan will save money block scheduling means fewer classes that lastlonger. Unlike traditional scheduling, teachers teach three 90minute classes http://www.sbcsc.k12.in.us/adams/block.html

Students Protest removal of block scheduling Students attend the meeting and voice their opinions for more than an hour only to be dissappointed by Dr. Raymond. The story as told by WNDU is this: Raymond: Scheduling change will save $1.6 million The South Bend schools need to shave their budget, and "block scheduling" finds itself on the chopping block. The change affects the city's high schoolers' daily schedule, and many of them voiced protest at superintendent Dr. Joan Raymond's announcement at last night's school board meeting. School system: Strapped for cash Raymond says the financial situation of the South Bend school system is precarious. The corporation is $2 million in the red and when they looked for a place to cut, they decided block scheduling was the place to do it. The superintendent says it's an expensive program without a proven track record. While it was clear last night that many support the idea of block scheduling, Raymond says this is about a bottom line. "Block scheduling is costing almost an additional fifty positions and quite candidly, we just can't afford it," said Raymond. "Block scheduling requires extra staffing at least the way it has been implemented here."

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