Block Scheduling

[Mango7100]

My high school moved to block scheduling my senior year, and I liked it better than traditional scheduling. 90 minutes gave more time for in depth discussion, lab work, and group work. I only had 4 classes for homework vs. 6-7. Granted the 4 classes had more work to each of them, but it was faster to complete vs. jumping around to several subjects. I took majority AP classes my last year and had my first year of undergrad done when I graduated high school.

 

[clori]

Precovid our high school had what is called a waterfall schedule. The students took 7 classes but only had 6 a day. Basically day 1 you would have periods 1-6 day 2 2-7 day 3 3-1. Each day you would have a different class which was during lunchtime which was 2 hours and depending on your class lunch would be a different 30 minute time frame. Classes like gym and science had first or last lunch but others you would have class go to lunch then go back to the same class. My kids liked it because you actually had lunch with different groups of friends depending on the day and felt it was less cliquey that way. Fast forward though several schedule variations during covid/remote school. Since then it has basically been a day1/2 schedule with 4 classes one day and the second day 3 classes and a special block which could be used for a variety of things like study, practicing in small groups for band/chorus, extra help, learning something for fun with no credit/homework etc. A lot of kids missed the diffeent classes rotating during lunch so even though day 1 might be periods 1-4 each time they rotated the order of classes. Classes are mostly full year. I think the older students who were used to the waterfall schedule missed it initially but adjusted.

 

[tink89]

DD has had some form of block scheduling since middle school. I do think the middle school started it in the last few years. High school she just started at has a/b day schedule. Periods 1,3,5,7 on A days and periods 1,2,4,6 on B days. I went to the same high school and they have had this A/B day scheduling for at least 20 years. It is difficult to get used to the first few weeks but I do think it helps because they do not have the same classes every day and gives them a bit more time to catch up, do hw, or ask questions.

 

[scrapquitler]

We have new administrators at our high school, and their first new business is to make a change to block scheduling starting with the 23/24 school year. I’m not sure switching to a scheduling format that generally requires more teachers and at a minimum training on teaching strategies for a 90 minute class is the best idea coming out of a pandemic in the worst teacher shortage in history.

We are a small school, graduating classes right around 100 and the schools around us that are block are all 2-3 times the size of us. Anyone successfully implement block in a small school with limited resources/teachers?

I have also heard all the negative impacts on AP classes. Anyone have insight?

We've done block scheduling at our high school for many years. I think it's a much better approach than 45 minute classes. There's time to actually do activities in a much deeper way. And the kids prefer the every other day approach, at least mine did.