Professional Development

Block Scheduling/Teaching in Extended Blocks

Effective Schooling Research

The major findings regarding Block Scheduling/Teaching in Extended Blocks include the following:

  • A block schedule allocates school time for various subjects/courses based on school and district goals—employing a block scheduling model to assure adequate time allocations for students to master the essential knowledge, skills, abilities, and a deep understanding of the content curriculum standards.
  • Block scheduling Increases the number of credits that students can take in a given school year.
  • Block scheduling Improves student achievement.
  • Block scheduling decrease student discipline referrals.
  • Block scheduling improves student attendance rates.
  • Block scheduling enhance student-teacher relationships.
  • Block scheduling provides a less stressful teaching and learning environment.

Practical Implications

The Block Scheduling/Teaching in Extended Blocks that have proven time-after-time to significantly improve student learning are:

  • Creating a school/district block scheduling committee that includes all potential stakeholders for the purpose of reviewing and evaluating block scheduling models and recommending a model for adoption—committee to also monitor and evaluate adopted model impact on teaching and learning during implementation phase.
  • Implementing either a 4 x 4 or Alternate-Day (A/B) block schedule—two most popular block schedules.
  • Teacher training and student readiness are needed to ensure success.
  • Educators acquire the effective instructional techniques, methods, and strategies that are essential when teaching in extended blocks: i.e., Socratic Seminars; Cooperative Learning; Concept Development; Concept Attainment; Synectics; Memory Model; Simulations; Learning Centers; Direct Teaching; Advanced Organizers; Lecturing; Mastery Learning; Constructing Knowledge; Demonstrating Understanding; etc.

Workshop Training Profile

The Block Scheduling/Teaching in Extended Blocks workshop training focuses on the acquisition of the knowledge, skills, and understandings of those research-based block scheduling best practices identified above under Practical Implications. The work of a number of distinguished educational scholars guide the training workshop. (R. Canady/M. Rettig. Teaching in the Block: Strategies for Engaging Active Learners; R. Fogarty. Block Scheduling: A Collection of Articles; D. Hottenstein. Intensive Scheduling: Restructuring Americas Secondary Schools Through Time Management; B. Lybbert. Transforming Learning With Block Scheduling; D. Walker. Strategies for Teaching Differently: On the Block or Not; P. Robbins/G Gregory/L. Herndon. Thinking Inside the Block Schedule: Strategies for Teaching in Extended Periods of Time)