Block scheduling for better learning Sharon Cao ( January 25, 2005)

The article was published on Opinions Section, (Page 4), March issue of InFlight, 2005. Format of the layout was modified to fit the web posting purpose.

The campus is silent, when suddenly, students pour from buildings, racing toward their next classes. Everything is silent and peaceful again in five minutes … until an hour later the process repeats. Five days a week, students attend at least six classes, and the constant changing of environments is an exhausting experience. Block scheduling would alleviate the amount of pressure on the students. In the long run, it may even improve overall school performance.

Block scheduling is generally defined as a restructuring of the school day so that students attend half as many classes for twice as long. In two common forms of block scheduling, the classes alternate from day to day or alternate from semester to semester.

Nationwide surveys and tests have proven that attending six to eight classes on a daily basis increases the amount of stress on students and provides a less-than-efficient learning environment. After all, how much can a student expect to learn when every hour the lesson is dropped and students are forced to shift their brains to a new, unrelated topic as they are herded from one class to the next?

By giving students only three or classes to manage at a time, we can take more time to focus on each individual subject. For example, students would cover much more in one and a half hours of uninterrupted math class than several days of consecutive one-hour periods. Students can spend less time changing classes every day, and teachers waste less time trying to settle their students. This results in a more efficient teaching system in which students learn more by attending school for the same amount of time.

Though the idea of paying attention to a 90 or 120-minute lecture may sound difficult, the Center for Education Reform has performed studies that show that block scheduling “foster[s] a less pressured atmosphere in the school, creating a place where [students] are more willing to learn and teachers inspired to teach.” The combination encourages better attendance, higher grades, and lower failure and dropout rates.

Classes that involve labs or large time commitments would be much more suited to block scheduling. With longer, more concentrated classes, students can learn from varied and innovative methods of teaching, rather than the dull lectures that leave us falling asleep at our desks. The school day’s daily constraints become more flexible with block scheduling, making it more possible for teachers to team-teach or for students to perform complicated labs.

Ultimately, block scheduling reduces stress on the students, allowing us to succeed and even preparing for college. Block scheduling simulates college class schedules and would better prepare students for their future college experiences.

Students shouldn’t have to stay up until outrageous hours of the night, stressing over homework from six different classes. With this form of scheduling, we would have more leeway in determining when we do our homework.

Better grades, more learning, and more time. What’s not to like about block scheduling?