Reply to Why high schools go to long Block Schedule

Forum Index » Schools and Education General Discussion

Reply to "Why high schools go to long Block Schedule"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]With generational rise in ADHD, fatigued teachers unlikely to develop the project based, hands on work that best suits it — why are more high schools going to block schedule.

My impression at our local Arlington high school is the teachers teacher for 40 min, then have the kids do classwork/homework quietly for the next 40 minutes. I feel like they are squandering instruction time; they can leave homework for home.

Do other schools make better use of block scheduling?! Why are so many schools following it, including many privates. [/quote]

This isn’t how block scheduling is supposed to work.  It’s not meant to be 40 min instruction/50 min homework time.  That is insane and I’d be upset as a parent.  Block classes are 90 min because they are supposed to learning an entire year’s worth of content in half the time (one semester).  In a traditional 7 period schedule, each class is 40-50 min but you take it for two semesters. If your kid is only getting 40 min of instruction in a block schedule class, they aren’t going to get through all the material in one semester.  That is doing them a disservice.  You’re right, homework is meant to be done at home, instruction is meant to be in class.  [/quote]

You're speaking about something different--that's the semester block schedule. People are talking about A/B block--you have all 8 classes all year long, you just only see 4 of them on any given day.

But really it's the same hours of class whether 40 minutes every day or 80 minutes every other day or 80 minutes every day for one semester.

Nearly everyone in education supports "mini lessons" (10 minute warm up or intro, 20-30 minute lesson, 30-40 minute work time where the teacher can pull small groups to support/remediate/extend, 10 minute reflection/closing) for block scheduling. It's the same instruction as what happens in two 45 minute periods.  When I taught 7 period days, I had a 5 minute warm up, 10-20 minute lesson, and 15-20 minute work time where I could pull my high needs kids.

The only classes I don't follow this structure with is my AP classes where they are able to switch back and forth between exploring a concept in a group, getting direct instruction to formalize what they just experienced, and then practice independently. We'll cycle through 2-3 of those segments in an 80 minute block.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics