Reply to APS Block Schedule - 90 minute core classes

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am a teacher who was strongly against 90 minute core classes in middle school.  I am in the process of changing my mind.

When it is poorly done, it is an abysmal mess; however, when it is done well, it is a sight to behold.  At my school, I see about a third of our teachers in a mess and the others, wow, it is amazing.  Even for subjects like math (which was the root of my previous objections).

It has taken a year or two for teachers to get the swing of it.  The pacing changes, you have to make large and also subtle changes to the way you teach the material, but it can be very effective.

Our school made a concerted effort to hold several different types of PD for teachers to talk about the pacing of the 90 minutes as well as pacing with regards to the overall curriculum.  That was very helpful.  Many of us needed to see examples of how we can manage the ebb and flow of 90 minutes.  What we've found is that the 90 minute block can be much less stressful on the children than the 50 or 55 minute block, which was sometimes almost frenetic because we had SO MUCH to accomplish that all we did was push, push, push.

Even with the last year being as difficult as it was on everyone, I could see positive changes occurring in our school's learning environment and outcomes for the children.  Standing in the hallway as kids leave classes this year, I see happy and enthusiastic students, who were engaged in active bell-to-bell learning ... without looking like they were being pushed and pummeled to race through material as they did when we had the shorter blocks.  We're not perfect but we're getting there.

Anyway, that's my two cents as someone who works at a school system that is not APS but it is NoVa.[/quote]

So basically, block scheduling is “Waiting for Superman”

I’m a little confused; you went from 50 minute blocks (250 minutes a week) to 2 90 minute blocks (180 minutes a week) yet now feel like you can teach at a slower pace?[/quote]

I am sorry if I confused you.  We are maintaining our pace vis a vis the curriculum.  The intensity of the pace within the classroom has changed since we actually have more time in one 90-minute class than we did in two 50-minute classes [i]because[/i] we are able to use the time more wisely.  I only have to take attendance once, make assignments once, do a warm-up once, etc.  All those things that are little time drags are done once, rather than twice.  That means that we have more time for teaching and learning, and less time spent performing the "housekeeping" functions (if you ever go to conferences then you've heard this term before in the context of PD and it applies to classrooms as well) of a classroom.[/quote]

What was the class duration & frequency before the shift and after? PP mentioned 5x per week for 50 minutes, moving to 2x per week for 90 minutes. Is that right?[/quote]

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