The traditional schedule just wasn't working for all students at Horizon High School in North Glenn, Colo. Teachers noticed that some students were repeatedly late for morning classes. These same students, however, were always on time for classes that met after lunch. Rather than punishing these students for being tardy, teachers at Horizon had a better idea: Why not create an alternative schedule that capitalizes on their good attendance habits? Now, students who find it difficult to attend classes in the morning can enroll in Horizon's Sundown School and begin their school day at 3 p.m., finishing by 8 p.m.
"Who says all students have to arrive at school at the same time?" asks Judy Margrath-Huge, superintendent of Adams 12 Five Star (North Glenn, Colo.) School District. "Our goal is to maximize learning opportunities for all students." If the schedule at Horizon—or at any of the 37 schools in her district—prevents teachers from meeting that goal, then the schedule must be changed, she states emphatically.
Margrath-Huge uses Horizon's alternative schedule as an example of the kind of creative thinking that results when educators ask such critical questions as, How are we using our time? and, How can we use time better?
Other experts agree, asserting that students benefit most when teachers and administrators learn to control the clock, rather than letting the clock control them.
Letting Learning Set the Schedule
Kim Swan remembers a time when she needed to give students at least three school days to complete a science lab: one day to explain the learning objectives, another to collect samples, and a third to examine what was collected. "Now I can accomplish all this in one day," she says, because her school—Pioneer Middle School, in Walla Walla, Wash.—has implemented block scheduling. Swan now meets with her 7th grade students for 2 hours instead of 55 minutes. "So I'm able to cover a lot more, in greater depth" because it's uninterrupted time, she explains.
Such uninterrupted time is a chief advantage of block scheduling, say experts. When students have time to explore concepts deeply, the curriculum becomes more coherent. If students don't have ample time to complete a science experiment, for example, what they learn "gets pretty chopped up," says Michael Rettig, associate professor of education at James Madison University. When students do have uninterrupted time, "when they don't have to start and stop . . . they get a better sense of the wholeness" of the scientific process, he observes.
When teachers have more time, they're more likely to vary their instructional approaches—something teachers must do if students are to remain engaged, writes Gordon Cawelti in his book Effects of High School Restructuring: Ten Schools at Work. Cawelti, a research consultant for Educational Research Service, talked with many teachers at the 10 high schools that participated in his study. He was heartened by the substantial effort being made at these schools "to provide more effective teaching and encourage active learning."
"What can't happen if block scheduling is to be effective is a presentation of material followed by worksheets or seatwork," agrees Jerald Pelofsky, principal at Turner High School in Kansas City, Kans., now in its third year of block scheduling. When students are in classes that meet for longer than 55 minutes, "teachers must encourage active learning" through such activities as student presentations, debates, and hands-on labs, he asserts.
Research shows that most teachers welcome the opportunity to make learning interesting for students. "Surveys of both teachers and students have revealed that most teachers are lecturing less," says Rettig, who estimates that about 80 percent of the teachers he has polled want to change their instructional strategies.
And students appreciate the effort. When Cawelti asked students what they liked best about the longer class periods that result through block scheduling, most had this simple response: "I learn more." But he also found that students had little tolerance for teachers who continued simply to lecture during extended class periods. "This can become incredibly monotonous, as anyone can understand," stated one student in Cawelti's report.
"Changing the time frame is never enough," emphasizes Rettig. "It's what happens in the classroom that matters, whatever the schedule."
Connecting Teachers and Curriculums
Using more effective teaching strategies is made easier when teachers team up to deliver the curriculum, say experts.
"I interviewed six to eight teachers in every school I visited," says Cawelti. "And every one of them said that their instruction changed the most when they worked in teams. Teachers need time to learn from each other."
At Pioneer Middle School, each block teacher is paired with another block teacher. Swan, certified to teach science, is most often paired with a teacher certified to teach social studies or language arts. The two teachers work together to plan lessons which integrate the academic areas, and each is expected to teach those lessons. "So my partner learns from me effective ways to present the science curriculum," explains Swan. "And I learn how best to teach a language arts or social studies lesson."
Swan's teaching partners have, over the years, helped her develop skills that transcend academic areas. "One teaching partner I had was excellent in framing questions," she says. "Another was especially good at helping students evaluate each other." In working with these teachers, Swan added to her store of sound instructional approaches.
Ron Wilkinson, principal at Pioneer, believes so strongly in teacher teams that he considers organizing those teams to be one of the most important jobs he has as an administrator. "You have to have teachers that complement each other," he says, and administrators must work closely enough with each team to know if any of them needs to be reorganized. "When teachers don't work well together, block scheduling is not as effective as it can be." Wilkinson, therefore, regularly surveys teachers about their satisfaction with their team members and includes teachers in the hiring process.
Such attentiveness to teacher collaboration pays off, Wilkinson contends. When teachers plan together, they bring their subject-area expertise to the task and create lessons that help students see how the curriculum is interconnected.
Pelofsky agrees. "Teachers need to give students the big picture," he says. "Students need to see that no particular academic area is an island unto itself. Teachers need to point out how academic areas are related." The only way teachers can do this, Pelofsky asserts, "is if they know what's going on in other teachers' classrooms—and that requires collaboration."
Community Collaborations
Pelofsky also argues that teachers need to help students see the connections between what they do in school and the real world. As a result, he encourages the "strong effort" made by some departments at Turner High School to increase the amount of time students spend outside of school doing interviews or working in internships and apprenticeships. "Activities that put them out in the real world, working with real companies, are very important," he says. "You can read about businesses in textbooks, but the more meaningful learning happens when students have opportunities for real-life experiences."
Students at Turner start thinking about their adult roles as soon as they enter high school. As early as 9th grade, students select a career path—from business to health, from technology to marketing. Students can then align their high school course work with junior colleges and vocational schools in the county. "So students can pick up anywhere from 3 to 22 hours of freshman credit without it costing them anything," says Pelofsky. Such arrangements are called articulation agreements.
More teachers, too, are teaming with colleges and universities. In the Adams 12 Five Star School District, teachers partner with local colleges of education. "Teacher candidates come into our schools" and gain valuable experience teaching real classes, says superintendent Margrath-Huge. In return, Adams 12 teachers "have time to work with content experts at the university."
Margrath-Huge enthusiastically supports these kinds of collaborations because they help teachers learn to "manipulate the time variable" to make positive changes in the classroom. Still, she concedes that some teachers must be prodded into considering ideas that break with tradition.
"Teachers stay in the time box more than any other box," she observes. "Teachers will experiment with the curriculum and think about alternative methods of professional development, but it seems that time is the one thing people don't want to change. Somehow time tends to be sacred."
For that reason, Margrath-Huge says she'll continue to insist that teachers in her district always consider how they might better use the time they have. The Adams 12 district, she reports, has created many options for students: schools within schools, minicharters that operate within district guidelines, and an array of alternative schedules. "These innovations have been wonderfully successful," Margrath-Huge contends. And in each case, the change process began when "people looked at how to use time differently."
Indeed, Rettig says that if he had to single out the most positive aspect of block scheduling, it would be that "it serves as a catalyst" and forces educators to look at curriculum and instruction. When schools decide to implement block scheduling, teachers reflect on what they do. "Block scheduling provides for lots of good instructional conversations among teachers," Rettig observes. "The healthiest thing about block scheduling is that it provides for the collaborative structure we need in schools."