“The Advantages of Block Scheduling”
...minute period, teachers may include multiple strategies such as lecture, group work, class discussions, projects, interactive activities, and so on. Journalist Ione D. Phillips points out that block scheduling leads to a “leeway for curriculum integration and use of community resources such as guest speakers, job-shadowing experiences and field trips” (Phillips). This form of education not only increases the possibilities of instruction, but it keeps the students more interested. No longer are they forced to sit through entire fifty minute periods of just lecture, or just discussion; now, class includes a variety of actions in which they can take part. It allows them to become involved with their classes. Using Gloucester High School as an example, this strategy is proved to be effective; teachers dedicate ten to twenty minutes of class stimulating curiosity, fifty to sixty minutes to involvement in activities, and another ten to twenty minutes to respond to the day’s learning. Teachers are so fond of this method that some have even begun wearing buzzers to keep up with their time schedules. Another positive impact of bringing block scheduling into schools is the improvement of student- teacher relationships. It is reported that “[p]ositive changes were attributed to increase[d] daily contact as well as to seeing fewer students per day”(Veal). Being with the students for a longer time allows the teachers to form closer bonds with and a better comprehend of the student’s understanding of the class. This relationship enables the teacher to cater to the specific needs of students. This is also made possible by the smaller number of students which the teacher is dealing with. Through these close relationships teachers develop more encouraging classroom atmospheres, putting students in a more enthusiastic mood to learn. Additional to the impact of this close relationship on the students and teachers overall moods, loss of stress is also a key factor. Students are dealing with a maximum of four classes of class work and home work, as compared to the traditional seven or eight classes of work of a traditional schedule. They can concentrate more closely on the subjects they are studying and not feel as overwhelmed with the amount of work which they are dealing with. Teachers also receive major benefits from this four period a day schedule. They have three periods of teaching and one daily planning period. With fewer actual instructional periods to focus on, teachers are able to remain more updated and organized to each class’s specific needs and agenda. This is also supported by the preparat...