When I read the first chapter of Teaching Young Adolescents by Richard and Noreen Kellough, I learned a lot about the various types of middle level schools, and how they differ. One point that really stuck out to me about this was the emphasis on block scheduling. The authors argue that, "Using extended periods, or Macroperiods, allows the teacher to supervise and assist students with assignments and project work as well as with their reading, writing, thinking, and study skills" (Kellough and Kellough p. 8).
Ideally, I think this could work out well if teachers use the extra time in the ways that the authors pointed out. However, I think that there are more disadvantages than advantages for this scheduling method. From my own experience with block scheduling, many teachers use the time to lecture the students about much more material than would be typically covered in a traditional classroom. Students became extremely restless and stopped paying attention, or were overwhelmed by the amount of material on which they had to take notes.The other side of this is that teachers wouldn't know how to fill the time and would assign a lot of "busywork" instead of using inquiry and integrative thematic activities.
Although my experience with block scheduling occurred in high school, I think the middle school level would have similar problems. If high schoolers became restless with these longer periods, I think middle school students would have even more trouble. Even in some college classes I find it hard to pay attention for three hours about one topic.
I think that traditional scheduling gives students more variation in their day and allows them to engage their brain in different ways more readily, rather than losing focus when they are expected to concentrate on one subject for so long. I also think that traditional scheduling allows students to be able to comprehend material better. If students spend more time on a smaller amount of material, they can do various activities with it rather than consuming a lot of material at once and being expected to memorize it in time for tests, etc.
Another thing that I noticed about block scheduling is that students may only have a class in a certain subject for less than a semester. This gives them less experience with the subject and may cause them to forget things. If they do this, teachers may have to retract on material the next year instead of making progress.
I do think that the modified block schedule could solve some of these issues. However, the alternation of different class lengths may be confusing and difficult to get used to at first for both students and teachers, and their learning could be compromised or delayed (especially at the beginning of the year).
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ReplyDeleteHi Ashley, good job on your blog!
ReplyDeletehave seen first hand the stressors of middle school scheduling. The middle school I am at has struggled to find the perfect balance for the kids and staff. I absolutely agree that that longer blocks are often filled with word searches, an abundance of low interaction worksheets, and bored students. On the other hand, the teachers that truly use the time as it was intended give their students creative, out of the box lessons. Lessons that allow real small group collaborations, hands on exploration, and creative ways to reinforce and how what they know. Students writing in small group writing a song report instead of a traditional book report. Kids constructing a medieval class castle instead of coloring one on paper. What is good for one group of students might not work for the next. In education you really do need to constantly bend or you break.
Hi Ashley-Your blog is very good-you have set the mark for the rest of us! The school that I work at used to be on an 8-block schedule. It was wonderful for science labs, home economics class, P.E. and band. The other teachers had to become creative planners. Each class period was broken up into: lecture, cooperative learning, projects, kinesthetic activities, and homework time. I was the school librarian and was kept busy providing materials for classroom projects. I loved 8-Block! We went back to an 8-period day because the math and foreign language teachers claimed that the students needed to be seen everyday. The library hasn't been nearly as busy as it was.
ReplyDeleteI also had experience with block scheduling in high school, at least my senior year when I moved to Illinois. To me, I really appreciated the layout because it made weekly schedules seem a lot less daunting. I was able to breakup my nightly homework according to certain schedules, as opposed to studying everything for the following day. But, I definitely agree with you that classroom management would need to be up to par in order to make block scheduling successful. It would be interesting to see if it could work in the middle school system. Middle school is already a huge transition for a lot of people.
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