Designing Quality Middle School Master Schedules.
Block scheduling Block scheduling is an approach to school timetabling in secondary schools. It typically means that pupils have fewer classes (4-5) per day, for a longer period of time (70-90 minutes). The three main types of block schedules found in the research are.One especially attractive option has been block scheduling, which is in place in roughly 30 percent of the nation’s secondary schools. Research now is emerging about the impact of the two most common alternative high school scheduling models. Several factors have influenced changes in high school schedules during the last decade.Grade 7 students who qualify can be in the Grade 8 band; they simply follow the eighth grade schedule during lunch and band times. If the high school band director is unavailable for Grade 8 band, it needs to be moved to the 10:50- 11:35 slot to avoid a conflict (See Figure 3.19 for a second option).
Block scheduling is meant to address those lost teachable moments that occur when students are shuffled to six classes a day. Sometimes called “modular scheduling,” this approach divides the school day into longer class periods, sending students to fewer classes each day.The paper first defines block scheduling, then goes on to delineate its underlying philosophy. Following this, the paper then presents an examination of research the effectiveness of block scheduling at the elementary school level. An emphasis is placed on review of block scheduling from the perspective of administrative concerns.
The block scheduling program had been in effect for four years allowing analyses of current middle and high school students who had experienced a minimum of one and one-half years of block scheduling while in middle school. The primary research design was a post-test only, matched pairs design.
