From: Chemnerd2@aol.com
Date: Sun Sep 12 1999 - 09:42:50 PDT
From: Chemnerd2@aol.com Message-ID: <aa35cad2.250d320a@aol.com> Date: Sun, 12 Sep 1999 12:42:50 EDT Subject: my 2 cents on block
I've been at 3 schools at which we had block or modified block scheduling.
The 4 x 4 block:
Pros: More teacher prep time; I liked that. Fewer students each semester -
good.
Cons: More students in one year - the school districts are getting their
money's worth! (I used to have 5 classes of 30 students each year; now I
have 6 classes of 30)
Instead of prepping for a 55 minute class period you must plan for more
Less instructional time per class (180x55 = 9900 minutes; 90x90 = 8100
minutes; how will you make up the 1800 minutes, or 33 class periods, or 6
weeks you'll be missing? Did anyone care about the math?? Yes, there are
fewer start-ups and shut-downs, so I'll give you a week back. Now you just
have to teach your material with 5 fewer weeks. Good luck!)
Less retention on a year-to-year basis
Less retention (depending on course) for standardized exams (students
claim "I haven't had math since last semester; how are we supposed to
remember in March?")
OK - so AB schedule? Advantage for teacher prep just went out the
window; now you've got more students than in a normal school year (more
contacts, more report cards)
The biggest (by far) negative about the block schedule is in the
psychology that it gives you "more" time to cover material. Teachers tend to
TAKE the extra lab time. I've already illustrated total class time lost; you
cannot afford to take more class time on labs than you already take!
Feel free to email me with your questions. chemnerd2@aol.com
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