As block scheduling becomes more widespread, educators are seeking evidence to evaluate its effectiveness. The Lewisburg Area Middle School in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, has successfully implemented a block schedule that has resulted in improved academic performance by students. The positive effect may come from administrative support, teacher empowerment, and community agreement.
The teaching staff at Lewisburg Area Middle School is organized in grade-level instructional teams. The teams are allocated a block of time for academic instruction to use as they deem appropriate, and they have the flexibility to operate under a multitude of schedule designs. In the 1994–95 school year, the 7th grade team experimented with an alternating-day block schedule for an interdisciplinary unit in English and social studies. In one day, students had three academic classes instead of six. Classes met every other day in 82-minute periods instead of every day for 40 minutes. The classes also rotated to meet at different times every other day.
The teachers were positively impressed with the longer class periods and the alternating-day feature, and they asked to use the schedule again for the 1995–96 school year. The principal, the teachers, and the guidance counselors met to discuss the schedule's advantages and disadvantages and agreed to use it. At the school year's end, the 7th grade teachers reported several benefits of the alternating-day block structure and decided once again to use it for the next school year, although the 6th grade and 8th grade teachers continued to operate under a traditional schedule with single, daily periods of 42 minutes for each subject.
During summer 1996, the district decided that the 7th and 8th grades would share foreign language teachers. The traditional schedule of the 8th grade and the alternating-day schedule of the 7th grade made scheduling difficult. After meeting several times during that summer to study their options, the 8th grade teachers realized that by converting to the block schedule, they could more effectively schedule foreign language instruction. After a great deal of discussion with, and support from, the administration and the guidance staff, the 8th grade team decided to implement an alternating-day block schedule for the following academic subjects: English, math, science, social studies, reading, and foreign language.
Achievement Gains
The results of the new schedule format have been very positive. A comparison study, which I conducted as part of my graduate studies at the Pennsylvania State University under the supervision of Kyle Peck, measured the effects of the new schedule on student performance. The graduating middle school class of 1996 received the majority of its academic instruction by way of a traditional schedule in which the six core academic classes met for 40 minutes a day for 180 school days. The graduating middle school class of 1997 obtained nearly all of its core academic instruction in extended blocks of 82 minutes every other day for 90 school days.
Positive trends developed for the students in the alternating-day block schedule by the end of the second year. An analysis of covariance that adjusted for academic ability, as shown in figure 1 [figure currently unavailable], shows that the means of all the 8th grade final course averages and grade point averages, and the means of four of the six achievement tests, favored the alternating-day block schedule.
Explaining the Gains
Perhaps the positive results were due to the Hawthorne effect of the teachers who were excited about the schedule change and put forth a renewed effort in the design and implementation of their lessons. Or maybe the results could be associated with the Pygmalion effect of the teachers, who perhaps expected better achievement gains from their students and translated these higher expectations into reality. Maybe other factors, such as parental care and home influences, socioeconomic status, student collaboration outside the classroom, or time spent on homework, were responsible. None of these factors can be ruled out. Yet, after controlling for teacher effect, gender, and academic ability, we feel justified in concluding that the alternating-day block schedule had a positive effect on student academic performance in the second year.
The majority of studies conducted on alternative schedules have focused on semester and trimester schedules in high school settings. In his review of results from seven schools using some form of block scheduling, Carroll (1994) suggests that the more concentrated the schedule is (longer periods over fewer calendar days), the more positive the results will be on student academic performance, attendance, discipline, dropout rates, and standardized test scores. He found that the one school in his study using an alternating-day block schedule had the least favorable results in comparison with the schools using more intensive (semester and trimester) formats. However, Kramer (1996) has found both positive and negative results in student mathematics performance in the semester-, trimester-, and quarter-plan schedules.
Intensive schedules can be a power-ful catalyst for change and for improved instruction in our secondary schools when implemented properly. Although alternating-day block scheduling is often considered to have fewer advantages than semester and trimester designs (Canaday & Rettig, 1995), it should not be overlooked as a legitimate tool for significant restructuring. Alternating-day block scheduling may prove to be very successful in the long run because of its low political risk, limited disruption to the school culture, and potential for improved academic performance by the students.
The Importance of Consensus
The decisions to move to block scheduling were made by teams of teachers, not by administrators, school board members, or committees. The purpose for moving to the new scheduling format was to improve instructional opportunities for students. The 7th grade team chose the block schedule to facilitate interdisciplinary instruction and to provide extended time for writing and for group projects. The 8th grade team changed the schedule to ensure that all students would be afforded equitable and quality foreign language instruction. The key is that the teachers made these decisions on the basis of appropriate instructional design and the best interests of their students.
Professional educators with direct control and responsibility for managing their instructional time with students brought about these positive changes through teaming. Merenbloom (1996) states that teaming offers a process in which teachers work closely together to form a family-like atmosphere for their students. Through constant communication and assessment, teachers meet the individual needs of students. Merenbloom adds that the team should have direct control over the daily schedule to create the best environment for the intended instruction and to increase the opportunities for integrated instruction and varied teaching strategies.
One example of integrated instruction was the long-term thematic unit titled "Careers" that the 8th grade team initiated during its first year of block scheduling. All six core academic teachers used this theme for three weeks. The unit culminated with two days of job shadowing by the students and a career fair at the middle school. The students actually organized the entire event and wrote to invite the 80 business and industry representatives who attended the career fair. This type of curriculum integration and real-world experience applies meaning to learning and increases long-term memory (Caine & Caine, 1991). The activity was easy to conduct with the longer periods of the block schedule.
The teachers were able to implement an alternating-day block schedule through a team consensus process. Because the decision to change to a block schedule was not schoolwide, it affected only the teachers who wanted to work within the longer instructional periods. Because the change created no winners or losers on the faculty, the school did not experience the division and poor morale that can develop during the change process.
Community Support
No opposition arose from parents, school board members, or community members when the change was made. The alternating-day schedule is not a radical departure from the traditional schedule because classes still run for an entire school year. The culture of the traditional schedule and school year remains substantially intact, although the classroom culture can change dramatically. This may be comforting to school board members, parents, and students, especially in more conservative communities. The schedule has allowed teachers to experiment with longer blocks of time without having to worry about political issues or consequences of school reform efforts in other areas.
Perhaps the most important factor for successful change in schools is the perception for the people who must live with the change and work within the new structure. The teaching teams at our school design the schedule they use to impart instruction. They have direct control over the schedule and the ability to alter it as necessary. This process places the authority over and the responsibility for instructional time exactly where they belong—in the hands of the professionals who use it. Empowering teachers in this way may accelerate the restructuring process needed in our schools and lead to positive and lasting changes in the classroom.
