Block scheduling is an alternative to traditional class scheduling that many schools in the country now use. Instead of requiring that students attend eight or more classes every day, students take two to four classes each day and spend more time focusing on each class. The schedule then rotates to ensure that students spend the same amount of time in all their classes every week. As a parent or teacher, you may want to find out more about the benefits of this type of scheduling.
Allows for More Projects
One benefit associated with block classes is that it allows for more projects. Many students learn more effectively through hands on and interactive project than they do from simply reading a book and taking a test. As schools with block schedules allow students to take fewer classes each quarter or semester, students have more time to focus on those individual classes and do more interactive projects in each one.
Lower Ratio of Students to Teachers
In a traditional school semester, the school must have enough teachers to teach each subject, but those schools may have up to 30, 35 or even more students in each classroom because the school has less money in its operating budget. When you switch to a block schedule, each teacher can focus on just one subject area. While the school may need fewer teachers, it will still see a reduction in the number of students per teacher. With a lower ratio, teachers can spend more time focusing on individual students and their specific needs.
Increases Prep Time
If you put yourself in the shoes of a student in a traditional school setting, it’s easy to see why so many students feel overwhelmed. They take so many classes that they only spend an hour or less in each one every day. Those teachers will each hand out assignments and give homework, which can leave kids working for hours at home after the school day ends. This also reduces the amount of time that students have to focus on each subject. With a block schedule, those kids take fewer classes and have more time to devote to each subject.
Improves Individual Performance
A common reason why schools switch to block schedules is because this type of schedule can actually improve the individual performance of each student. Instead of feeling pulled in a number of different directions, they can focus on just one class at a time. This type of schedule increases the amount of time that students spend in each class too, which lets them ask questions that they have and get personalized instruction from their teachers that can lead to improvements in grades.
Benefits for Teachers
While block scheduling has a number of benefits for students, it also has some benefits for the teachers working in those schools. One benefit is that it gives teachers more time to prep and plan for their classes. They typically teach three classes in the morning, have a long break and then teach a few more classes. That break provides them with downtime that they can use to rest and get ready for the later classes. Teachers can also get a break when it comes to daily duties like grading work, reading over papers and meeting with students.
Block schedules offer a number of benefits for both teachers and their students. These schedules let students spend more time taking fewer classes and cut back on the amount of prep time that teachers have. Many school districts introduced block scheduling as a way to make the lives of their educators and students a little easier.
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