ABSTRACT
Until 1989, most public secondary schools in America operated using schedules that divided the day into six to eight periods with each period lasting 40 to 55 minutes. However, today more than 50 percent of American high schools “are either using or considering some form of block scheduling” (Canady & Rettig, 1995). The most common types of blocks consist of 90- to 100-minute classes that meet either every other day for the entire year, called the A/B schedule, or every day for one semester, the 4/4 schedule. In both the A/B and 4/4 schedules, students typically take three or four classes a day, and teachers generally teach three classes a day. Additionally, Canady and Rettig have found many advantages to the block schedule. A list of the trends that have the greatest impact for English teachers includes:
Fewer discipline referrals;
Fewer reports of student and/or teacher stress;
Increased active learning and less teacher lecture time when teachers are properly trained in effective block instruction;
Over 70 percent support from parents in schools where either the 4/4 or A/B block has been in place for over two years;
Increased library and multimedia use.
