Academies & Institutes

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Traditional Block Scheduling

Presenter: Dr. J. Allen Queen

Workshop Time: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm each day
Registration time: 8:30 am
Registration fee: One-day institute $175, $150 for Texas ASCD members
Two-day academy $349, $299 for Texas ASCD members

Contact this office to schedule a session with Dr. Queen in your area.

Summary: Block Scheduling has been used in the United States for almost 20 years. Within that time period, many have expanded the planned block into three phases where students get content through usually one or two methods and then move to the second phase to work in groups testing out hypotheses, completing tasks or conducting inquiry activities. Once the groups, teams or pairs get back into the whole class for the third phase of the lesson, they share their findings, results or models, etc. with the class. Again, this was the intentions for going to the block models. Students are more involved in the learning process and that has been a great step forward. There is some variability in the time structure in each stage on a daily basis, but this is the traditional 90 minute class designs in the 4x4 and A/B designs.

Traditional Instructional System

30 / 30 / 30 Minutes Class Structure

First 30 Minutes
- Detailed Review
- Instructional Objective
- Teacher Input (Lecture / Demonstration / Discussion)
Second 30 Minutes
- Student Small Groups
- Investigate, Discover, or Complete Tasks
- Students Practice or Experiment
Last 30 Minutes
- Usually Return to Large Group
- Debriefing with Students and Teacher
- Teacher Closure of the Lesson
- Student Assessment

Dr. J Allen Queen serves as a major consultant in block scheduling to school systems throughout the United States. He has been a classroom teacher, principal, curriculum specialist and college administrator. He has made hundreds of presentations to a wide variety of educational groups on the topics of block scheduling, school discipline and effective time management for instruction.

As an expert in the area of block scheduling, editors from textbook companies and national journals continue to recommend Dr. Queen's work to schools throughout the United States. He has assisted school boards and school systems from South Carolina to California. In 1990, he began his work by designing and conducting some of the first, original in-service for educators in school systems moving from a traditional academic year of six-period, fifty-five minute class schedules to a four-period, ninety-minute schedule. Since that time, he has worked with numerous schools collecting data, training teachers and evaluating the effectiveness of block scheduling. Additionally, he has presented his findings at national education conferences and has authored books and professional journal articles on block scheduling.

Dr. Queen believes that block scheduling provides students with a unique educational opportunity and educators with a truly relevant framework to begin the reconceptualization of curriculum and instruction. Educators will discover that block scheduling may be used as a catalyst for change as it is more than just an administrative tool; instead, it can become the basis of a belief system design to deal with numerous problems. Block scheduling provides real possibilities for positive and meaningful change.

Who Should Attend: Curriculum directors, administrators and principals.