| The block schedule has been recognized as one example of restructuring in American high schools. Among its advantages is the opportunity for teachers to employ a variety of instructional strategies that result in active student learning. This study, conducted in cooperation with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, sought information on teaching strategies from teachers in block scheduled schools, which have operated on a block schedule for at least four years, and teachers from traditionally scheduled high schools. Teachers were asked to respond to three areas related to eleven instructional strategies: level of use, appropriateness of the selected strategies for their classrooms, and level of training. Opinions were compared for cooperative learning, small groups/structured pairs, discovery learning, direct instruction/lecture, simulation/games/role-playing, peer coaching/peer tutoring, audiovisual experiences, technology, projects, Socratic seminars, and integrated/thematic teaching. Descriptive statistics and t-tests illustrated few differences between responses of teachers currently teaching under the two scheduling patterns. Teachers from block schedules reported using peer coaching/peer tutoring more than traditional teachers, but traditional teachers reported projects and Socratic seminars were more appropriate for their classrooms than did block teachers. Traditional teachers also reported more training in Socratic Seminars than did block teachers. |
