Action Research on Block Scheduling

Review by: Ben Blubaugh, Principal & Aimee Young, Teacher Loudonville High School Loudonville, Ohio Acting as a catalyst for school change itself, Action Research On Block Scheduling, by David Marshak, is a book to add to your school's shelf even if "the block" is not in your near future. The book offers seven case studies from the state of Washington involving high schools who have implemented the block schedule and used collaborative action research to focus upon specific aspects of student learning and analyze changes brought about by the incorporation of block scheduling to their respective schools. After giving background on the conventional time structure of American high schools, Marshak explains the movement of and reasoning behind the block schedule. Next, collaborative action research is highlighted: It is defined and explained as a data gathering tool for any type of research question-not just ones about "the block". Finally, examples of the action research studies in block scheduling schools are offered, complete with critical comments about those studies by other educators and Marshak. By far, the most interesting parts of the book are those chapters in which schools describe their rationale and methods for researching staff-identified areas of the educational process impacted by the new structure and what adjustments, if any, are suggested by the information collected from the study. The research given is mostly opinion and perception with not much actual scientific validity, but the bottom line is that all seven schools were willing to take that second step (the first being change): attempting to correct those types of problems that others assume will fix themselves. The action research topics studied included teaching strategies, effective learning activities, connected learning, cooperative learning, technology, and improvement of student learning in the block system of education. Unclear definitions of terms in the research questions caused problems for the teams during their data collection processes, e.g., students surveyed interpreted terms differently than teachers surveyed. A few of the schools-Shorewood High School, Tahoma High School and Decatur High School-provided better research than the other four. Unfortunately, only one school found it necessary to directly observe the classroom as an evaluation tool for research. What is a better place to get information about the effects of student learning and activities in the block schedule? Included within each chapter of school case studies are critical comments about the process used during the action research projects. Those comments are structured so that gaps can be seen in the research, yet positive feedback is also given (as a last note generally). The critiques pointed to already noticeable problems. However, ways to correct the inconsistencies were always offered-valuable information for those considering the problem-solving collaborative research. The book itself is easy to read and fairly interesting, as well. Technical language is at a minimum, and ideas about alternate scheduling plans and their problems are of great concern in the current American educational system. The book is a very practical guide for setting up a system to critique, question and explore what's going on in the classrooms of your own school, even if it will not involve the block schedule. …