About Five Periods…

Last year, in an attempt to reduce COVID interactions, class periods were lengthened and we were divided into "cohorts". Those lengthened class periods sometimes felt like a drag, especially the two-and-a-half hour long block, but what if we thought about that again. We no longer have a need for a lunch that has been made around half an hour longer because of disinfection, so what if we went back to five periods? In my calculation, we would increase classes from six 52 minute classes to five ~69 minute classes, assuming that Long Block stays the same length. This change would allow students to better engage in a topic. From my experience last year, teachers would sometimes struggle to fill the time in Long Block, so keeping it at a reasonable length would allow normal lesson plans to fit within the time, and give a bit more of a relaxing feel to the period at midday. The extra time in other periods would also allow more opportunity for students to engage, or for teachers to move off-course for a minute to explain a topic in a more in-depth manner that may normally just be left at a surface level explanation. Giving teachers more time to explain the logistics of something or help students, or even just give them time to begin homework or independent practice would allow teachers to have a more free-flowing classroom. Students typically benefit from being given time to collaborate with others, especially when, if something is confusing, they have easy access to the teacher, instead of relying on the Internet, or simply moving on without comprehension. If students were able to have a more open classroom environment, which could be granted by extended periods, I believe engagement and understanding would soar. Students, including myself, typically find themselves tuning out as the end of class approaches, so replacing the end-of-class slog with an engaging independent work period could benefit students greatly. This is dependent, of course, on how a teacher opts to spend the time. Some may prefer to ignore this lengthened period and instead use it to cram in a bit more information, but this risks students missing out on crucial info, thus encouraging teachers to take advantage. Downsides do, of course, exist, but to me, the benefits far outweigh negatives, so… Why not try five periods again?

*Technically, this schedule should come out to 2:37 as well, although the chart does not account for everything we have in our schedule, just a general idea of what it could be like