ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, December 27, 1995 TAG: 9512270075
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER
9:25 a.m.: Carl Pauli's second period biology class begins as 21 sophomores settle into their seats. For the next 90 minutes, the students will learn about the discovery and makeup of DNA - from both a lecture and their own hands-on work.
Welcome to block scheduling, a change in class time that many say is for the better.
"I would never go back," said Shawsville math teacher Dee Davidson. "There's just so much more I can do ... so much more discovery."
This fall, Christiansburg and Shawsville high schools were working out the glitches of the system. Block scheduling replaced seven 45-minute classes that lasted all year. Now, there are four classes that run 90 minutes and last one semester. (The second semester, students take four more 90-minute classes.)
The other two high schools in Montgomery County - Auburn and Blacksburg - are watching closely to see whether the new schedule is a success. If so, they may follow suit next year.
Principals say test scores are strong and behavior is improved because of the new system.
Students say it's the teachers who make or break a class.
Teachers say making those classes interesting has been quite a challenge - but one that's worth it.
No coasting|
"OK, let's check the answer and see how much you remember from yesterday," Pauli said, referring to the seven multiple choice questions he passed out as students walked into class.
Words like mitochondria and ribosomes roll easily off his students' tongues.
Pauli starts to lecture about the history behind the discovery of DNA, pointing to a time line on the board. He talks in a conversational way, asking questions like "What does that tell you?"
One lanky boy in a baseball cap taps a pencil on his knee, but otherwise, the students listen attentively.
9:35: The first student begins to draw in his notebook.
Pauli said he doesn't like to lecture very often, but sometimes it's the only way to present the material.
In training courses this summer and planning discussions throughout the semester, teachers were encouraged to get creative with the course content as often as possible.
"We told them, 'Make sure you don't go 90 minutes and [students] are sitting there the whole time,'" said Shawsville Principal Nelson Simpkins. "Plan to get students involved because when you become involved, time flies."
Teachers at both high schools spent two days this summer learning how to pace their blocks, how to initiate student-led activities, even how to handle special education needs.
Shawsville English Department head Marcia Murphy, now an avid praiser of block scheduling, said there was plenty of training.
"We grumbled at first and wondered why, but now we see. The key is that we're prepared."
Pauli and other teachers say this semester has been like going back to the first year of teaching, with hours of late-night planning and little time for a social life.
Teachers value every moment of their planning period during school. Besides altering their curriculum for a 90-minute format, there's the paper work.
For now, teachers must turn in detailed lesson plans. Plus, along with the usual six-week report cards, parents are receiving updates that teachers must send out every three weeks.
With all that training, says sophomore Marlana Zimmerman, some teachers still don't get it.
"If you don't have a fun teacher, you won't have fun," she said.
Some teachers lecture during the entire class or are continually assigning busy work, she said. Other teachers overplan, and try to teach too much in one class.
The switch can be difficult for some teachers.
"There's no coasting in block scheduling," Pauli said. "You've got to be Mr. or Ms. Peppy all day long."
Learning more|
9:50 a.m.: Students moan a sigh of relief as Pauli tells the class to get up and move into groups of four. The students cut out different nucleotides to form a DNA ladder from colored construction paper.
The time, say Jeremy Goetzke and Emilie Barger, doesn't bother them in this class.
Pauli "knows how to make the time not seem so long," Barger says as she cuts yellow construction paper into puzzle pieces.
"As long as you enjoy the class, 90 minutes isn't that bad," Goetzke said. "Besides, after this class, the day's half over. Just lunch, then English, then I sleep through algebra, then I'm done."
This is his second time taking algebra, and Goetzke grudgingly admits he's learning more this go round. Because block scheduling provides eight classes per year instead of the normal seven, students have an extra class. That can help them make up a failed subject, or in Barger's case, move ahead.
"I won't have to take the last semester my senior year because of block scheduling," she said.
Probably the most important benefit seen by teachers and principals has been the increased learning.
Pauli opened his classroom door and pointed to the long list of names on the first six weeks honor roll; it's a lot longer than last year's list, he said.
Christiansburg Principal George Porterfield said 100 more students made the honor roll this year than last year. Simpkins said Shawsville's numbers have remained steady.
Both principals say student and teacher attendance is up. The number of behavior problems has dropped.
"That was the thing I was looking forward to most - is the atmosphere changes," said Shawsville English teacher Misty Lester. "The kids aren't as wild because they're not jumping back and forth from class to class."
That applies to special needs children as well, said Elizabeth Kennedy, Shawsville's special education consultant.
Kennedy said aides only have to move physically disabled students four times, rather than seven, which reduces distractions. With only four classes per semester, children with learning disabilities focus better, she said.
While there are fewer subjects to focus on, though, some students say the pace is too fast and doesn't allow for enough review.
"I don't get to do my work at my own pace because you have to follow with the class," Zimmerman said.
But Shawsville social studies Department Chair Marvin Ballard said he has extra time to work with individual students because he is dealing with fewer children throughout the day.
Hour for hour, Pauli said, he has the same amount of time to teach as last year. But now he can avoid what he calls "squirt teaching."
"Last year, I'd have to go two steps forward, then one step back. Now, I still do the one step back for review, but I can go three or four steps forward in a class."
The DNA lesson, for example, would have taken about five days to complete. Now, he says, they'll be done and ready to move on in two.
Ballard admits he had a difficult time switching from the more controlled method of lecturing to more student-oriented projects. Often, he'll team up a group that includes a "star" student and another not so academically strong.
"It's an act of faith to step back and allow students to learn in teams and work with each other," he said.
Still questions...|
It's been an act of faith for parents as well, said Connie Lowe, president of Christiansburg PTSA. She said the group had reservations when it supported the change, and some of those issues haven't been addressed yet.
Lowe acknowledged that because Christiansburg and Shawsville are test sites for the county, kinks will take time to work out. But the schools haven't done a good job keeping parents informed, she said.
"Just tell us what's going on and let us look at it and understand it so we can support the school system," she said.
Lowe said she would like to see a syllabus - similar to what's passed out at the start of college courses - that could keep parents informed about when units are being covered.
Some parents, she said, are worried the end of this semester will be crammed with information not covered earlier, or that students who have been sick will miss too much information.
Some questions, she said, will only be answered in time.
One such question is whether students are mature enough to learn for 90-minute stretches.
She also wants to know if students are sacrificing fine arts electives to take advanced placement courses that may be offered only one semester out of the year.
Porterfield said his hope for block scheduling was "to have less kids failing and more feeling better about themselves academically."
That, say most people involved with schools, will be up to the educators.
At 11:55, as the sophomores rush out of class with their colorful nucleotides in hand, Pauli admits that in block scheduling, "everything is magnified.
"The kids who were bored before will be really bored now. Poor teachers in the old system are really struggling with their classes."
LENGTH: Long : 170 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Alan Kim. 1. In Carl Pauli's biology class,by CNBChristiansburg High School 10th-graders (from left) Yvonne Vasquez,
Danah Taylor and Marlana Zimmerman cut out paper sections that will
be used to make a model of the DNA molecule. The girls said that
they don'[t care too much for the longer class period, but they do
like the semester system. color. 2. Christiansburg High School
biology teacher Carl Pauli lectures a class on the DNA molecule.