The Enhancement of Student Learning through the Implementation of a Four-Day Block Scheduling.

This paper describes how Central Missouri State University converted to block scheduling to provide higher quality field experiences for education majors. The university changed its 50-minute Monday/Wednesday/Friday classes to 75-minute Monday/Friday and Tuesday/Thursday classes, with Wednesdays off for field experiences. This paper explains the process of developing the new schedule, which involved: informal discussion within the department; preliminary discussion with the dean, provost, and other deans; department approval; securing the support of academic departments; schedule building with individual departments; and advising and enrolling students. The transition to the 4-day schedule was very smooth. Advantages included having an easier time getting students into the field on Wednesdays and providing supervising faculty with a day for field visits. Disadvantages included lack of participation by the secondary program. Students and faculty have reacted favorably to the new schedule. Though extensive planning and good communication were necessary to ensure successful implementation, the resulting advantages were worth the effort. (SM)