Unlike the current system where students take up to five courses simultaneously, a block plan allows students to finish courses consecutively by focusing on one at a time.
Originally adopted in North America by Colorado College, the system has been positively welcomed by students. Disappointingly though, Colorado College is one of only a few post-secondary institutions to follow the block plan. In fact, the only Canadian one to have adopted it wholeheartedly is Quest University, a private, secular liberal arts and science university in Squamish. Given the difficulties of transitioning online, other universities are now seeking to adopt the block plan as well.
Under a block plan, students take just one course at a time, typically for three or four weeks before moving on to the next. For those few weeks, classes meet Monday to Friday and spend up to three hours a day exploring the material. Following the completion of each course, students usually get a break of four days before starting the next one. For full-time students, that would mean taking eight blocks per annum, and thus four blocks per semester.
With the current system, however, a full-time student switches between a minimum of three courses a week. Not only does this reduce engagement in each subject, but it also leaves little time to reflect and recharge. For instance, a student could attend maths in the morning, history in the evening, and on the next day, a different subject altogether. Worst of all, given the readings, assignments, and exams each class requires, it is not unusual to feel overwhelmed by work. For a part-time student taking one course, their classes would be spread throughout an entire semester under the current system, but the block plan would allow them to finish that same course in under a month.
For those who have children, go to work, or enjoy outdoor activities, the block plan makes life much simpler and more efficient. As Colorado College describes it: “The singular academic focus of the Block Plan allows you to create flexibility in your schedule, pursuing your own course of study as well as traditional ones, leaving ample time each day for your passions outside of class.” Considering how classes typically meet every morning, students have all afternoon and evening to attend to their other responsibilities — not to mention weekends.
Not only is the block plan useful for students, but it also makes teaching much easier, providing instructors with many of the same privileges students would enjoy. Instructors usually juggle multiple classes as well, but teaching one course at a time makes it easier to build close relationships with students and explore the subject with enthusiasm. There is also more room to employ additional methods of teaching through field trips, lab work, or group assignments given that every student in the block has the same schedule. For those who teach at both the secondary and post-secondary level, there is also much less marking to do, since they deal with fewer students at a time.
It is understandably difficult for universities to transition to a block plan after being suited to the traditional system. However, once it is in place, there should be little difficulty scheduling courses, utilising classrooms, and distributing students.
What I find most appealing about the block plan is its ability to create an active learning environment. Because degrees are a prerequisite for most jobs, there is a tendency amongst university-goers to perceive them as means to earn money, and not ends in themselves. With a block plan, however, students are more likely to enjoy the education process thanks to the focused immersion, allowing them to concentrate on succeeding one course at a time. They are also able to create an interactive classroom by connecting with their peers closely and dissecting the material together.
Therefore, the block plan is a preferable alternative that is able to fix many of the issues the current system has struggled to accommodate. Not only does it work well for in-person classes, but it also makes online learning much less tiresome. There is no need for students to prepare for four midterms all at once or worry about not having a social life. Ultimately, it is necessary that we employ new methods of learning if they appear to be better suited to fulfilling the purpose of education.
