Long Classes A Breeze For Teachers, A Drag For Kids Survey On CV Pilot Project Finds Difference Of Opinion

A survey after Central Valley’s four-period day pilot project shows that most teachers found their day moved faster.

Most students, on the other hand, had trouble staying interested during the longer classes.

More than 60 percent of students at Central Valley and University high schools said they found it harder to stay interested during the 80-minute classes than during the regular 55-minute classes.

In several cases, teacher and student responses show different perceptions.

More than 70 percent of teachers said time went faster during November’s six-day pilot.

Responses to several questions on the survey show students found that much stayed the same during the pilot. For instance, nearly 60 percent of students found they spent the same amount of time thinking hard. More than 50 percent said they spent the same amount of time exploring concepts. More than 70 percent said they received the same amount of individual help.

Nearly 50 percent found more variety in teaching methods. Nearly 40 percent found no change in the variety in teaching methods.

As the district moves toward clearing the plan for use next year, school officials refuse to interpret the student responses as any cause for alarm.

They point out that the pilot was conducted under difficult conditions, delayed by the ice storm and interrupted by a three-day weekend. They point out, also, that the pilot was designed to give teachers a chance to try new strategies. It was not designed specifically for students.

“If we go back and look at the pilot, it was for teachers to try new things,” said Mike Pearson, director of secondary education.

The confusing schedule for the pilot, imposing six classes onto a four-period schedule, created its own difficulties for students, said Central Valley Principal Paul Sturm.

“One of my things is, if the students are saying they weren’t interested (during the longer classes), how interested are they to begin with?” said Geoff Praeger, assessment coordinator for the district. “It’s important to look back at the purpose of this survey. This was not meant to be a referendum on the four-period day.”

Committees of staff and parents will make their final recommendations on the four-period day next week. The high school teachers will hear those recommendations on Tuesday. Board members will receive copies of the recommendations by the end of next week. The board is expected to make a final judgment on adoption of the program for next year by the end of January.

“The teacher response to me meant a lot,” said Jon Allen, a University teacher who has worked on the plan.

“It was nice to see that the 80 minutes went really quick for them. Most of the teachers I talked to in the building, they loved the 80-minute period.”

The committee that evaluated the survey results also arrived at these conclusions:

Many students liked getting fuller explanations of concepts; thought teachers lectured too much; felt the longer period created “information overload”; thought teachers didn’t use time effectively; felt they got a better understanding of the subject matter/had more time to ask questions; liked having four subjects a day rather than six.

Teachers found that it was sometimes difficult to make transitions between activities; they were able to teach more in-depth and check for understanding; that students lost interest toward the end of the period; teachers were able to spend more time with individual students; they had more time for assessment; they would like more training in teaching strategies and technology.

, DataTimes