Comments on Free up time by freeing up the timetableOne of the schools we're working with has redesigned its timetables from scratch, based on the energy of the students, and negotiates most of each day with every student at the beginning and middle of the day.TypePad2012-01-02T08:27:14ZEwan McIntoshhttps://edu.blogs.com/edublogs/tag:typepad.com,2003:https://edu.blogs.com/edublogs/2012/01/free-up-time-by-freeing-up-the-timetable/comments/atom.xml/Janey B. Smith commented on 'Free up time by freeing up the timetable'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d83451f00f69e20168e57daec4970c2012-01-14T00:55:57Z2012-01-14T00:55:57ZJaney B. Smithhttp://www.acclaimedmovers.comThanks for the info, I've been interested in this for quite some time, and it's great I found your blog<p>Thanks for the info, I've been interested in this for quite some time, and it's great I found your blog</p>Devin Schoening commented on 'Free up time by freeing up the timetable'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d83451f00f69e20167603dc18a970b2012-01-09T15:22:06Z2012-01-09T15:22:06ZDevin Schoeninghttp://Schoeningseesit.blogspot.comI often read posts from people that I respect and think about how I can implement some of the ideas...<p>I often read posts from people that I respect and think about how I can implement some of the ideas in schools and classrooms within my district. The contrast is so stark though, that it seems implausible to make this change.</p>
<p>I am working with a great group of teachers that have been given some leeway to try some new things and to be inventive, but there is such control held over the buildings that it gets tough. The idea of flexible/dynamic scheduling is great, but our leadership actually expects classrooms to be in pretty much the same place at the same time. That's a little bit scary to me.</p>
<p>What are your thoughts on attacking this in a district?</p>Ewan McIntosh commented on 'Free up time by freeing up the timetable'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d83451f00f69e20168e4dd1ad9970c2012-01-02T18:47:48Z2012-01-02T18:47:48ZEwan McIntoshhttp://edu.blogs.comI'll be seeing you there, Brad. I think the challenge of offering enough structure is the exact same as in...<p>I'll be seeing you there, Brad. I think the challenge of offering enough structure is the exact same as in our professional lives, that is, when one is not employed by a school or traditional industry. In the creative industries people accept that their personal and professional life timetables are mixed, and find mechanisms to deal with it. And that takes a lot longer than two years to work out. Education needs to give more, more of a try.</p>Brad Ovenell-Carter commented on 'Free up time by freeing up the timetable'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d83451f00f69e20168e4dd1686970c2012-01-02T18:43:46Z2012-01-02T18:43:46ZBrad Ovenell-Carterhttp://www.ovenell-cart.comHi Ewan, We played around with this a lot when I was head of THINK Global School. We didn't even...<p>Hi Ewan,</p>
<p>We played around with this a lot when I was head of THINK Global School. We didn't even bother with days of the week; that is, Satruday or Sunday was to us as good a day as any for having a math or literature class. It mostly worked, but we had to be very careful to ensure we had enough structure to make people feel comfortable and enough downtime to keep people refreshed. </p>
<p>To do this we were working on weekly school meetings on Sunday evenings. Students and staff came together to review the week ahead and make adjustments as we felt the group needed them. Call it hybrid fixed/dynamic scheduling.</p>
<p>I don't think the school is continuing with this. Such a schedule isn't compatible with IB and TGS has designs on offering the Diploma Program.</p>
<p>Look forward to meeting again sometime. Will you be in Bost for BLC 12?</p>