<p>Having just been at Colorado College for their Fall Open House, this is what they say. Note that DH was bugged by the fact that they have no data on any of this it is all anecdotal. They say that the students seem to retain better on the block system. For example, a student when chem in block 1 actually seems to remember more from that if they next take chem a few blocks or even a year after rather than in block 2. The idea then is that the intense learning with time to settle actually is better than learning spread out over a year. The students we met didn’t seem to think that they were working harder than students in an equivalent college on the semester system because they only have one class. They know what is expected and there’s no time for procrastination so they just get the work done. We didn’t meet any science majors but the humanities majors all said the workload is high but tolerable and all the students seem to have plenty of time for other activities. I can see how doing a lab science would be tough and as I said we didn’t meet any science majors since DS is more social sci/humanities. </p>
<p>The way they have continuity is with adjunct classes. Say a kid is in drawing in one block and may not get back to art until a few blocks down the road. They can take art as an adjunct class, which meets for an hour maybe every day or maybe a couple of days a week, for a quarter credit. They aren’t expected to learn more in an adjunct class but they can continue a project or maintain skills. They also have adjunct classes for quantitative classes and languages so you don’t learn new things in Spanish but you practice what you do know so you’re ready for the next time you take Spanish (or math). </p>
<p>The real value I see in the block schedule is the ability to travel or do field work. Say you were taking Italian Renaissance Art. How nice it would be to go to Italy to study! Maybe you don’t learn all the detail you would in a semester long class in a classroom but you’d probably learn what you did learn more deeply and you’d be more likely to retain that passion throughout your life. Since most people aren’t going to remember the detail and can look it up if they need it that seems like a plus to me. The costs of these trips are often little more than the normal costs to attend CC. For example, they have a 2 block language requirement. There’s no way to meet it except with their classes. But you can test into a higher level and as far as I can tell one way to meet the requirement is with a 2 block trip to Peru or to Chile, each block a different class including the 2nd block in Chile being the politics of Chile. What a great topic and place! Classes also do things that are not so grand. A botany class could drive up from Colorado Springs to the top of Pikes Peak and see the change of biomes. A geology class could learn about the Rockies. An art student could really work on an art project and not have to leave to go to a different class after an hour. </p>
<p>As for sickness, it’s possible to change a grade to pass/fail. It’s also possible to make up credits by taking a summer block (1 is free for students) or a free winter break half block or quarter credit adjunct blocks so dropping one block is not a problem. Of course a longer term absence would be a problem anywhere but maybe less so on the block system where you could miss a block or two and not be in as bad shape as missing a semester.</p>
<p>I really loved CC and I think it’s a fabulous place for the right student. I’d pack my backs and go if I were looking at colleges! The best and most impactful academic experiences I ever had were in classes when I was able to go into the field to learn. The CC staff seem to think that the students who apply to the college are pretty self selecting and kids don’t come there who aren’t really interested in working on the block schedule. Freshmen spend their first two blocks in a writing intensive First Year Experience course of their choosing to get them used to the block schedule. Two more senior students we met said that was the hardest block they took. (Believe it or not, I have no connection to CC and am not being paid for this!)</p>