The bell schedule at Rancho Buena Vista is very complicated with a combination of both traditional and block days. Mondays are late start with teacher inservice. This is very beneficial for planning and collaboration with fellow teachers in the subject.
Tuesdays are block even periods (2,4 6) and Wednesdays are odd blocks (1, 3, 5). These block days are in the middle of the week which makes it a good time to conduct lab experiments and in depth discussions on the material. The block days are roughly 120 minutes (2 hours) and one can introduce a great deal of information and really expand on it during this time. Thursdays and Fridays are traditional with roughly 60 minute blocks. The drawback to this schedule is that it requires a lot of planning for the various time allotments. Lessons need to be planned accordingly to the time clock. Planning and implementation of diverse lesson designs is vital for success in this type of scheduling. The drawback is the confusion of the days and the outline of the course content.
I was a high school student at RBV and I really liked this schedule. The two block days were good for long activities/experiments (like you mentioned) and the other regular days were good because I never got too bored in one class. I think it is a good combination, although it may be a little confusing at first.
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