Abstract:
This qualitative study explored secondary teachers' perceptions of scheduling
in relation to pedagogy, curriculum, and observation of student learning. Its objective
was to determine the best way to organize the scheduling for the delivery of Ontario's
new 4-year curriculum. Six participants were chosen. Two were teaching in a
semestered timetable, 1 in a traditional timetable, and 3 had experience in both
schedules. Participants related a pressure cooker "lived experience" with weaker
students in the semester system experiencing a particularly harsh environment. The
inadequate amount of time for review in content-heavy courses, gap scheduling
problems, catch-up difficulties for students missing classes, and the fast pace of
semestering are identified as factors negatively impacting on these students.
Government testing adds to the pressure by shifting teachers' time and attention in the
classroom from deeper learning to a superficial coverage of material, from curriculum
as lived to curriculum as text to be covered. Scheduling choice should be available in
public education to accommodate the needs of all students. Curriculum guidelines
need to be revamped to reflect the content that teachers believe is necessary for a
successful course delivery. Applied level courses need to be developed for students
who are not academically inferior but learn differently.
