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When I started taking classes in educational leadership and administration about years ago, one of my professors said that even if a principal never made any significant organizational or instructional program changes, he or she would probably still be on the cutting edge of education twice in his or her career. Lately, when I think of the increasing number of inquiries my former school has received regarding flexible modular scheduling (flex mod), those words ring true. Flex mod-a schedule philosophy and system that has been in place at Wausau West High School in Wausau, WI, for the last 35 years and aligns nicely with current research on student learning-is getting more and more attention from high school administrators across the country.
I don't want to suggest that flex mod scheduling at Wausau West, or anywhere else for that matter, hasn't evolved over the years, because it has grown to meet the changing needs of the school and the community. But the ideas that led J. Lloyd Trump to rethink the Carnegie unit as it relates to high school scheduling are surfacing again because of the No Child Left Behind Act, increased state graduation credit requirements that are mathematically difficult to achieve under traditional schedules, and recommendations from such publications as Breaking Ranks II that stress the advantages of flexible schedules.
It's generally understood that there are important differences in the way each student learns and that the one-size-fits-all approach does not work well when it comes to teaching and learning. Most educators acknowledge that learning can best occur when it takes place inside and outside the classroom, when it is varied in duration, when it is personalized and connected to the needs of the student and when students take ownership of it.
Creating a learning environment that is individualized, particularly in a formal school setting, can be challenging. Having worked with various scheduling systems during my career, however-including seven- and eight-period schedules and a block schedule-I would argue that a flexible modular schedule, when combined with sound, innovative instructional practices, holds a great deal of promise for student learning.
Understanding Flex Mod
Flexible modular scheduling was introduced in the late 1960s and grew in popularity with the advent of more-sophisticated computer programs that could...