If Algoma University's block plan is approved, students studying in Sault Ste. Marie would likely be reading fewer books at the same time. (Photo courtesy of Paul Watson/Flickr Creative Commons)

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TORONTO (CUP) — Students at an Ontario university could be learning their courses in a dramatically different way if a proposal is passed.

Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie is considering switching to a “block plan” that would allow students to study courses one at a time consecutively, instead of the usual four or five courses being studied at the same time.

“You spend 15 hours per week on a course, you do it for three weeks, you do an exam and you’re done, and you move onto another one,” said Richard Myers, president of Algoma University. “A block plan simply reverses the prevailing mode of doing things.”

An executive report on the proposal was recently released by the university, the result of eight months of research into the idea of switching from the typical “parallel curriculum model” to a “sequential” system.

A major factor in the report revolves around an expected higher level of student engagement that results from a short burst of heavier learning. This concentration on a certain subject is seen as easier to manage than balancing workloads of various courses simultaneously.

"I had an assignment and a test today; a lot of the time, work all ends up being due on the same day,” said Ryerson University early childhood education student Katherine Ross. “It gets confusing when you’re trying to study multiple subjects at the same time.”

According to the “Block Plan Task Force Final Report,” which cites research on learning techniques, a more intensive workload delivered in a short period results in students retaining what they learned better than if they studied a subject over a longer time. Classes would last for three to four hours a day, with students expected to spend another four to five hours after class doing more work, bringing an average academic week in line with a 40-hour work week.

“Students have to work hard because they’re doing a semester's worth of work in three and a half weeks,” said president of Quest University David Helfand. Currently, Quest is the only Canadian university that uses a block plan.

Quest has been recognized in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), which covers post-secondary schools across North America, for high levels of student engagement. In the 2010 survey, interaction between students and faculty was 52.7 against the NSSE average of 32.7. In the “Enriching Educational Experiences” section Quest received a score of 40.8 against the NSSE average of 27.

“I think that’s largely a result of the block system,” said Helfand.

Another potentially beneficial factor is the chance to take field trips to boost learning.

“It creates all kinds of opportunities for experiential learning,” said Myers. “Like [with] political science — you can go to Ottawa or Washington. For history, if you’re studying the French revolution, you can go to France.”

While the proposal drew greater-than-average support from faculties that are based on field-trip learning, like science, there was opposition from departments that revolve around reading, like humanities and social science.

There are also concerns around whether switching to a block plan system — developed at Colorado College in 1970 — could alienate some groups of students, including part-time, special needs and mature students.

“If you’re a part-time student just whittling away at a degree, maybe doing one course every semester, [and] if you’re working during the day, you might find it difficult to do the course,” said Myers. “There [are] always practical questions when you look at a concept like this.”

An academic planning committee at Algoma’s senate will now analyze the report, with a decision to be expected in early 2012. The estimated cost of Algoma switching to a block plan is $2 million, though Myers added that a change to the entire university might not be necessary. He pointed to the geography program at the University of Northern British Columbia, where the department switched to a block plan to open up time for more field trips.

“I must admit I had considerable skepticism when I came to teach here,” said Helfand. “I am now completely convinced that this is the way that all teaching should be done at the university level."

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