Transforming Education for Girls

• "In R. Shweder's (1990) terms, Gardner is encouraging parents and educators to help adolescents develop a cognitive schema that is more evenly balanced between an ethic of autonomy and an ethic of community. The challenge, however, is that, according to Jensen (1995) and Arnett (2004), the developmental stages of late adolescence and young adulthood are one in which individuals are particularly focused upon individualistic choices and behaviors" (Developing the Ethical Minds of Gifted Adolescents, Scott Seider).

• "When you provide students with opportunities to apply learning - especially through authentic, personally meaningful activities - and then provide formative assessments and feedback throughout a unit, facts move from rote memory to become part of the memory bank These opportunities activate the isolated small neural networks of facts or procedures, which then undergo the cellular changes of neuroplasticity that link them into larger neural circuits of related information" (Brain-based Teaching Strategies to Build Executive Function in Students, Judy Willis).

• "Until students fully develop these pre-frontal cortex (PFC) executive functions, they are limited in their capacity to set and stick to realistic and manageable goals. As they develop these executive functions, they need guidance to recognize the incremental progress they make as they apply effort towards their larger goals" (Brain-based Teaching Strategies to Build Executive Function in Students, Judy Willis)

• "Planning instruction and teaching units that activate executive function processing takes teacher and student time - and it's time that's already severely taxed. However, that time is regained because the learning in these units is successfully retained in long-term memory and re-teaching time is vastly reduced" (Brain-based Teaching Strategies to Build Executive Function in Students, Judy Willis).

• "The [pre-frontal cortex] PFC undergoes its most rapid maturation between the ages of 8-18 so students' experiences during the school years, especially the guidance of their teachers, profoundly influence the strength of the cognitive, social, and emotional resources they bring with them into adulthood twenties (Giedd, 2004). Guiding optimal PFC development is promoted when students have opportunities to actively process, evaluate, deeply understand, and transfer knowledge, social, and emotional experiences using its developing executive function skillsets (Gogtay et al., 2004)" (Brains for Now and the Future, Judy Willis).

• "Information learned only by rote practice has limited representation in the brain. Facts learned and practiced in isolation from larger contexts are stored as unincorporated, isolated circuits. These are like dead end roads that don't get much traffic" (Brains for Now and the Future, Judy Willis).

• "When the new information enters the hippocampus, related memories are triggered in various parts of the cortex. These related memories are stored in different parts of the cortex depending on which sensory receptors initially responded to the input. [...]Tobe innovative and benefit from the new volume and availability of information, students need learning experiences to develop more flexible patterning skills sot he brain can literally think outside the box defined by the most repeated patterns. Opportunities for transfer through Project & Integrated Learning with problem solving, inquiry, critical thinking will build flexible and extended neural patterning matrix needed for innovation and creativity" (Brain Research to Help Students Develop Their Highest Cognitive Potential, Judy Willis).

• "Carol Dweck of Standford University has found that the children who avoid challenges tend to have a "fixed mindset:" they see their intelligence as a fixed trait and therefore are reluctant to undertake challenges that "stretch" them. The children who are willing to take on challenges have a "growth mindset" where they can see their abilities as something they can develop" (Mind in the Making, Ellen Galinsky).

• "The dramatic remodeling of the brain during adolescence holds tremendous opportunities for development and learning but also appears to enhance a teen's vulnerability to the long-term effects of environmental influences such as stress and drug experimentation" (The Psychology of Change: The Challenge of Adolescence and Insight, Dr. Joseph Shrand, Erich Engelhardt).

• "The Brain-Targeted Teaching Model focuses on positive emotional and physical learning environments, the development of "big picture" concepts, the mastery of content, skills, and processes, "real world" application of learning, and the continual evaluation of student learning. Fundamental to the application of the model is the integration of the arts to foster retention of new information, conceptual development, and higher-order thinking" (The Creative-Artistic Brain: Education in the 21 st Century, Mariale Hardiman).

• "Research during the past 10 years, powered by technology such as functional magnetic resonance imaging, has revealed that young brains have both fast-growing synapses and sections that remain unconnected. This leaves teens easily influenced by their environment and more prone to impulsive behavior, even without the impact of souped-up hormones and any genetic or family predispositions. [...} As Jensen told some 50 workshop attendees at Boston's Museum of Science in April, "This is the first generation of teenagers that has access to this information, and they need to understand some of their vulnerabilities." [...] This cellular excitement, or "long-term potentiation," enables children and teenagers to learn languages or musical instruments more easily than adults. On the flip side, this plasticity also makes adolescent brains more vulnerable to external stressors, as Jensen and Urion point out" (The Teen Brain, Debra Bradley Ruder).

• Increasing the amount of time students spend in one class is more "brain­ compatible," Smilkstein says - and it is the key to helping all students, not just the quick ones, achieve at high levels. In longer classes, teachers can help students connect their new learning with prior knowledge. They can stay with a topic long enough to help students turn new knowledge into skills, and they can allot time to give students more authentic practice and ongoing assessments" (What We Know About Block Scheduling and Its Effects on Math Instruction, Steven L. Kramer).

• "Like block scheduling, the Copernican Plan, developed by Joseph M. Carroll, also challenges the traditional organization of secondary schools. According to Carroll, a former superintendent who is now an education consultant and author, nothing is wrong with the traditional schedule "except that it prevents teachers from teaching well and students from learning well." Carroll also says the under a traditional secondary schedule, "teacher cannot deal meaningfully with every student every day...""(Block Scheduling: A Solution or a Problem?, Sharon Cromwell).

• "Teachers and parents were concerned about student abuse of increased independent study time. Knowing that the designers of modular scheduling insist that about one-third of the school day must be free for independent study in order to facilitate the goals of increased student responsibility for directing their own learning, and noting the requirement for very frequent student-teacher conferences, the staff at Ames worked hard to achieve the maximum time allotment for this type of study" (Daily Demand Modular Flexible Scheduling for Small Schools, James W. Stewart & Jack Shank).

• "Block scheduling may result in stronger relationships between students and teachers, as well as improved school environments and achievement as measured by student grades. Teaching practice does appear to change to allow more personalized instruction" (The Effects of Block Scheduling on Teacher Perceptions and Student Performance, Dan Laitsch, ASCD).

• "The real appeal of block scheduling, then, is its potential to unlock time and set teachers and students free for in-depth learning. For too long, schools have been "captives of clock and calendar," according to Prisoners of Time, the 1994 report of the National Education Commission on Time and Learning. Traditional school schedules, the report argues, set boundaries and barriers that all but guarantee that teachers and students won't have time for what Rita Smilstein of North Seattle Community College calls "the natural learning process"" (What We Know About Block Scheduling and Its Effects on Math Instruction, Steven L. Kramer).

• "An ambitious three-year longitudinal study of students in two schools in England, matched for similar income and student achievement levels, found that significantly more students passed the National Exams in the school that used project approaches to learning math than in the school that used more traditional textbook and worksheet approaches. Project-learning students also developed more flexible and useful math knowledge than their textbook-oriented counterparts" (21st Century Skills, Bernie Trilling & Charles Fadel).

• "Finally, it is important to note that a number of psychologists regard adolescence not only as a fertile period for the development of an individual's ethical mind but in fact a uniquely significant period for such development (Damon, 2008; Flanagan et al, 1998; Youniss, McLellan, & Yates, 1997). For example, psychologist William Damon (2008) has asserted that, "There is reason to believe that a person's crucial orientations to life incubate during adolescence. If civic concern is not among them, it may never arise" (p.57)" (Developing the Ethical Minds of Gifted Adolescents, Scott Seider).

• "Similar to project and problem-based learning, inquiry, and authentic performance tasks, authentically embedded opportunities for symbolic representation prompt to the brain to extend its self-scanning of stored memory circuitsthat have not previously been used together" (Brains for Now and the Future, Judy Willis).

• "Teaching content alone is not likely to lend to proficiency in science, nor is engaging in inquiry experience devoid of meaningful science content." (Taking Science to School, National Research Council) in (Critical Thinking: Why is it so hard to teach?, Daniel T. Willingham)

• "When students extend knowledge by applying it in real-world settings, they engage multiple and complex systems of retrieval and integration. With [teaching for application], we are seeking to strengthen and extend thinking and learning by applying skills and content in meaningful, creative, problem-solving tasks. Examples include conducting investigations and surveys, designing experiments, analyzing perspectives, building projects, and engaging in improvisation through visual and performing arts" (The Creative-Artistic Brain: Education in the 21st Century, Mariale Hardiman).

• "Brain Target Five - Teaching for Application and Extension of Knowledge: Best Practice - Solve problems using real-world contexts" (Connecting Brain Research with Effective Teaching through The Brain-Targeted Teaching Model, Mariale Hardiman).

• "In addition to the increased test scores as reported above, during the 10 years of block scheduling students were able to take more courses and earn additional credits. Positive student outcomes related to this include increased number of electives offered and fewer courses repeated in summer school. The 4x4 block used by this school system allowed students who failed courses to repeat the courses during the school year and still complete high school in 4 years. In addition a 4x4 block means a student can earn 32 Carnegie units in four years. Georgia only requires 28 units to graduate. This allows students to explore six additional electives or alternatives to the required courses" (Block Scheduling Effectiveness: A 10-Year Longitudinal Study of One Georgia School System's Test Score Indicators, Ellen H. Reames).

• "Today, it is evident that students are seeking meaningful participation in the decision-making process and learning experiences that are provided by the school. [...] In part, the modular scheduling practice requires new levels of student involvement. Vital to the accomplishment of this transition on a broad scale is a commonality of approach to instructional patterns, discipline, and general climate management on the part of the faculty. This desirable condition was achieved only be the frequent and constant communication and rapport among faculty" (Daily Demand Modular Flexible Scheduling for Small Schools, James W. Stewart & Jack Shank).

• "Clearly educators should look to potential in addition to manifest performance. Indeed, process is more important than product. After all, if the process is used, creative products are likely to result. This may be another way of saying that education should help fulfill potential, with the probable outcome being manifest creative performance" (Creativity and Education, Mark Runco).

• "Brain Target Four - Teaching for Mastery of Skills, Content, Concepts - Best Practices: Integrate arts into instructional activities to help sustain memory: The arts integrate thought, feeling, and action: Visual Arts seeing and doing; Dance movement; Drama acting out; Music listening & playing. The arts help to make a memory imprint of concept and skills" (Connecting Brain Research with Effective Teaching through The Brain-Targeted Teaching Model, Mariale Hardiman).

• "Advocates of the arts agree that the K-12 curriculum should include dedicated time for arts instruction. Some have argued further that knowledge and skills acquired through the arts transfer to nonarts domains. Other claim that evidence of this kind of transfer is limited and instead argue that the arts cultivate valuable dispositions that help students succeed both in and outside of school. Another potential benefit of the arts has received little attention, however. Arts integration - the use of the arts as a teaching methodology throughout the curriculum - may improve long-term retention of content" (Why Arsts Integration Improves Long-Term Retention of Content, Luke Rinne, Emma Gregory, Julia Yarmolinskaya, Mariale Hardiman).

• "As Daniel Pink (2006) writes, the ability to understand "relationships between relationships" may be one of the most important skills for 21 st century learning" (The Creative-Artistic Brain, Mariale Hardiman).

A module is the period of time the academic year is divided into. The Duchesne school year will be divided into six mods, each lasting 29 or 30 days or about 6 weeks. Think of a "mod" as a term or a mini-semester.

A bin is time spent each day in class or an activity. The Upper School day is divided into five bins; Middle School is four bins. Think of a "bin" as a class period.

A, B, C, D bins are 90 minutes. A, B, and C bins will focus on academic subjects (math, science, English, history, fine arts, languages). Think of "A, B, C bins" as core courses.

0 bins are 45 minutes. 0 bin will be devoted to electives such as choir.

Detailed information regarding the effect of the mod schedule on course registration and prerequisites, including course offerings, will be distributed prior to registration.

The modular approach allows for:

• Longer class periods – and more classes
• Opportunities to study topics in depth
• More interdisciplinary courses
• More frequent advisory meetings
• More choice in scheduling
• More opportunities to pursue individual passions
• More diversity in scheduling, course offerings, and travel

The school year will begin August 10, 2020 and conclude May 18, 2021.

The start and end times will remain the same:

• Lower School: 7:50 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.
• Middle School: 8:00 a.m. - 3:25 p.m.
• Upper School: 8:30 a.m. - 3:45 p.m.

The mod schedule will allow girls more flexibility in pursuing social awareness opportunities. Duchesne is planning to launch the Institute for Global and Social Awareness to coincide with the schedule in order to provide girls time and opportunity for an immersive domestic and/or international social awareness experience.

Developing a new schedule is a direct outgrowth of our strategic plan, Envision 2022. An effective schedule that allowed for better differentiation and innovation with a focus on girls’ health and wellness that was emphasized in Envision 2022. Changing Duchesne’s class schedule constitutes a major step toward achieving these goals while employing current research on how girls learn. Furthermore, over the past several years, our program has embraced a model that encourages active student engagement, collaboration, and experiential problem solving. As the delivery of our curriculum has evolved, so must the structures that support it, including our schedule.

National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) articles that share related research:

Rigor vs. Vigor

Assessing what we value

In the module system, students will take fewer classes at a time than in the current schedule. Therefore, a girl will typically be managing homework for fewer courses at one time. We anticipate that this shift to studying and learning more intensely in fewer areas at a time will reduce the homework burden on students.

Students will be assessed at the end of each mod. Each department will determine the appropriate assessment method for its courses. This could take the form of an exam, but may also be an assigned research paper or other appropriate demonstration that the student has learned the course work.

ISM's research recommends that independent schools "maintain conditions that facilitate high levels of student performance throughout the year," noting that exam periods "interrupt and interfere with those conditions."

"Although most colleges still have exam periods, most do not require exams be given during the scheduled time, and more than 60% of professors opt for alternative assessments." This is based on ISM's "College Student Assessment Study 2009."

"There is no evidence that exam periods advance learning or retention. […] It is clear that students cram for the test and that long-term memory is rarely involved." This is based on "Optimizing Distributed Practice: Theoretical Analysis and Practical Implications," Experimental Psychology, 56(4), 2009, 236-246.

The new schedule will create benefits for our entire community, including the following:

• Students will have greater flexibility, which will encourage them to explore their passions and try new things, particularly at the Upper School level.
• Faculty members will work with fewer students during each module; as a result, they will be able to devote more time to each of them.
• A more focused schedule with fewer classes for longer periods will reduce stress and provide a more calm pace to the day.

Students can meet one-on-one or in small groups with a teacher. This will continue to happen during the longer classes. One of the many benefits to longer classes is the ability for the teacher to break up class time into different segments allowing for large and small group conversations and one-on-one meetings.

A year-long course is three mods. An AP course is covered over three mods. Each department uses its own expertise to design their courses and determine the appropriate length of their semester and AP courses.

The free period will be replaced by other enhancements that have already been made to the school day; these include a later start time and a designated snack time and advisory time. By instituting a later start time and building breaks into the schedule, we are intentionally slowing the pace of the day in order to create a more balanced experience for students while retaining academic rigor. We also believe that the new schedule will allow students to make better use of the time they spend in class interacting with their peers and teachers.

The new schedule format brings several important enhancements to our academic curriculum.

• It reflects current research on how adolescent girls learn best by providing fewer, longer classes of 90 minutes in length that offer a better balance between the mastery of individual topics and interdisciplinary learning.
• It provides for more in-depth study of individual disciplines, with a greater emphasis on applying knowledge both to solving problems and to fostering creativity.
• It provides for more opportunities for girls to pursue a global experience and a more immersive, valuable social awareness experience.

One of the goals was to create a schedule that provided deep learning. Independent School Management’s (ISM) examination of research on time, and observations in many schools supports these findings.

From ISM's article "How Much Time is Enough?” Ideas & Perspectives, vol. 32 no. 5:

"When teaching in-depth (rather than breadth) takes place in classrooms, students suffer less short-term memory loss and little long-term memory loss.

In-depth teaching is typically associated with more intense experiences and varied teaching approaches carried out in longer class periods."

From CAL Digest, "Scheduling Foreign Languages on the Block" October 1998:

"Anecdotal accounts of students' language retention seem to point out that the loss of language is no greater after a one or two semester break than it would be after the summer recess. Canady and Rettig quote research dealing with retention rates at the college level: "Students retain 85% of what they had originally learned after 4 months and 80% of what they had originally learned after 11 months." Students tend to forget factual information quickly but have significantly higher retention rate with information they learned through critical thinking because the information is not just memorized but internalized.

Canady, R.L. & Rettig, M.D. (1995). Block scheduling: A catalyst for change in high school. Princeton, NJ: Eye on Education.

Our teachers work closely with students, regularly monitoring their progress. As is the case now, if a girl has an academic problem, she will be supported by her teacher, advisor, and the division office.

The longer class periods are ideal for students to engage actively in the learning process. Having more time allows teachers increased opportunity for differentiated approaches toward student mastery of concepts as well as increased opportunity to provide a variety of learning activities. Teacher attention to differentiation and variety will support student focus.

Teachers are involved in professional development on a regular basis. Duchesne has provided sessions about teaching to the longer block led by an ISM consultant, using Project-Based Learning as an option for student-centered classrooms, and we are scheduled to partner with Denise Pope’s Challenge Success during the 2019-2020 school year.

The new schedule allows us to continue to support professional development on a sustained basis and on specific teacher-selected. We continue to use experts from our own faculty as well as external consultants.

Graduation requirements will not change during the 2019-2020 school year. Beginning in 2020, students will need to complete 84 credits in order to graduate. Each bin will count as 1 credit. See the course catalog for more details.

Yes, you will see a robust offering of AP courses on the 2020-2021 course list. We believe the module schedule will support the deep learning required in upper-level courses such as AP courses. The entire curriculum supports the growth of a girl's critical thinking skills.

College advisors will have allotted times to work with students both in groups and individually, as they do now. The college advising curriculum can be woven into the junior and senior year.

College admission officers look at end results: courses taken and grades on the transcript to assess a student’s performance, not at the school's schedule structure.

Every transcript is sent with a Duchesne School Profile that gives an overview of the academic and co-curricular programs at Duchesne. The college counseling team updates the school profile annually to ensure that colleges have an accurate picture of the high standards to which Duchesne holds itself.

In the spring of 2018, Bryan Smyth of ISM conducted a scheduling audit for the entire school. Following three days on campus that included meetings with faculty, parents, students, and administration, Bryan presented the faculty and staff with three possible daily schedules that he thought would benefit Duchesne. Some of his recommendations were instituted in the 2018-2019 schedule such as ending the school year prior to Memorial Day, the seven early dismissal days for faculty and staff professional development and a later start time in the Upper School.

Following Bryan’s presentation, school administration met with faculty and staff in focus groups and by division to collect feedback. During the summer of 2018, school administration met with representatives from two schools that have adopted the mod schedule - Madeira School in Washington D.C. and St. Mary’s Catholic School in Medford, Oregon. It was during these meetings and subsequent brainstorming sessions that it became evident that the mod schedule was the right fit for Duchesne. From there, school administration worked to finalize the structure of the schedule and resolve outstanding questions.

Yes, a block scheduling option were two of the final three structures we considered;. However, the block schedule did not support our program well because our program includes both rigorous academic preparation and a signature experiential component, social awareness.

Many schools use blocks of time to construct their schedule. The mod approach to curriculum has been used by independent schools for many years.

In addition to the research above, see also this article which discusses the detriments of a traditional school schedule:

 The Insane Structure of High School

If you have specific questions or concerns, please reach out to your division head or Tony Houle.