The Effectiveness of 4x4-Block Schedule Teaching Strategies Versus Traditional Lecture/Note-Taking in High School Mathematics Classrooms

There is a need to increase student scores on state testing at the high school level in mathematics. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a significant difference exists in student achievement between the traditional teaching strategy of lecture and note-taking and the researched teaching strategies for the 4x4-block schedule. Guided by the implementation of mathematics teaching strategies for a semester 4x4-block schedule, a quasi-experimental nonequivalent control-group design was utilized for 101 participating students. Archived data from the Classroom Diagnostic Tool from the 2010-2011 school year were collected. Data from the Study Island Benchmark were also collected from the same year. An ANCOVA using the Study Island Benchmark as a covariate was utilized to determine whether there was a significant difference between the strategies. Findings revealed no significant difference between students' academic achievement with the presence of the different teaching strategies. Based on the data from this study, a replication study could be done with a larger sample to determine whether a specific strategy is better than another. Despite the nonsignificant difference between the two strategies, an increase in achievement and growth was nevertheless shown in both classrooms. Implications for social change may include boosting of student self-esteem in math classrooms and better implementation of teaching strategies to reach all styles of learners.