Learning and Cognition: The Benefits and Limitations of the Block Plan in Higher Education

Current Student/Faculty Perspectives: 

"I know you can’t learn as much as you could in a whole semester. And you forget. I think I learn more in depth. Quality over quantity. I came here because I couldn’t balance all classes. I learn better in depth and relationships." (Current Student, Class of 2024)

"The block plan encourages cramming and memorization focused disciplines (languages and STEM) but it is better for literature retention (discussion, papers, reading). I still remember every book we read in FYE but in stem and language the material was so fast I already forgot it." (Current Student, Class of 2023)

"I think the Block Plan enables close relationships. Seeing the same group of people everyday for three and a half weeks, going through the ups and downs of a class together. It really creates a bond. It feels like a team." (Current Student, Class of 2024)

"I think retention is hard especially because I am a forgetful as a person; subconscious selective memory...the stuff I remember is when the class is engaging and the professor is passionate. Also field trips and experiential learning are more than just telling me information."  (Current Student, Class of 2026)

"My new school is on a semester schedule and it takes a lot more self-motivation and organization to stay on top of things...on a semester schedule you’re in a certain class for an entire semester and then most likely taking another class either simultaneously or the following semester that requires you to keep using what you learned" (Transferred out of Colorado College in 2022)

"I think it's nice to explore subjects that I am actually interested in and not having to divert focus to many different subjects is good for my brain." (Alumni, Class of 2022)

Delaney, P. F., Godbole, N. R., Holden, L. R., & Chang, Y. (2018).                                                                                                                                             Summary:  Delaney et al. researched the relationship between working memory capacity and the spacing effect, or spacing repetitions in learning.  Existing theories of The Spacing Effect suggest it is dependent on mental context-based mechanisms. The method of the study included three cued recall experiments using different retention intervals and lags between repetitions. The results found that the spacing effect is beneficial for students with lower working memory capacity.

How it relates: It is important to acknowledge the existing literature that supports the claim that spaced learning is correlated with a higher working memory capacity than condensed learning environments.

• Information processing: 

• Motivation

• Interview: "I think the block programs' rigorous information dump over those three and a half weeks allows you to remember topics and ideas in broader detail. But when it came to referring back to the knowledge I had learned during my classes at CC a year later. Everything but the small parts of the class had all but faded away" (Tranferred out in 2022)

Jones, J. C., & Washko, S. (2022). 

Summary: Jones and Washko evaluate the value in field trips as a pedagogical tool and argue they (1) integrate active learning (2) co-create knowledge through collaboration and problem-based activities and (3) incorporate place-based learning in real world contexts.  

How it relates: Because of the scheduling flexibility of the block plan, field trips are mor accesible. Field trips relate to: 

• • • Sociocultural Theory: guided participation, situated cognition.  

    • Self-efficacy and motivation: field trips are an opportunity for students to engage in something they personally care about (no such think as extrinsic motivation, what matters to you!) 

    • Curiosity: curiosity activates brain reward and memory systems.  

    • Engage and explore in Five “E” Model 

    • Interview: "Also field trips and experiential learning are more than just telling me information."  (Current Student, Class of 2026)

    • Elaboration: Experiential learning as useful in encouraging cued recall. (Image below repersents The Experiential Learning Cycle).

King, R. B., & Mendoza, N. B. (2020) 

Summary: King and Mendoza found that achievement goals are transmittable among classmates. The method included 848 secondary school students answered relevant questionnaires at Time 1 and Time 2 and used multilevel analysis to examine whether classmates’ achievement goals at Time 1 predicted one’s achievement goals at Time 2. Goal achievement is not individual but influenced by classroom culture and social perspectives. 

How it relates: In many of our interviews with current Colorado College students, answers included how the block plan fosters strong classroom relationships. The article makes a compelling argument in favor of the block plan. If the block plan is conducive to relationship building, then it may also support higher collective achievement.

• • • Social Learning Theories – Development and learning originate in social, historical, and cultural interactions.

    • Ecological Systems Theory – Social and historical context, active person, impossibility of understanding individual developmental processes in isolation.

    • Interview: "I think the Block Plan enables close relationships. Seeing the same group of people everyday for three and a half weeks, going through the ups and downs of a class together. It really creates a bond. It feels like a team." (Current Student, Class of 2024)

Klein, G. A., & Hoffman, R. R. (2020). 

Summary: Klein and Hoffman discuss expertise and how an expanded knowledge base effects perceptual-cognitive aspects of experience. The authors argue that although there is a minimum amount of time necessary to gain expertise, that it must be accompanied by a chance to accumulate a varied set of experiences. Klein and Hoffman researched firefighters and found that 10 years in rural volunteer fire department were not as valuable as 1 year in an inner-city fire department. The authors assert that experts use top-down processing. General strategies for gaining expertise are not effective. What matters is the way in which the individual puts knowledge into action. 

How it relates: 

Does higher education scheduling effect ability to develop expertise? Does spacing versus condensed learning impact the ability to gain expertise?

• • • Socioculturalism – knowledge is dynamic, learning is mediated by cultural tools, and development is internalization. 

    • Experimental learning and field trips: Jones, J. C., & Washko, S. (2022). 

Rusconi, E., Palumbo, R., Perrucci, M. G., Boccia, V., D'Antuono, V., & Piccardi, L. (2016).                                                                                                                                Summary: The results showed that multitasking enhanced cognitive flexibility, as indicated by increased activation in the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in cognitive control and decision-making processes. Additionally, multitasking improved sustained attention, as indicated by increased activation in the posterior parietal cortex, which is involved in visual attention.

How it relates: Rusconi et al. (2016) bring attention to the potential drawbacks of a scheduling system that requires less mutlitasking. Although there are benefits to the deep concentration into one subject area, this article displays the cognitive benefits of practicing academic multitasking. 

• Information Processing

• Interview: "My new school is definatly an adjustment because I need to juggle four classes at a time. I think there are benefits and drawbacks. It takes a lot more organization and intentional planning" (Transferred out of Colorado College in 2022).

Van Kesteren, M. T., Rijpkema, M., Ruiter, D. J., Morris, R. G., & Fernández, G. (2014). 

Summary: The article discusses how students' prior knowledge affects their ability to learn new information and perform well in academic settings. Students who were able to use their existing schemas to encode new information had better working memory capacity and higher academic performance. 

How it relates: It is important to consider if the Block Plan is advantageous in providing students oppurtunity to build on prior knowledge if their courses differ dramatically block to block. 

• Constructivism 

• Information processing

• Interview: "An entire semester and then most likely taking another class either simultaneously or the following semester that requires you to keep using what you learned" (Transferred out of Colorado College in 2022)

Wimmer, G. E., & Poldrack, R. A. (2022).

Summary: Wimmer and Poldark’s explore how the relationship between reward learning, working memory, and different training schedules. The findings suggest that spaced out learning led to better reward learning compared to massed learning. Post-learning delay period improved reward learning, but only for participants with high working memory capacity. The results support the perspective that there are multiple working memory stores. 

How it relates: The block plan reflects the study's mass trained stimuli (stimuli repeated immediately as opposed to after a long delay). The implication of the study for the block plan in higher education relates to how memory and retention differ within a condensed versus spaced learning environment as well as the significance reward learning. The study prompts a discussion of if reward learning is functional. 

• Information processing

• Behaviorism: Operant Conditioning

• Attribution Theory: Extrinsic

In conjunction with the current literature and student perspectives...

• Ecological Systems Theory (EST): Bronfenbrenner theorized that learning is not an isolated concept; it requires consideration of the interrelation of context, culture, and history. EST exemplifies how learning and cognition on the block plan can be positively or negatively affected. King and Mendoza (2020) assert that achievement goals are contagious in the classroom. The authors' claim places more responsibility on classroom culture and peer relationships to influence learning achievement. EST supports King and Mendoza's argument because it acknowledges the significance of the relationship between the active individual (student) and mesosystem (peers). EST as a framework in examining learning and cognition on the block plan is useful because it illuminates the importance of looking at condensed learning through a complex system concerning the individual. 

• Self-Efficacy and Motivation: How is the block plan conducive or unfavorable to self-efficacy and motivation? The block plan in higher education allows students to deep-dive into a single class they care about (intrinsic motivation). Jones and Washko (2022) exemplify the importance of engaging and exploring through experience. Cognitive Theories of Motivation support the relationship between motivation and positive peer relationships because it argues that motivation is shaped by individuals interpreting extrinsic information. Simularly, constructivist conditioning is a theory of motivation that Wimmer & Poldrack (2022) discuss. The study operates on the assumption that reward learning performance is something that educators are seeking. It is important to consider the alternatives to reward learning, such as growth mindsets, developing strong relationships in class, and labelled praise.

• Theories of Intelligence: Gardner's Frame of Mind asserts that it is evolutionarily functional for different people to have different talents and skills. Condensed learning is either more or less supportive of multiple intelligences. Thinking about the block plan in higher education through the lens of theories of intelligence allows critical inquiry of how measures of intellect could be productive or arbitrary. Klein and Hoffman (2020) might argue that the block plan allows for more expressions of intelligence because it allows for diversified instruction and experience-based learning (Jones and Washko (2022) would say field trips are an example of this). Alternatively, Wimmer & Poldrack (2022) might argue that the nature of condensed learning limits reward based learning, which they define as a negative attribute.

• Information Processing: Current literature includes conflicting arguments for if condensed learning is better or worse for retention rates. Much of the existing literature pertaining to retention and working memory capacity argue for spaced learning over condensed learning. Firstly, Delaney et al. (2018) deduce that working memory capacity and spacing of repetitions (spaced learning) improve memory compared to condensed repetitions. Secondly, Wimmer and Poldark (2022) assert that spaced learning is better when examining working memory and reward learning. Thirdly, Ruscani et al. (2016) studied the cognitive benefits of multitasking. Student interviews with students who tranferred out of Colorado College revealed sentiments that the block plan requires less multitasking skills than the semester schedule. Multitasking leads to increased activation in the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in cognitive control and decision-making processes. Finally, Van Kesteren et al. (2014) emphasize the way in which multiple classes may benefit the students' academic performance and working memory capacity (due to drawing connections between current classes).

However, other elements of the block plan (like immersive learning and student choice) are associated with increased metacognition (memory strategy). Additionally, an emphasis on deductive thinking, specifically top-down processing, is what Klein and Hoffman (2020) say guides expertise development. Condensed learning focuses on one subject area and explores overarching principles that propose specific solutions, similar to problem-based learning (reflecting deductive thinking). 

• Sociocultural Theory: Socioculturalism is embedded in the block plan because they both elevate social interactions, individuality, and collective knowledge. King and Mendoza (2020) highlight the benefit of the block plan's ability to foster classmate relationships (which Vygotsky would argue is an essential element in development because learning happens through social interactions and community). Peer relationships create what Socioculturalism terms a community of practice where classmates share a mutual and joint enterprise. The block plan facilitates field trips, which is also an example of Socioculturalism. The elements that Jones and Washko (2022) identify as learning outcomes of field trips are (1) integrating active learning, (2) co-create knowledge through collaboration and problem-based activities, and (3) incorporating place-based learning in real-world contexts. Klein and Mendoza (2020) also highlight the combination of time and the accumulation of varied experiences and mentorship to achieve expertise. Social Constructivism reccomends filed trip and experimental learning because people's schemas develop in context 

Future Outcomes and Suggestions:

In order to better support students learning and cognitive abilities within the block plan, we suggest...

• As much as possible, disincentivizing cramming and memorization (not conducive to the timeline).

• Implementing Socioculturalism and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy in every department's mission. Specifically focusing on collaboration, cultivating classroom culture, and immersive learning. This sentiment could also be achieved through faculty workshops (perhaps but on by the education department) to emphasize conjoining social and academic interactions into the classroom. 

• Cultivating intrinsic motivation factors through individualized instruction and student choice. 

• Mentoring systems that reflect the More Knowledgable other and emphasize the Zone of Proximal Development. 

References 

Delaney, P. F., Godbole, N. R., Holden, L. R., & Chang, Y. (2018). Working memory capacity and the spacing effect in cued recall. Memory, 26(6), 784-797.

Jones, J. C., & Washko, S. (2022). More than fun in the sun: The pedagogy of field trips improves student learning in higher education. Journal of Geoscience education, 70(3), 292-305.

King, R. B., & Mendoza, N. B. (2020). Achievement goal contagion: Mastery and performance goals spread among classmates. Social Psychology of Education, 23(3), 795-814.

Klein, G. A., & Hoffman, R. R. (2020). Seeing the invisible: Perceptual-cognitive aspects of expertise. In Cognitive science foundations of instruction (pp. 203-226). Routledge.

Rusconi, E., Palumbo, R., Perrucci, M. G., Boccia, V., D'Antuono, V., & Piccardi, L. (2016). Multitasking in young adults: An EEG study of cognitive flexibility and sustained attention. Neuropsychologia, 84, 28-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.01.007 

Van Kesteren, M. T., Rijpkema, M., Ruiter, D. J., Morris, R. G., & Fernández, G. (2014). Building on prior knowledge: schema-dependent encoding processes relate to academic performance. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 26(10), 2250-2261. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_00630 

Wimmer, G. E., & Poldrack, R. A. (2022). Reward learning and working memory: Effects of massed versus spaced training and post-learning delay period. Memory & Cognition, 50(2), 312–324. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-021-01233-7