Does having a four-day schedule increase effective learning?

The question of whether a four-day schedule increases effectiveness in learning, compared to the traditional five-day schedule, has been a topic of debate amongst educators and students alike.

Many school districts in the United States, specifically Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado, have embraced the four-day schedule, and the practice is spreading to other states, including Texas and Montana.

Although most traditionally scheduled courses at AUC are held on either Sundays and Wednesdays or Mondays and Thursdays, leaving Tuesdays off, many labs and odd-hour courses are offered on Tuesdays. This means that while some students will have a four-day schedule, with Tuesdays off, others will have a traditional five-day schedule.

Psychology adjunct faculty member and industrial and organizational consultant Hadeel El-Ahraf explains that employees who choose to work compressed work weeks in the form of fewer days but longer hours per day are less likely to burn out. Longer workdays, however, can affect concentration, so El-Ahraf advises those who opt for longer days  to take periodic 10 to 15 minute breaks throughout the day.

“At work, we find that some employees who choose to work a four-day work week, even with longer hours each day, show higher satisfaction, productivity, and work-life balance,” said El-Ahraf.

She added that there is also a considerable amount of personal variability in terms of how long people can focus and be productive. This personal variation, El-Ahraf argues, means employees must choose whether or not to work shorter weeks but longer hours, rather than be forced into it by their companies.

“The focus remains on keeping people productive by allowing them to work a schedule that suits them best and allows for better work-life balance,” said El-Ahraf.

She explained how most companies that allow people to work a compressed workweek do so as part of a larger employee well-being program. This is done in an effort to offer employees flexibility in how they meet their responsibilities, which could involve working four days, or it could be flexible working hours over five days. 

By the same token, El-Ahraf thinks offering students courses over five days allows students the opportunity to schedule their classes on more days or to stack up their courses over fewer, but longer days. 

She also believes that how students manage their time outside of scheduled sessions is more important than how many days classes are offered. 

“Developing good time management and self-regulation will also help them learn to improve their work-life balance as students and professionals. Remember, the university is supposed to prepare you for the workplace, so these are transferable skills students can develop that will last them a lifetime in whatever profession they choose to enter,” said El-Ahraf.

Maya Shehata, a Psychology senior, shared her insights on how the structure of a university schedule can impact student learning and well-being.

“For me personally, I find the four-day schedule to be more effective, mainly because it gives me a lot more time for myself […] and time to engage in things [besides] academics [like] internship and extracurricular activities,” said Shehata.

From a student’s perspective, having more time to catch up on tasks and assignments greatly benefits their mental health because it lessens the feeling of falling behind in their studies.

“On Tuesdays, you will usually find me on campus working on my work-study or research that I am part of or planning things for the association that I am in, so it has been really helpful to get Tuesdays off to do things. It has helped me academically and in my career a lot,” added Shehata.

For Construction Engineering senior Ahmed Omar a traditional five-day schedule is hard to manage.
“It is a bit hard, honestly, especially when you’re a student-athlete, you’ll need all the time in the world, and also, a midweek break would be very nice,” said Omar.