To follow up the post from last week, I wanted to share an article with you that I found while doing some personal PD recently. The article discusses some wide bearing studies about homework, not only in the US, but in countries around the world. I think that some of the information presented will surprise. I believe that some of the information presented will only re-affirm what you already know about homework.
Click here to read the article.
Questions to Consider:
1. How much homework is too much: Do you know how much an average length of time a student in your class works on homework in a week? Challenge yourself to think of a number and then ask some students to see how close you are.
2. The article talks about repeating instruction. What do you think of repeating instruction or reteaching? When do you do it, how do you know when to do it?
3. Does homework you gave in class reinforce learning, extend learning or help you gauge learning?
I like the quote, "Homework that is done without help is not good homework." SO TRUE! I cannot tell you how many students come into my room the next day and say "I didn't know how to do the homework!" because they simply were too lazy to do their reading assignment. I do not assign a lot of homework because I know these kids have lives and other classes on top of mine. Homework is an extension in my class of what we have learned that day/week, but also incorporates skills from throughout the year. Too often, kids become lazy and want to focus on new learning and push the old aside; I like the concept of incorporating both (like with math) to ensure growth/problem solving is occurring.
ReplyDeleteI did ask a couple of students how much time they spend on homework and answers were typical. Anywhere from 10-45 minutes, but they are not continually doing homework. Majority of them complete while watching TV or attending a sporting event/extra-curricular. I think homework should be meaningful and the students should be graded because they have to put time/effort in their assignment and feel resentful if they aren't rewarded.
DeleteThanks for taking the time to post a reply. I often ask random questions at lunch of students. Asking often about homework. I would say on average that I get the "1 hour a night" answer quite a bit. Some less and some more. It is often dependent on course selection.
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