Homework: the Good, the Bad and the Unexpected

On Tuesday, January 23, 2013 the inaugural burnsVIEW Coffee House featured a discussion led by Alison Murray and Mandeep More on the topic of homework.

Discussion Highlights:

How do we deal with students who are overwhelmed?

• Teach time management skills;
• Recommend a maximum amount of homework/grade;
• Increase teacher flexibility with regard to due dates and test dates;
• Discuss due/test dates well in advance;
• Avoid homework that is busy work;
• Departments/teachers to distill down to "What do we want them to Learn?";
• Fewer learning outcomes (as promoted in BC EdPlan) would help decrease homework

Purpose of Homework?

• Recommended as April Pro-D topic
• Only assign when repurposes/extends learning beyond what is done in classroom

Issues at Burnsview:

• Parent expectation that homework is completed during Learning Assistance block
• Excessive homework/assigning grades as completion perceived as possible classroom management tactic
• How to encourage students to use class time effectively towards homework completion; discussed Ticket out the Door strategy
• Different values and expectations of different cultures and Socioeconomic classes with regard to homework
• Should homework completion be assessed for marks: Discussed that completion should be evaluated only as a work habit; i.e. homework completion is not a PLO;

Additional Research Findings:

1. Grade 4s who did no homework scored the same as those that did 30 minutes/night. Those that did 45 minutes scored less. Those that completed 60/night minutes scored less again (Kohn, 2006)
2. Grade 12s scored the same in testing when completing 15 minutes homework/night as those who completed 60 min/night (Kohn, 2006)
3. TIMSS survey analysis shows that doing some homework is better than none, but doing a little better than doing a lot (Kohn, 2006)
4. No evidence that homework helps support student increases in: responsibility, time management, perseverance, self discipline, or independence (Kohn, 2006)
5. The more homework assigned, the less positive the attitude of the students (Cooper, 2001)
6. Even when achievement gains have been found, they have been minimal, especially in comparison to the amount of work expended by teachers and students (Barber, 1986)
7. Negative correlation found between grading homework and increased achievement (Baker & LeTendre, 2005)

Commonly Held Beliefs (Vatterott, 2011):

• If I don't grade It, they wont do it; but many ungraded tasks are important: taking notes, group work, participation in discussions. Daniel Pink says we are "bribing students into compliance instead of challenging them into engagement."
• Hard work should be rewarded: Awarding marks for doing homework is like giving points for bringing classroom supplies
• Help students who test poorly: when we count homework, mixing formative (practice) with demonstration (summative) we produce a murky picture of student achievement

Suggestions for assigning manageable, purposeful homework:
Homework: A New Vision

 

Homework Comedy Sketch:

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