Is homework actually beneficial? What are the statistics on achievement and homework? Should homework continue to play a central role in elementary education?
These are all questions asked by educators, parents and students. As an educator, I ask these questions as well. I was home schooled, so I never had traditional homework until I began college. Thus, I’ve leaned toward the belief that very little homework or none should be given. I’ve thought children should learn academics in school, and then be free to spend time outside and with friends and family when school is out of session. However, I’ve wrestled with the potential that perhaps children need homework to let them explore their own academic interests and deepen their knowledge concerning in-class lessons. To learn more about homework and various perspectives regarding homework, I chose to watch a webinar entitled Rethinking Homework: New Practices, New Roles. This webinar is by Cathy Vatterottt, a professor of education at the University of Missouri- St. Louis. I found Vatterott’s presentation insightful and practical. I want to share the main points in the webinar and explain how the information inspires me to use homework intentionally.
The first point made in the presentation is about the controversy surrounding homework. There are typically two main schools of thought. One is that homework is good and important for learning. The other belief sees homework in a negative light and believes that homework is unhealthy for students and doesn’t help academic achievement significantly. Some schools are lessening homework loads because of complaints from parents. There is an economic divide that also influences views on homework. Some children are unfairly punished for not doing homework due to at-home situations that are out of their control. Another factor that has encouraged homework assignments to lessen the stress that it causes. This academic stress and achievement culture that is heightened by homework is what usually leads parents to actively speak against homework.
The second point is what the research says about homework. Research shows that homework is messy. Messy refers to the questions of Who did the homework? and Does homework enhance achievement? It is nearly impossible to answer the question of Who did the homework. Some teachers ask parents to sign homework sheets to signify that the child did the homework, but that doesn’t work for every family. Basically it comes down to trusting that the homework was done as intended. In regards to the effectiveness of homework, there is no correlation between homework and achievement at the elementary level. At middle and high school levels there is only a weak correlation. However, it is important to note that this does not mean that homework is worthless, but rather that there is a lot of ineffective homework given. The research does affirm that no more than ten minutes of homework per grade per night should be given.
Thirdly, the presentation focuses on what quality homework looks like. Homework should have a clear academic purpose, and promote competence and ownership. Assignments should also be time and energy efficient.When creating homework assignments teachers should ask: Is the goal to complete all the work or to show mastery? One trend in homework that attempts to make homework effective is allowing students to make choices regarding their assignments.
Two things I want to take away from this presentation are the lessons on academic stress and homework effectiveness. I want to make sure that my homework is not adding to student stress. I also want to remember not to assign homework that will be ineffective. I intend to only assign homework that will help my students gain valuable knowledge, not waste their time.