A classroom teacher’s view on homework

When thinking of research, teachers discover it useful to communicate their policy with the families of their students. After just recently finishing a Learners Edge course, Jennifer Lindsey, a 4th grade teacher from Pennsylvania, reviewed her homework viewpoint that includes the purposeful functions teachers and families play.

I do see homework as having a role in the academic process and I do not concur with Alfie Kohn (see short article), who appears to believe homework is useless, or worse, has a negative effect. While Kohn asserts there is practically no research study that proves homework to be beneficial, I did not see a persuading quantity of hard information to support doing away with all homework.
Yes, the amount of homework must be based on the trainees age and grade level. As many Kindergarten-3rd grade instructors are self-contained, it ought to be relatively basic to offer mathematics homework one night, reading or spelling one night, and so on to prevent overwhelming 5 to 8-year-olds. Research can be a dissentious topic in the education neighborhood, and we hope you can value this instructors point of view.

LE: What is your position on the concern of research?
I answer as an educator and as the moms and dad of school age kids when I address this concern. I do see research as having a role in the instructional procedure and I do not agree with Alfie Kohn (see article), who appears to believe research is useless, or even worse, has an unfavorable effect. While Kohn asserts there is practically no research study that shows homework to be beneficial, I did not see a convincing amount of hard data to support doing away with all research.
Yes, the amount of homework must be based upon the trainees age and grade level. As most Kindergarten-3rd grade teachers are self-contained, it must be fairly easy to offer math research one night, spelling or reading one night, and so on to prevent straining 5 to 8-year-olds. If instructors are imaginative with assignments and in communicating the function of the task, trainees should not end up being bored or disappointed. Those are my objectives as a fourth-grade teacher. I see research to extend learning. Would I appoint 30 math problems to students who I understand would deal with them, or to trainees who have demonstrated their understanding of the ability? No, in those cases, it is my job as the teacher to customize the tasks.
Our textbook mentions it can take 24 repetitions of an ability for a student to reach 80% competency. I think practicing abilities is worthwhile. Kohns contrast with tennis does not make good sense to me. There are abilities in tennis you need to practice to improve. There are standard mathematics abilities kids must practice to construct a strong foundation before moving on to higher-level math skills. Kohn mentions how trainees may end up being better at remembering, but not thinking. I see this as two various things; we require trainees to keep in mind specific facts and then move on to using those abilities as thinkers and problem solvers.
As a parent, it can be challenging to squeeze in homework some nights! We do the best we can, and if we have concerns or issues, I reach out to the instructor. Once again, great instructors make it a point to understand what some house scenarios might be like and to modify accordingly.

Homework can be a dissentious subject in the education neighborhood, and we hope you can appreciate this teachers perspective. We want to hear your thoughts about research. What is your viewpoint? How do you interact with families about homework?

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