A classroom teacher’s view on homework

.

Research can be a divisive subject in the education community, and we hope you can appreciate this instructors point of view. How do you communicate with families about research?

I do see homework as having a role in the instructional process and I do not concur with Alfie Kohn (see post), who appears to think research is useless, or even worse, has a negative impact. While Kohn asserts there is nearly no research that proves research to be helpful, I did not see a persuading quantity of hard data to support doing away with all research.
Yes, the amount of homework must be based on the students age and grade level. As a lot of Kindergarten-3rd grade instructors are self-contained, it needs to be fairly easy to offer mathematics homework one night, spelling or checking out one night, etc to avoid overwhelming 5 to 8-year-olds. Research can be a dissentious subject in the education community, and we hope you can value this instructors point of view.

LE: What is your position on the problem of homework?
I answer as a teacher and as the moms and dad of school age children when I answer this concern. I do see homework as having a function in the instructional process and I do not concur with Alfie Kohn (see post), who appears to think research is useless, or worse, has an unfavorable impact. While Kohn asserts there is almost no research study that proves homework to be helpful, I did not see a persuading quantity of hard information to support eliminating all homework.
Yes, the amount of homework ought to be based upon the trainees age and grade level. As many Kindergarten-3rd grade teachers are self-contained, it ought to be relatively easy to provide math research one night, reading or spelling one night, etc to avoid straining 5 to 8-year-olds. Trainees need to not end up being annoyed or bored if instructors are creative with tasks and in interacting the function of the task. Those are my objectives as a fourth-grade teacher. I see research to extend learning. Would I assign 30 mathematics problems to students who I know would deal with them, or to students who have demonstrated their understanding of the skill? No, in those cases, it is my job as the teacher to modify the tasks.
Our textbook mentions it can take 24 repetitions of a skill for a trainee to reach 80% proficiency. I think practicing skills is rewarding. Kohns contrast with tennis does not make good sense to me. There are skills in tennis you need to practice to enhance. There are basic mathematics abilities kids should practice to build a solid foundation prior to proceeding to higher-level mathematics abilities. Kohn explains how trainees might progress at keeping in mind, however not thinking. I see this as 2 different things; we need students to keep in mind certain facts and then move on to using those skills as thinkers and issue solvers.
As a parent, it can be hard to squeeze in research some nights! My own children have brought home tasks I thought inappropriate or too prolonged for one night. We do the best we can, and if we have concerns or issues, I connect to the teacher. Knowing some students have little or no support in the house must be recognized by teachers. Once again, good instructors make it a point to know what some home situations may resemble and to customize accordingly. When possible, associates can collaborate, as described in 2 extra course posts, by developing a learning lab or incorporating “Drop-In” times throughout the school day
.

When thinking of homework, instructors find it advantageous to interact their policy with the households of their trainees. After just recently completing a Learners Edge course, Jennifer Lindsey, a 4th grade instructor from Pennsylvania, reflected on her research viewpoint that includes the purposeful functions instructors and families play.

You may also like...