A classroom teacher’s view on homework

LE: What is your position on the problem of homework?
When I answer this question, I answer as an educator and as the parent of school age children. I do see research as having a role in the instructional procedure and I do not agree with Alfie Kohn (see post), who appears to believe research is useless, or worse, has an unfavorable effect. While Kohn asserts there is practically no research study that proves homework to be advantageous, I did not see a convincing amount of hard information to support getting rid of all research.
Yes, the quantity of research must be based on the trainees age and grade level. As many Kindergarten-3rd grade instructors are self-contained, it needs to be reasonably simple to give math homework one night, spelling or reading one night, and so on to prevent overloading 5 to 8-year-olds. If teachers are innovative with projects and in communicating the function of the assignment, trainees need to not end up being disappointed or bored. Those are my objectives as a fourth-grade teacher. I see research to extend knowing. Would I designate 30 mathematics issues to students who I know would have a hard time with them, or to trainees who have demonstrated their understanding of the skill? No, in those cases, it is my job as the instructor to modify the assignments.
Our book mentions it can take 24 repetitions of an ability for a student to reach 80% proficiency. I believe practicing abilities is worthwhile. Kohns contrast with tennis does not make good sense to me. There are abilities in tennis you must practice to enhance. There are fundamental math skills children should practice to develop a solid foundation before carrying on to higher-level math skills. Kohn points out how students might end up being better at keeping in mind, however not believing. I see this as 2 various things; we need trainees to keep in mind certain facts and then carry on to using those skills as thinkers and problem solvers.
As a moms and dad, it can be difficult to squeeze in homework some nights! We do the best we can, and if we have problems or concerns, I reach out to the teacher. Again, great instructors make it a point to know what some house scenarios may be like and to customize appropriately.

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Research can be a divisive topic in the education neighborhood, and we hope you can appreciate this teachers viewpoint. We want to hear your ideas about research. What is your viewpoint? How do you interact with households about homework?

I do see homework as having a function in the educational procedure and I do not agree with Alfie Kohn (see article), who appears to think homework is useless, or even worse, has an unfavorable effect. While Kohn asserts there is nearly no research study that shows research to be helpful, I did not see a convincing amount of tough information to support doing away with all homework.
Yes, the amount of research need to be based on the students age and grade level. As a lot of Kindergarten-3rd grade instructors are self-contained, it should be relatively basic to give math homework one night, spelling or checking out one night, etc to prevent overloading 5 to 8-year-olds. Research can be a divisive subject in the education community, and we hope you can appreciate this instructors point of view.

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

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