LE: What is your position on the problem of homework?
I address as a teacher and as the moms and dad of school age kids when I address this question. I do see homework as having a role in the educational process and I do not agree with Alfie Kohn (see post), who appears to believe research is worthless, or even worse, has an unfavorable effect. While Kohn asserts there is nearly no research study that proves homework to be advantageous, I did not see a convincing amount of difficult information to support eliminating all research.
Yes, the amount of research should be based upon the students age and grade level. As most Kindergarten-3rd grade instructors are self-contained, it must be reasonably easy to provide mathematics homework one night, checking out or spelling one night, etc to prevent overloading 5 to 8-year-olds. Trainees need to not become bored or disappointed if teachers are imaginative with assignments and in communicating the function of the project. Those are my goals as a fourth-grade instructor. I see homework to extend knowing. Would I assign 30 math problems to trainees who I know would have a hard time with them, or to students who have shown their understanding of the skill? No, in those cases, it is my task as the instructor to customize the tasks.
Our book explains it can take 24 repeatings of an ability for a trainee to reach 80% competency. I believe practicing abilities is beneficial. Kohns comparison with tennis does not make good sense to me. There are skills in tennis you must practice to improve. There are basic math skills kids must practice to construct a solid structure prior to proceeding to higher-level math abilities. Kohn explains how students may become much better at remembering, however not believing. I see this as two different things; we need students to bear in mind certain facts and then proceed to using those skills as thinkers and problem solvers.
As a moms and dad, it can be tough to squeeze in homework some nights! My own children have actually brought home projects I thought improper or too lengthy for one night. We do the very best we can, and if we have problems or concerns, I connect to the instructor. Knowing some students have little or no assistance at house need to be acknowledged by educators. Again, excellent instructors make it an indicate know what some house situations may resemble and to customize accordingly. When possible, coworkers can collaborate, as described in two additional course posts, by establishing a discovering lab or incorporating “Drop-In” times throughout the school day
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I do see research as having a role in the instructional process and I do not agree with Alfie Kohn (see post), who appears to think homework is worthless, or worse, has an unfavorable effect. While Kohn asserts there is almost no research that shows research to be useful, I did not see a convincing amount of tough data to support doing away with all research.
Yes, the quantity of research should be based on the trainees age and grade level. As a lot of Kindergarten-3rd grade instructors are self-contained, it should be relatively easy to provide mathematics homework one night, reading or spelling one night, etc to prevent straining 5 to 8-year-olds. Research can be a divisive subject in the education community, and we hope you can appreciate this teachers point of view.

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

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When thinking of research, instructors discover it beneficial to communicate their policy with the families of their students. After just recently completing a Learners Edge course, Jennifer Lindsey, a fourth grade teacher from Pennsylvania, reviewed her research approach which includes the purposeful roles teachers and families play.