A classroom teacher’s view on homework

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LE: What is your position on the problem of research?
When I answer this question, I respond to as a teacher and as the moms and dad of school age kids. I do see research as having a function in the instructional procedure and I do not agree with Alfie Kohn (see post), who appears to believe homework is useless, or worse, has an unfavorable effect. While Kohn asserts there is practically no research that shows homework to be beneficial, I did not see a persuading amount of difficult data to support getting rid of all homework.
Yes, the amount of research should be based on the students age and grade level. As many Kindergarten-3rd grade teachers are self-contained, it needs to be fairly easy to offer mathematics homework one night, spelling or reading one night, etc to avoid overloading 5 to 8-year-olds. Trainees need to not end up being bored or annoyed if instructors are innovative with tasks and in communicating the purpose of the project. Those are my goals as a fourth-grade instructor. I see research to extend knowing. Would I appoint 30 mathematics issues to trainees who I understand would struggle with them, or to trainees who have shown their understanding of the ability? No, in those cases, it is my task as the instructor to modify the tasks.
Our textbook points out it can take 24 repetitions of a skill for a student to reach 80% competency. Kohn points out how students may end up being much better at keeping in mind, but not thinking. I see this as two different things; we need trainees to remember certain facts and then move on to using those skills as thinkers and problem solvers.
As a parent, it can be difficult to squeeze in homework some nights! We do the best we can, and if we have concerns or problems, I reach out to the teacher. Again, excellent teachers make it a point to know what some house situations may be like and to modify appropriately.

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

When thinking about homework, teachers discover it helpful to communicate their policy with the households of their trainees. After just recently finishing a Learners Edge course, Jennifer Lindsey, a fourth grade instructor from Pennsylvania, reviewed her research philosophy that includes the purposeful roles teachers and families play.

I do see homework as having a function in the educational procedure and I do not agree with Alfie Kohn (see short article), who appears to believe research is useless, or even worse, has a negative effect. While Kohn asserts there is almost no research that proves research to be advantageous, I did not see a persuading quantity of hard data to support doing away with all research.
Yes, the amount of research should be based on the trainees age and grade level. As many Kindergarten-3rd grade instructors are self-contained, it needs to be fairly simple to give mathematics research one night, reading or spelling one night, and so on to avoid overloading 5 to 8-year-olds. Homework can be a divisive subject in the education neighborhood, and we hope you can appreciate this teachers point of view.

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