A classroom teacher’s view on homework

Research can be a dissentious subject in the education community, and we hope you can value this instructors point of view. How do you interact with households about homework?

When thinking of homework, teachers find it helpful to interact their policy with the households of their trainees. After recently finishing a Learners Edge course, Jennifer Lindsey, a fourth grade instructor from Pennsylvania, assessed her homework approach that includes the purposeful roles instructors and families play.

LE: What is your position on the problem of research?
When I address this question, I respond to as an educator and as the parent of school age kids. I do see homework as having a function in the instructional process and I do not concur with Alfie Kohn (see short article), who appears to believe homework is useless, or even worse, has a negative effect. While Kohn asserts there is almost no research that shows research to be useful, I did not see a persuading quantity of difficult data to support doing away with all research.
Yes, the quantity of research ought to be based on the trainees age and grade level. As most Kindergarten-3rd grade teachers are self-contained, it must be relatively easy to give math research one night, reading or spelling one night, etc to avoid overwhelming 5 to 8-year-olds. If instructors are creative with assignments and in communicating the function of the assignment, students must not end up being annoyed or bored. Those are my objectives as a fourth-grade instructor. I see homework to extend learning. Would I assign 30 mathematics issues to students who I know would fight with them, or to trainees who have shown their understanding of the skill? No, in those cases, it is my job as the instructor to modify the projects.
Our book mentions it can take 24 repeatings of a skill for a student to reach 80% competency. I think practicing abilities is worthwhile. Kohns comparison with tennis does not make good sense to me. There are skills in tennis you need to practice to improve. There are standard math abilities kids need to practice to construct a solid foundation before carrying on to higher-level mathematics abilities. Kohn points out how trainees might progress at remembering, but not believing. I see this as two different things; we require students to keep in mind certain truths and then proceed to utilizing those skills as thinkers and issue solvers.
As a moms and dad, it can be hard to squeeze in homework some nights! We do the finest we can, and if we have problems or concerns, I reach out to the teacher. Once again, good teachers make it a point to know what some home circumstances may be like and to customize appropriately.

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I do see research as having a role in the academic procedure and I do not agree with Alfie Kohn (see short article), who appears to think homework is worthless, or worse, has an unfavorable impact. While Kohn asserts there is nearly no research that proves research to be beneficial, I did not see a persuading amount of tough information to support doing away with all research.
Yes, the amount of homework need to be based on the trainees age and grade level. As many Kindergarten-3rd grade instructors are self-contained, it must be relatively easy to offer mathematics research one night, spelling or reading one night, and so on to prevent straining 5 to 8-year-olds. Homework can be a divisive topic in the education neighborhood, and we hope you can appreciate this teachers point of view.

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