A classroom teacher’s view on homework

LE: What is your position on the problem of research?
When I address this concern, I respond to as a teacher and as the parent of school age children. I do see homework as having a role in the academic process and I do not concur with Alfie Kohn (see article), who appears to think research is useless, or even worse, has an unfavorable impact. While Kohn asserts there is nearly no research study that proves research to be helpful, I did not see a persuading amount of hard information to support doing away with all homework.
Yes, the amount of research should be based upon the trainees age and grade level. As the majority of Kindergarten-3rd grade teachers are self-contained, it must be relatively basic to provide mathematics research one night, spelling or reading one night, etc to prevent overwhelming 5 to 8-year-olds. If instructors are imaginative with assignments and in communicating the function of the task, trainees ought to not become bored or annoyed. Those are my goals as a fourth-grade instructor. I see homework to extend knowing. Would I appoint 30 mathematics problems to students who I understand would deal with them, or to trainees who have demonstrated their understanding of the ability? No, in those cases, it is my task as the teacher to modify the assignments.
Our textbook points out it can take 24 repeatings of an ability for a student to reach 80% competency. I believe practicing abilities is worthwhile. Kohns comparison with tennis does not make sense to me. There are skills in tennis you should practice to enhance. There are standard mathematics abilities children need to practice to build a solid structure before carrying on to higher-level mathematics skills. Kohn points out how students may progress at remembering, but not thinking. I see this as 2 different things; we need trainees to remember particular realities and then move on to using those skills as thinkers and problem solvers.
As a parent, it can be challenging to squeeze in homework some nights! My own children have actually brought home tasks I thought too lengthy or inappropriate for one night. We do the very best we can, and if we have issues or issues, I reach out to the teacher. Knowing some trainees have little or no support in the house need to be acknowledged by educators. Once again, excellent instructors make it an indicate know what some home circumstances may be like and to modify accordingly. When possible, colleagues can work together, as described in 2 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 function in the instructional procedure and I do not concur with Alfie Kohn (see post), who appears to believe research is useless, or worse, has a negative effect. While Kohn asserts there is practically no research that shows research to be helpful, I did not see a convincing amount of hard information to support doing away with all homework.
Yes, the quantity of homework ought to be based on the trainees age and grade level. As many Kindergarten-3rd grade teachers are self-contained, it must be relatively easy to offer mathematics homework one night, spelling or checking out one night, etc to avoid overwhelming 5 to 8-year-olds. Homework can be a dissentious topic in the education community, and we hope you can appreciate this teachers point of view.

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Homework can be a dissentious subject in the education community, and we hope you can appreciate this instructors point of view. We would like to hear your ideas about homework. What is your viewpoint? How do you interact with households about research?

When considering research, teachers find it advantageous to communicate their policy with the families of their trainees. After recently completing a Learners Edge course, Jennifer Lindsey, a 4th grade teacher from Pennsylvania, reviewed her research approach which consists of the purposeful roles teachers and families play.

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