A classroom teacher’s view on homework

LE: What is your position on the issue of homework?
I address as a teacher and as the moms and dad of school age kids when I answer this concern. I do see research as having a function in the academic process and I do not agree with Alfie Kohn (see article), who appears to believe homework is useless, or even worse, has an unfavorable impact. While Kohn asserts there is practically no research that shows research to be helpful, I did not see a convincing quantity of difficult data to support getting rid of all homework.
Yes, the amount of research must be based upon the trainees age and grade level. As many Kindergarten-3rd grade teachers are self-contained, it must be reasonably easy to provide math homework one night, reading or spelling one night, etc to avoid straining 5 to 8-year-olds. Students should not become annoyed or bored if instructors are creative with tasks and in communicating the function of the assignment. Those are my objectives as a fourth-grade instructor. I see homework to extend knowing. Would I assign 30 math issues to trainees who I know would have problem with them, or to students who have demonstrated their understanding of the skill? No, in those cases, it is my job as the teacher to modify the projects.
Our book points out it can take 24 repeatings of an ability for a student to reach 80% competency. Kohn points out how trainees may end up being better at remembering, however not believing. I see this as two different things; we require trainees to keep in mind specific truths and then move on to utilizing those skills as thinkers and issue solvers.
As a parent, it can be challenging to squeeze in homework some nights! My own children have brought house projects I believed inappropriate or too lengthy for one night. We do the best we can, and if we have problems or issues, I connect to the teacher. Knowing some trainees have little or no support at home must be acknowledged by educators. Once again, good instructors make it a point to know what some home situations may resemble and to modify accordingly. When possible, colleagues can collaborate, as explained in 2 additional course posts, by developing a discovering lab or including “Drop-In” times during the school day
.

When considering homework, teachers discover it advantageous to interact their policy with the households of their trainees. After just recently finishing a Learners Edge course, Jennifer Lindsey, a 4th grade instructor from Pennsylvania, assessed her homework philosophy that includes the purposeful functions teachers and households play.

I do see research as having a role in the instructional process and I do not agree with Alfie Kohn (see article), who appears to think research is useless, or even worse, has a negative impact. While Kohn asserts there is almost no research study that shows research to be useful, I did not see a persuading amount of tough information to support doing away with all research.
Yes, the amount of research must be based on the trainees age and grade level. As many Kindergarten-3rd grade instructors are self-contained, it should be relatively basic to offer mathematics homework one night, checking out or spelling one night, etc to avoid straining 5 to 8-year-olds. Homework can be a divisive topic in the education neighborhood, and we hope you can appreciate this instructors point of view.

Homework can be a dissentious topic in the education community, and we hope you can appreciate this teachers viewpoint. We want to hear your thoughts about research. What is your viewpoint? How do you interact with families about research?

.

You may also like...