A classroom teacher’s view on homework

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When considering homework, teachers find it helpful to interact their policy with the families of their trainees. After recently completing a Learners Edge course, Jennifer Lindsey, a fourth grade instructor from Pennsylvania, showed on her research viewpoint which includes the purposeful roles teachers and households play.

I do see homework as having a function in the instructional procedure and I do not agree with Alfie Kohn (see short article), who appears to believe research is worthless, or worse, has a negative impact. While Kohn asserts there is almost no research that proves research to be beneficial, I did not see a persuading quantity of hard data to support doing away with all homework.
Yes, the quantity of research need to be based on the trainees age and grade level. As most Kindergarten-3rd grade teachers are self-contained, it must be fairly basic to provide mathematics research one night, checking out or spelling one night, and so on to avoid overwhelming 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.

LE: What is your position on the concern of research?
I answer as an educator and as the parent of school age kids when I answer this question. I do see research as having a role in the educational procedure and I do not agree with Alfie Kohn (see post), who appears to believe homework is useless, or even worse, has a negative impact. While Kohn asserts there is practically no research study that shows homework to be useful, I did not see a persuading amount of hard information to support doing away with all research.
Yes, the quantity of homework need to be based on the students age and grade level. As a lot of Kindergarten-3rd grade instructors are self-contained, it needs to be relatively simple to provide math research one night, reading or spelling one night, and so on to avoid straining 5 to 8-year-olds. Students ought to not become bored or disappointed if teachers are imaginative with tasks and in communicating the purpose of the task. Those are my objectives as a fourth-grade teacher. I see homework to extend learning. Would I appoint 30 math issues to trainees who I know would battle 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 customize the tasks.
Our textbook explains it can take 24 repetitions of an ability for a trainee to reach 80% proficiency. I think practicing skills is worthwhile. Kohns comparison with tennis does not make sense to me. There are skills in tennis you must practice to improve. There are basic mathematics skills kids should practice to build a solid foundation prior to proceeding to higher-level mathematics skills. Kohn explains how students might progress at remembering, however not thinking. I see this as 2 various things; we require students to bear in mind specific facts and after that move on to utilizing those abilities as thinkers and issue solvers.
As a parent, it can be challenging to squeeze in homework some nights! My own kids have actually brought house assignments I thought inappropriate or too lengthy for one night. We do the very best we can, and if we have concerns or problems, I reach out to the teacher. Knowing some students have little or no support in your home must be recognized by teachers. Once again, good teachers make it an indicate know what some home situations might be like and to customize appropriately. When possible, colleagues can work together, as described in two supplemental course articles, by establishing a discovering laboratory or incorporating “Drop-In” times during the school day
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Research can be a dissentious topic in the education community, and we hope you can value this teachers perspective. We wish to hear your ideas about research. What is your philosophy? How do you interact with households about research?

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