LE: What is your position on the issue of research?
When I answer this concern, I address as a teacher and as the parent of school age children. I do see homework as having a role in the educational process and I do not agree with Alfie Kohn (see post), who appears to believe homework is worthless, or worse, has a negative effect. While Kohn asserts there is nearly no research study that shows research to be useful, I did not see a convincing amount of hard data to support eliminating all research.
Yes, the amount of research ought to be based upon the trainees age and grade level. As many Kindergarten-3rd grade teachers are self-contained, it needs to be relatively simple to give math research one night, spelling or reading one night, and so on to prevent overwhelming 5 to 8-year-olds. Trainees should not end up being bored or disappointed if instructors are innovative with assignments and in communicating the purpose of the project. Those are my objectives as a fourth-grade instructor. I see homework to extend learning. Would I designate 30 mathematics issues to students who I know would have problem 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 customize the projects.
Our book points out it can take 24 repeatings of an ability for a student to reach 80% competency. I believe practicing abilities is rewarding. Kohns comparison with tennis does not make good sense to me. There are abilities in tennis you must practice to enhance. There are fundamental mathematics abilities children should practice to build a solid structure before moving on to higher-level math skills. Kohn mentions how trainees might end up being better at keeping in mind, but not thinking. I see this as 2 various things; we require trainees to bear in mind certain truths and then carry on to utilizing those skills as thinkers and problem solvers.
As a moms and dad, it can be hard to squeeze in research some nights! We do the best we can, and if we have issues or issues, I reach out to the instructor. Again, good teachers make it a point to know what some house circumstances might be like and to customize accordingly.

When considering homework, instructors discover it advantageous to interact their policy with the families of their trainees. After just recently finishing a Learners Edge course, Jennifer Lindsey, a 4th grade teacher from Pennsylvania, showed on her research philosophy which includes the purposeful roles teachers and households play.

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I do see homework as having a function in the academic procedure 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 practically no research that shows research to be advantageous, I did not see a convincing quantity of hard data to support doing away with all homework.
Yes, the amount of research ought to be based on the students age and grade level. As most Kindergarten-3rd grade instructors are self-contained, it needs to be relatively simple to give mathematics research one night, spelling or checking out one night, and so on to prevent overwhelming 5 to 8-year-olds. Research can be a divisive subject in the education community, and we hope you can appreciate this teachers point of view.

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