A classroom teacher’s view on homework

Research can be a divisive subject in the education community, and we hope you can value this instructors point of view. How do you communicate with families about research?

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When thinking about homework, instructors find it advantageous to interact their policy with the households of their students. After just recently finishing a Learners Edge course, Jennifer Lindsey, a 4th grade instructor from Pennsylvania, assessed her research approach which includes the purposeful functions teachers and families play.

LE: What is your position on the problem of research?
I address as an educator and as the moms and dad of school age kids when I answer this concern. I do see research as having a role in the academic process and I do not concur with Alfie Kohn (see short article), who appears to think homework is worthless, or worse, has an unfavorable effect. While Kohn asserts there is nearly no research that proves research to be useful, I did not see a convincing quantity of difficult information to support getting rid of all research.
Yes, the quantity of research ought to be based on the trainees age and grade level. As the majority of Kindergarten-3rd grade teachers are self-contained, it should be fairly basic to give math research one night, spelling or checking out one night, etc to avoid overwhelming 5 to 8-year-olds. Trainees should not end up being bored or disappointed if teachers are innovative with projects and in communicating the purpose of the task. Those are my objectives as a fourth-grade teacher. I see research to extend knowing. Would I assign 30 math problems to trainees who I know would battle with them, or to students 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 a skill for a student to reach 80% proficiency. I believe practicing abilities is worthwhile. Kohns contrast with tennis does not make good sense to me. There are abilities in tennis you need to practice to improve. There are fundamental math skills children need to practice to construct a strong structure before moving on to higher-level mathematics abilities. Kohn mentions how trainees might progress at remembering, but not thinking. I see this as two different things; we need students to bear in mind certain truths and then proceed to using those abilities as thinkers and issue solvers.
As a parent, it can be challenging to squeeze in homework some nights! We do the best we can, and if we have issues or problems, I reach out to the teacher. Again, great instructors make it a point to know what some house scenarios may be like and to modify appropriately.

I do see research as having a function in the instructional process and I do not concur with Alfie Kohn (see article), who appears to think homework is useless, or worse, has an unfavorable effect. While Kohn asserts there is almost no research that shows research to be advantageous, I did not see a convincing quantity of tough data to support doing away with all research.
Yes, the quantity of research need to be based on the students age and grade level. As most Kindergarten-3rd grade instructors are self-contained, it must be fairly basic to offer mathematics research one night, checking out or spelling one night, etc to avoid overloading 5 to 8-year-olds. Research can be a dissentious subject in the education neighborhood, and we hope you can appreciate this instructors point of view.

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