A classroom teacher’s view on homework

Research can be a dissentious subject in the education community, and we hope you can value this teachers perspective. We want to hear your ideas about homework. What is your philosophy? How do you communicate with families about research?

.

When thinking of homework, teachers find it helpful to interact their policy with the households of their trainees. After recently completing a Learners Edge course, Jennifer Lindsey, a 4th grade teacher from Pennsylvania, reviewed her homework philosophy which includes the purposeful functions teachers and households play.

I do see research as having a function in the instructional process and I do not concur with Alfie Kohn (see post), who appears to think research is useless, or even worse, has a negative effect. While Kohn asserts there is practically no research study that proves homework to be advantageous, I did not see a persuading amount of hard information to support doing away with all homework.
Yes, the quantity of research should be based on the trainees age and grade level. As many Kindergarten-3rd grade teachers are self-contained, it should be relatively simple to provide math homework one night, spelling or reading one night, etc to avoid straining 5 to 8-year-olds. Research can be a dissentious topic in the education neighborhood, and we hope you can appreciate this instructors point of view.

LE: What is your position on the problem of research?
When I address this question, I address as a teacher and as the moms and dad of school age kids. I do see research as having a function in the academic procedure and I do not concur with Alfie Kohn (see post), who appears to believe research is worthless, or worse, has an unfavorable impact. While Kohn asserts there is nearly no research that shows homework to be helpful, I did not see a convincing quantity of tough data to support eliminating all research.
Yes, the quantity of research should be based on the trainees age and grade level. As the majority of Kindergarten-3rd grade teachers are self-contained, it must be fairly simple to provide mathematics research one night, spelling or checking out one night, etc to prevent straining 5 to 8-year-olds. If instructors are imaginative with assignments and in interacting the purpose of the assignment, trainees should not become frustrated or bored. Those are my objectives as a fourth-grade instructor. I see research to extend learning. Would I assign 30 mathematics problems to trainees who I know would deal with them, or to students who have shown their understanding of the skill? No, in those cases, it is my job as the teacher to modify the assignments.
Our book points out it can take 24 repeatings of a skill for a trainee to reach 80% competency. Kohn points out how trainees might become better at remembering, however not thinking. I see this as 2 different things; we need trainees to remember certain truths and then move on to utilizing those skills as thinkers and problem solvers.
As a moms and dad, it can be difficult to squeeze in research some nights! We do the finest we can, and if we have issues or issues, I reach out to the teacher. Once again, excellent teachers make it a point to understand what some home scenarios may be like and to customize accordingly.

You may also like...