A classroom teacher’s view on homework

LE: What is your position on the issue of homework?
I answer as a teacher and as the parent of school age children when I answer this concern. I do see homework as having a function in the academic procedure and I do not agree with Alfie Kohn (see post), who appears to believe research is worthless, or worse, has an unfavorable effect. While Kohn asserts there is almost no research that proves homework to be helpful, I did not see a persuading quantity of tough information to support eliminating all homework.
Yes, the amount of homework must be based on the students age and grade level. As a lot of Kindergarten-3rd grade instructors are self-contained, it ought to be relatively easy to provide math research one night, spelling or checking out one night, etc to prevent straining 5 to 8-year-olds. If teachers are innovative with tasks and in communicating the function of the project, students must not become bored or annoyed. Those are my goals as a fourth-grade teacher. I see research to extend knowing. Would I assign 30 math problems to trainees who I know would have a hard time with them, or to students who have shown their understanding of the skill? No, in those cases, it is my task as the instructor to customize the projects.
Our textbook points out it can take 24 repeatings of a skill for a trainee to reach 80% proficiency. I think practicing abilities is worthwhile. Kohns comparison with tennis does not make sense to me. There are skills in tennis you should practice to enhance. There are basic math skills kids should practice to develop a strong structure before proceeding to higher-level math abilities. Kohn explains how students might progress at remembering, but not believing. I see this as 2 different things; we need trainees to bear in mind particular truths and then carry on to utilizing those abilities as thinkers and problem solvers.
As a parent, it can be hard to squeeze in research some nights! My own children have brought house assignments I thought too lengthy or improper for one night. We do the finest we can, and if we have issues or issues, I connect to the teacher. Understanding some trainees have little or no assistance in your home must be acknowledged by educators. Again, good instructors make it a point to know what some house situations might resemble and to customize accordingly. When possible, colleagues can collaborate, as described in two extra course articles, by establishing a discovering lab or integrating “Drop-In” times throughout the school day
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When thinking about research, teachers discover it useful to interact their policy with the households of their trainees. After recently completing a Learners Edge course, Jennifer Lindsey, a fourth grade instructor from Pennsylvania, assessed her homework philosophy which includes the purposeful functions teachers and households play.

Research can be a dissentious topic in the education community, and we hope you can value this instructors point of view. How do you interact with households about homework?

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I do see research as having a role in the instructional procedure and I do not agree with Alfie Kohn (see article), who appears to think homework is useless, or worse, has a negative effect. While Kohn asserts there is almost no research that shows homework to be helpful, I did not see a convincing quantity of difficult data to support doing away with all research.
Yes, the amount of research should be based on the students age and grade level. As most Kindergarten-3rd grade teachers are self-contained, it ought to be relatively simple to offer math homework one night, reading or spelling one night, and so on to prevent overwhelming 5 to 8-year-olds. Research can be a divisive topic in the education neighborhood, and we hope you can value this instructors point of view.

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