A classroom teacher’s view on homework

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

When thinking of homework, teachers find it helpful to interact their policy with the families of their students. After just recently completing a Learners Edge course, Jennifer Lindsey, a fourth grade teacher from Pennsylvania, assessed her homework approach that includes the purposeful functions instructors and households play.

I do see homework as having a role in the instructional process and I do not concur with Alfie Kohn (see post), who appears to believe research is useless, or even worse, has an unfavorable impact. While Kohn asserts there is practically no research that shows homework to be helpful, I did not see a convincing quantity of difficult information to support doing away with all homework.
Yes, the quantity of research need to be based on the students age and grade level. As a lot of Kindergarten-3rd grade teachers are self-contained, it must be fairly simple to offer mathematics research one night, checking out or spelling one night, and so on to avoid overloading 5 to 8-year-olds. Homework can be a divisive topic in the education community, and we hope you can appreciate this instructors point of view.

LE: What is your position on the problem of research?
When I answer this question, I answer as an educator and as the moms and dad of school age kids. I do see research as having a role in the academic process and I do not agree with Alfie Kohn (see article), who appears to think homework is useless, or worse, has a negative impact. While Kohn asserts there is practically no research that proves research to be beneficial, I did not see a convincing quantity of hard data to support eliminating all homework.
Yes, the amount 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 relatively basic to provide mathematics research one night, reading or spelling one night, and so on to prevent straining 5 to 8-year-olds. I see research to extend learning.
Our book mentions it can take 24 repetitions of a skill for a student to reach 80% competency. I believe practicing skills is beneficial. Kohns contrast with tennis does not make sense to me. There are abilities in tennis you need to practice to enhance. There are standard mathematics skills kids must practice to construct a solid foundation before carrying on to higher-level mathematics skills. Kohn mentions how trainees may progress at keeping in mind, however not believing. I see this as 2 different things; we need trainees to keep in mind certain facts and after that proceed to using those abilities as thinkers and problem solvers.
As a parent, it can be challenging to squeeze in research some nights! We do the finest we can, and if we have issues or problems, I reach out to the instructor. Once again, great teachers make it a point to know what some home scenarios may be like and to modify accordingly.

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