HOMEWORK

1
HOMEWORK

• Appropriately designed and implemented homework
  should be incorporated into a students academic
  grade.

2
The History of Homework

• At the beginning of the 20th century the mind was
  seen as a muscle that could be strengthened by
  mental exercise
• In the 1940s the importance of homework was moved
  from drill to problem solving.
• In the 1950s the launch of Sputnik worried the
  public that the education system in the U.S.
  didnt have the rigor to prepare students to
  create complex technologies.
• In the 1960s homework was perceived as just
  adding pressure to students.

3
History Homework continued

• In the 1980s as a result of a Nation at Risk
  homework was prescribed to cure the rising tide
  of mediocrity.
• In the 1990s proponents of homework continued to
  give it in order to meet the rigorous
  state-mandated academic standards.
• Today, a recent national survey of 803 parents
  of students in public school showed that only 64
  percent believed that child was getting about
  the right amount homework, 25 percent felt that
  their child was getting too little and only 10
  percent believed their child is getting too much
  homework.

4
Homework isnt all bad

• As stated in How People Learn learning occurs
  when the mind makes new synaptic connections
• Homework is successfully when parents are
  involved.
• Homework is an opportunity to move students into
  what Vygotsky called the zone of proximal
  development.

5
Positive Effects of Homework

• Immediate achievement and learning
• Better retention of factual knowledge
• Increased understanding
• Better critical thinking, concept formation,
  information processing
• Curriculum enrichment
• Long-term academic benefits
• learning during leisure time
• Better study habits and skills

6
Positive Effects of Homework continued.

• Nonacademic benefits
• Greater self direction
• Greater self discipline
• Better time organization
• More inquisitiveness
• More independent problem solving

7
Does homework work?

• Cooper (2001) focused on three types of studies
  concentrated on whether homework improves
  students achievement and found
• Out of 20 studies 14 studies showed a positive
  effect when given homework, and 6 favored no
  homework.
• Homework benefits high students more than it does
  middle school or elementary school students.
• In 50 studies of statewide surveys 43 showed that
  students that did more homework had better
  achievement scores.

8
Differences among grade level

• For students grade 3-5 the correlation between
  how much homework and achievement was almost
  zero.
• For students 6-9 the correlation was a little
  higher
• For high school students the correlation was the
  highest
• Homework has a strong positive effect on the
  achievement of high school students. Middle
  school students have about half as much benefit
  (Cooper, 2001.)

9
What is good homework

• Homework that has clear directions2
• Needs to be manageable to the student without any
  help2
• Related to the lesson of the day2
• Needs to be collected and reviewed2
• Students need feedback2 and 3
• Needs to follow 10 minute rule1
• Needs to authentic and engaging1
• Based on the developmental level of the student1
• 1Cooper (2001)
• 2Darling Hammond (2006)
• 3Checkley (2003)