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     Jerry Moore (Admin) Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 25840 Registered: 01-2000  Rating: N/A |
The Edutopia Poll Should teachers assign homework over the summer? by Sara Ring / Edutopia with over 60 comments June 17, 2010 No more pencils, no more books? Not so for many students, who are increasingly expected to complete homework assignments over the summer -- anything from reading lists to essays to intricate math problems. The practice is intended to combat the summer learning loss that affects all students. Though proponents argue that summer homework helps students maintain their academic skills, many students and their families resent mandatory work over vacation. In fact, in 2005, a Wisconsin teen sued his math teacher, the school district, and the state department of education, arguing that his school was outside of its rights to assign work before his class technically began. (The suit was dismissed.) Is summer homework an unfair burden to place on families, or is it a reasonable response to summer learning loss? Tell us what you think!  One reader commented:Homework = Waste of time 
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| Jerry Moore (Admin) Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 24706 Registered: 01-2000 Rating: N/A |
Less homework, more playtime An Albany (NY) Times Union Letter to the Editor February 8, 2010  When kids get home from school, they usually spend time playing video games or going on the computer. However, most kids spend even more time doing homework. A lot of kids spend one, two, or maybe three hours on homework, while only spending about half that amount of time playing video games or going on the computer. This also leaves kids less time to run around and have more social time. I think schools should lower the amount of homework kids get each night. An article in Time magazine states there was a "25 percent drop in free playtime for 6-to-8-year-olds from 1981 to 1997 while homework more than doubled." I'm just asking for less homework, not none. SANFORD FELS Kinderhook The writer is a sixth-grade student at the Robert C. Parker School in Wynantskill.
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| Jerry Moore (Admin) Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 24115 Registered: 01-2000 Rating: N/A |
Homework's Powerful Effects on Learning (1985) by Ben Licciardi / ASCD Inservice blog October 02, 2009 What sort of effect does homework have on student learning? In the April 1985 issue of Educational Leadership, educators Herbert J. Walberg, Rosanne A. Paschal, and Thomas Weinstein synthesize 15 studies and find a direct correlation between homework and student achievement. Read the article: Homework's Powerful Effects on Learning (PDF) "There seems little doubt that homework has substantial effects on students' learning," the group notes. The authors cite studies claiming that if homework is assigned, a student in the 50th percentile will jump to the 60th. If the homework is graded, the increase is even more dramatic, with students jumping from 50th to 79th. The authors also argue that Japanese students have higher student achievement scores as a direct result of the larger amount of homework they do. Those of you following discussions of homework policy might want to put a footnote or two on this conclusion. In a recent post on the homework/no homework debate as framed by Bob Marzano, Dina Strasser summarizes Marzano's checklist for effective homework * Homework needs to be completed in order to produce the highest achievement gains. Design it with ease of completion in mind. * A large amount of homework does not result in better learning. * Homework should be academically purposeful, not a punishment or a symbol of the seriousness of study. * Homework should be explicitly tied to the current learning goals of the class. * Homework should be able to be completed without adult assistance. * Parents or guardians should not be expected to act as content experts. * Parents should, however, be provided with clear homework guidelines. * Assignments that involve using the parents' expertise or personal experiences (such as interviews) are often successful. What about grading homework? One high school math teacher doesn't grade homework, and her homework completion rates have stayed steady. Our "homework lady" Cathy Vatterott calls for major reforms to large amounts of take-home work. And no surprise here, CBS's "Assignment America" video interview with an 11 year-old student saying homework is forced and unnecessary. * * * *
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