Homework as classroom practice

Other Duties as Assigned guest column
By: 
Gretchen Kriegel
MCSD Curriculum & Special Education Director

     I recently attended a conference that was keynoted by John Hattie, author and researcher in education. In his keynote, he stated the majority of parents judge school effectiveness by whether or not their child has homework. The quality of the homework, or amount of homework does not matter, just that homework is given.

     The rethinking of homework is something Monticello Schools’ Standards Referenced Reporting (SRR) pilot teachers have been grappling with this school year. A student’s progress toward a given standard is measured through a series of various standards referenced assessments in order to provide teachers, students and parents an accurate picture of where a student is with their learning. So if assessments of varying degrees are utilized to measure progress, where does homework fit?

     Every educator has their own diverse beliefs regarding the type, purpose, amount and need for homework. There is no one belief that is more right or more wrong than another. However, there are several beliefs or misconceptions regarding homework that author Cathy Vatterott points out in her book “Rethinking Homework: Best Practices that Support Diverse Needs.” They are as follows:

     The role of the school is to extend learning beyond the classroom.

     Intellectual activity is intrinsically more valuable to students than nonintellectual activity.

     Homework teaches responsibility.

     Lots of homework is a sign of a rigorous curriculum.

     Good teachers give homework; good students do their homework.

     These misconceptions or beliefs are not backed by any scientific study, or steeped in research. They are actually beliefs that parents and educators often regard as truths when it comes to homework. In reality there is research that emphasizes the importance of homework as well as research studies that show there is little to no value in homework. When it comes to creating a correlation between homework as a cause for high academic achievement, there is no research that pinpoints homework as being the only factor that truly makes the difference. The dichotomy over homework and optimum levels of homework to assign leaves classroom teachers to figure it out on their own.

     The one truth is that well-designed homework supports learning that takes place in the classroom. It is, in a sense, practice. It could be compared to practice in a fine art or sport improving game time or concert performance. Homework may be practice in the form of repeating a skill learned in the classroom to increase fluency, application of classroom content to other concepts, or it may be an assignment that needs to be completed in order to fully participate in class the following day.

     Many teachers in the district’s Standards Referenced Reporting pilot have taken the approach of homework as practice. Practice may not be required, but in order to do well on an upcoming assessment (like a game or performance), it is highly encouraged even if it doesn’t go in the teacher’s gradebook.

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