HomeworkHomeworkCan’t live with it….can’t

live without it…

• Objectives: by the end of the session trainees will have:

• Considered the purposes of homework and strategies for achieving these

• Plan homework tasks in relation to a series of lessons

In pairs discuss…In pairs discuss…

Why, oh why, Why, oh why,

do we set homework?do we set homework?

The purposes of The purposes of homework for the homework for the

School:School:• Ease time constraints on the curriculumEase time constraints on the curriculum• Raise attainment, Raise attainment, e.g. focusing on skills e.g. focusing on skills

needed in examsneeded in exams• The development or enhancement of skills The development or enhancement of skills

e.g. literacye.g. literacy• Assessment of students’ progressAssessment of students’ progress• Enables the Enables the punishmentpunishment of students of students• Fulfil the Fulfil the expectationsexpectations of parents, teachers, of parents, teachers,

students, politicians and the publicstudents, politicians and the public• Provide Provide evidenceevidence for the evaluation of for the evaluation of

teachingteaching

The purposes of The purposes of homework for the homework for the

teachers:teachers:• Practice Practice and and consolidation consolidation of of

skills/content learned in classskills/content learned in class• AssessmentAssessment of content learned in of content learned in

class (eg checking understanding)class (eg checking understanding)• Extension Extension of learning in classof learning in class• Preparation Preparation of new learningof new learning• Encourage Encourage independent learningindependent learning

and self-disciplineand self-discipline• Develop Develop new skillsnew skills e.g. research e.g. research

The purposes of The purposes of homework for parents:homework for parents:

• Inform parents about what their child is doing in school

• Create opportunities for parents to discuss school work with their child and enables learning to be enhanced by parental involvement

• Develop a partnership between school and home

According to research (Hallam; Stern; Petty; Hargreaves;

Cohen):

• High-ability students get set more homework

• Students say that teacher expectation is one of the most decisive factors in motivating them to complete homework

• Students like homework to be directly linked to the lesson

• Teachers say that the most important function of homework is reinforcement, review, and practice of content (remember Kolb?)

Group Activity

• There has been a lot of research on homework over the last 10 years

• Each group will be looking at specific issues related to this research

• Each member of the group will act as ambassador and transfer this knowledge to members in other groups before finally returning and feeding back what they discover to their home group about homework. This is known as ‘jig-sawing’

• Instructions about homework are often given hurriedly, with insufficient guidance, and inadequate opportunities to seek clarification

• Homework is often set 3-4 minutes before the end of lesson and often as or after the ‘bell’ goes!

• Only 36% of students in one study reported that teachers ‘always’ mark their work

• Teacher feedback is seen as crucial in improving attainment and in motivating students to do homework

• There is a point at which more time spent on homework has a negative effect on learning

• The longer the return of marked homework to students the less effective it is as a form of assessment

Some implications for practice…

What kinds of activities can What kinds of activities can this mean in practice?this mean in practice?

Writing essays

Comprehension

ResearchReading and note-making

Answering exam

questions

Revision

Preparing a presentation

But I KNOW you can come But I KNOW you can come up with something more up with something more

imaginative!imaginative!

• Using the hand-out provided Using the hand-out provided generate as many ideas as generate as many ideas as possiblepossible

• Feed these ideas back to the Feed these ideas back to the groupgroup

• I will collate these ideas and give I will collate these ideas and give them back to you next weekthem back to you next week

How do you manage homework?How do you manage homework?

• Time: do you set a certain amount of time to be spent, and accept that different students will produce differing amounts?...or, set a task knowing that it will take students differing amounts of time?

• Deadlines: what do you do if students fail to hand work in on time?

• Practicalities: how and when do you collect it in?

SANCTIONS!

Using the hand out provided brainstorm as many ways that you

deal with homework not being done – you can also refer to

methods used by your colleagues at work

Saving time and raising Saving time and raising achievementachievement

Using the handout provided – think Using the handout provided – think of as many homework ideas as of as many homework ideas as

you can that require the minimum you can that require the minimum of marking while maximising of marking while maximising

student attainmentstudent attainment

Conclusions:

According to Sue Hallam:

• “Teachers need to be clear about why they are setting homework and what the exact purpose is. The quality of the thinking required by the student may be particularly important in this respect. In addition, encouraging students to evaluate their own work and increase their meta-cognitive skills will have long-term benefits. This can be achieved by adopting formative assessment techniques in the classroom and actively engaging students in their own learning and that of their peers.”