top of page
Search
kinacryl

Purpose of homework research: How to design effective and meaningful homework tasks



Homework as a concept has been around for hundreds of years, and today is considered the norm for modern schools. At secondary level, schools set regular homework via a whole-school homework policy. This can take many forms and is sometimes given a different name like 'home learning' or 'Independent study', but the concept of completing work outside of the classroom remains the same.


Homework encourages self-development and self-discipline. Students who complete regular homework don't just perform better at school and during exams, they learn broader life skills and associate hard work with long term rewards. Homework has also been found to improve parental relationships.




purpose of homework research




The setting and completion of homework also has benefits outside of academic attainment with parent-child relationship and home-school involvement both improving within schools as a result of successful homework practice.


However, it must be taken into consideration that in order to experience the benefits of homework, the work being set should have a clear goal, as well as being worthwhile and purposeful to encourage students to complete it.


Dettmers, S at al., 2010. Journal of Educational Psychology. Homework works if homework quality is high: Using multilevel modeling to predict development of achievement in mathematics. [online], 102(2), 467-482. Available from: [Accessed 1 July 2016]


Pope and her colleagues found that too much homework can diminish its effectiveness and even be counterproductive. They cite prior research indicating that homework benefits plateau at about two hours per night, and that 90 minutes to two and a half hours is optimal for high school.


The results offer empirical evidence that many students struggle to find balance between homework, extracurricular activities and social time, the researchers said. Many students felt forced or obligated to choose homework over developing other talents or skills.


The purpose and effectiveness of homework have long been debated. Some argue that homework teaches kids multiple skills and is necessary for academic achievement. Others disagree, arguing that homework is detrimental to student growth and causes unnecessary stress resulting in declining mental health.


Homework can have benefits depending on how the teacher approaches it. The frustration that comes from some students and parents, and even some teachers, is that the homework is tedious and carries little meaning for the child.


Teachers are becoming more aware of the frustrations as well as the limited access to assistance, time, and other resources some may have. Several schools are focusing on assigning more meaningful homework assignments that are not meant to be tedious or time-consuming. This work is meant to practice skills that students have learned in class and are able to approach independently.


Elementary students benefit from the time management, independent practice, and accountability that homework offers. If the student comes home and knows that they need to read for 20 minutes, alone or with a family member, they are practicing that responsibility. Not all elementary students will come home with a worksheet to fill out. Many times, the teacher will want them to practice a skill learned in class such as reading fluently or practicing math facts.


Homework is an assignment given to students during a school day to be finished at home or after class. Teachers assign homework to students to further extend learning outside the classroom. Homework can be used as an extension of the lesson, a review of content introduced in the lesson, a preview of material coming up in class, or make-up work from previous lessons.


The purpose of homework is to allow students to practice beyond the classroom. Teachers assign homework to students so that they can individually work out problems on their own and can grow individually. Homework also exposes students to content that cannot be covered in class due to lack of time. Homework can also be used to give students who are ahead extension activities to further their learning. Homework can also be used to give students who are struggling in class more time to review the content so they can master it.


The pros and cons of homework have been heavily debated for about a century. There is a mixed population of stakeholders who are on either side of the argument. Some teachers, administrators, and parents argue that homework benefits student learning beyond what can be taught in the classroom. While some teachers, administrators, and parents argue that homework is actually harmful to student learning and their emotional or mental wellbeing. According to a Pew Research Study, teenagers spend double the amount of time on homework compared to teenagers in the 1990s.


Some schools try to make homework fun by bringing in guests to mix it up a little. This school brought in Navy personnel to assist kids with their homework and show them where the content that they are working on applies to real life.


Opponents of homework argue that there are more disadvantages of homework than pros. They argue that homework not only can hurt student learning but is harmful to students' mental and emotional health.


There have been alternate solutions suggested in the education world other to substitute for assigning homework. Educators are looking for new ways to enrich learning outside of the classroom that are not just assigning traditional homework tasks. Some schools systems are moving to project-based learning models where the learning goes outside the classroom in real-world content areas. Some teachers "gamify" their assignments by assigning games to enrich learning. A lot of schools are assigning work to students in their interest areas that are connected to that content in the class. A more drastic approach that a few school systems are taking is just eliminating homework entirely.


An emerging 21st-century homework technique that is becoming popular is called the reverse classroom or flipped classroom model. This is where students learn about the content for homework through content delivery methods like videos and then do the traditional "homework" assignment in the classroom with the teacher present. This has gained a lot of traction because the content delivery learning piece is not graded and the assignment portion of the reversed classroom is done with an instructor present thus helping to improve grades.


Homework is an assignment or series of tasks that are given to students so that they can continue learning outside the classroom. The purpose of homework is to enrich learning for students beyond what students can learn in the classroom. There are all types of homework from traditional assignments to new, more modern tasks. The debate over the pros and cons of homework has been going on since the 19th century and has recently amplified in the last few decades. Supporters of homework say that homework gives students more opportunities to learn while opponents of homework argue that it has harmed students learning and has led to increased stress levels. Some schools systems have adapted alternate homework solutions from creative assignment ideas to have a no-homework policy.


The cons of homework are that too much of it can harm student learning and can cause emotional and mental damage. Other cons of homework include: not enough time to complete homework, other priorities are taken instead of homework, and some students do not have all resources need to complete homework.


From dioramas to book reports, from algebraic word problems to research projects, whether students should be given homework, as well as the type and amount of homework, has been debated for over a century. [1]


A 2014 study found kindergarteners to fifth graders averaged 2.9 hours of homework per week, sixth to eighth graders 3.2 hours per teacher, and ninth to twelfth graders 3.5 hours per teacher. A 2014-2019 study found that teens spent about an hour a day on homework. [4] [44]


Research by the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) concluded that increased homework led to better GPAs and higher probability of college attendance for high school boys. In fact, boys who attended college did more than three hours of additional homework per week in high school. [10]


Data from a nationwide sample of elementary school students show that parental involvement in homework can improve class performance, especially among economically disadvantaged African-American and Hispanic students. [20]


30% (about 15 to 16 million) public school students either did not have an adequate internet connection or an appropriate device, or both, for distance learning. Completing homework for these students is more complicated (having to find a safe place with an internet connection, or borrowing a laptop, for example) or impossible. [51]


A Hispanic Heritage Foundation study found that 96.5% of students across the country needed to use the internet for homework, and nearly half reported they were sometimes unable to complete their homework due to lack of access to the internet or a computer, which often resulted in lower grades. [37] [38]


Fourth grade students who did no homework got roughly the same score on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) math exam as those who did 30 minutes of homework a night. Students who did 45 minutes or more of homework a night actually did worse. [41]


How much homework should your child do each night? Organizations such as the National Parent Teacher Association support giving students about 10 minutes of homework each night, per grade level, starting in first grade. So a middle school student would have a full day in school and then an additional 60 minutes of homework after school. Is that too much? Are these guidelines being followed? I would recommend speaking with high-achieving teens and let them share how much of their time is consumed with homework. Many will tell you that they spend hours upon hours each night studying for tests, and preparing for papers and projects, etc. 2ff7e9595c


0 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Commentaires


bottom of page