Once I became a principal, my approach to homework was not much different because it truly was an afterthought being rarely discussed, except when parents complained. The issue regarding the quality of homework was hardly ever addressed, as I too considered that if homework was assigned, learning must be occurring.
I share the above because I believe my experiences are not unique, but universal in our profession. Once I became a central office administrator with a district perspective, my views about homework began to change.
Some teachers were giving some effective assignments that encouraged thinking and others were assigning busy work that promoted very little learning. Some homework assignments were large projects that required materials to be purchased, and parental support — some so much, that it was evident that the work was actually parent work — but resulted in a positive grade for the student. Therefore, the homework further perpetuated the achievement gap between those who have support at home and those who do not.
Finally, I began to ponder the purpose of some homework assignments such as a word search, diorama, mobile or writing spelling words multiple times. How do they promote learning and what evidence of learning do they show?
As a new superintendent for the Freehold Township School District, I was immediately called to examine how teachers were using homework as part of the learning process. It began as a very quiet Thursday in July, and I was settling into my new role, being quite proud of the transition plan that I was finalizing. My first three days were eerily quiet, as we sometimes find in the summer before schedules and class lists are released, but on this day the phone began ringing with zeal. There were eight parents who requested a return call from me, so I knew there was a pressing issue at hand.
Equally as alarming, I found that we had several students who scored perfect s on the NJASK and did very well on district assessments and classroom tests, but had Cs and Ds on their report card, as they were penalized severely for not completing homework. As a staff, we were able to agree homework performance is not an accurate portrayal of final proficiency or mastery.
We grade students against standards, not the routes by which they achieve them. Homework is practice and not a determination of mastery and grades are saved for declarations of mastery. Douglas Reeves, founder of the Center for Performance Assessment in Boston, pointed out in that a zero on a point scale is mathematically inaccurate, and does not fix the problem of students not completing homework. When students fail to complete homework, we tend to approach the problem more like a discipline problem than a learning issue.
We began to change our ideas and focused a conversation based on the fact that homework should not be about compliance, but rather a tool to support learning.
We are faced with the irony that a policy that may be grounded in the belief of holding students accountable giving zeros actually allows some students to escape the accountability for learning. The following summer with support from our board of education, we changed some policies and practices regarding homework and grading. Thus, we made immediate and universal changes for the school year.
Although we know that top-down mandates usually fail, we knew that it was critical to change, as we had no way to address a challenge from a student or parent. The busywork dilemma occurs in both face to face and online classes.
However, the dilemma can be magnified in an online course as these activities become more quantifiable in an online space. For example, students may not perceive an in-class discussion as work but may start counting each discussion forum post they have to make.
Recently a Twitter thread explored the anecdotal reports that students feel like they are being assigned more work than before the pandemic. Some faculty feel that this perception could be due to more accountability and more explicit or transparent expectations.
Others reported that in an online environment, it is more difficult for students to coast without their instructors knowing it. On the flip side, students who are already distressed by the pandemic and related challenges are now being asked to learn in new ways online, which can be discouraging even to very hard-working students..
Dyment et al. Such activities can alienate students as they perceive them as surveillance. When they asked students what it means to be engaged online, they mentioned things like working on authentic tasks, working in study groups, expanding knowledge through watching related TED talks,, etc.
I will expand on these ideas below. Avoiding these will allow learners to see the relevance of learning activities explicitly. The theme that transcends these pitfalls is a lack of connection. Making connections with all teaching and learning elements will help learners see the relevance of the assignments and optimize the learning outcomes.
Below I discuss some nodes of connection. Instructors usually have this in mind, but it helps to illustrate this connection to learners explicitly. Also, reinforce the purpose of the activity several times. I refer to this as meaningful redundancy. In fact, Abby Parish, Director of Education Innovation and Associate Professor of Nursing at Vanderbilt, shared that she has effectively handled the perception of busywork with communication and course navigation.
Utilizing the Backward Design approach will ensure that your assessments and activities align with the learning goals. Drawing on Dyment et al. As we continue to reimagine teaching and learning during a pandemic, I would like us to borrow a term from business, minimum valuable outcome MVO.
That is not to say that all worksheets are useless or that all homework is busywork. Productive work introduces new ideas and revisits old ones. Productive work helps reinforce what is taught in the classroom. Busywork has no real educational value. Important skills busywork neglects to reinforce include: critical thinking, problem solving, and analyzation.
When I solve a math problem, I use essential formulas and ideas the teacher can only impart through multiple examples and a lot of practice.
However, busywork comes into play when the practice becomes superfluous — when I no longer gain anything from excessive worksheets on the content. In like manner, science work is most often memorization of vocabulary and concepts.
Yet, students can tell when teachers give assignments just to fill the time, having already learned and practiced the material. Students do not gain anything from busywork.
Excessive practice is not always busywork, as long as students are still applying their learning to new situations. The concepts in high school are more challenging than those in middle and elementary school, requiring more practice in understanding the material. The problem is that when students receive busywork as part of an increased workload, they are more likely to dislike a topic they may otherwise have interest in.
Sophomore, Regina Babor, considers the amount of written assignments, specifically worksheets, to be excessive in some classes. She feels that she learns more when teachers provide hands-on assignments. We do hands-on activities, but there is just way too much paper. Student-led learning is more beneficial to students than when the teacher is the facilitator, Perry believes. One of the.
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