Homework and grading was a HOT topic at my last Master class.
I have always thought there needs to be a good balance to how much and what type of homework needs to be sent home. As a third grader teacher, I require my students to do a math assignment twice a week to practice what we have learned in class (practice, practice, practice is my motto), to study their spelling words for the Friday test, and nightly reading of 20 pages. The conversation had and reading the article, really made me think. In the article Rethinking Homework by Alfie Kohn, he states that there are negative effects of homework like frustration, lack of time for other activities and possible loss of interest in learning. He also states that there is no evidence of any academic benefit from assigning homework in elementary or middle school. This really made me think. I felt I was helping my students learn responsibility of accomplishing a goal outside of school. Besides being a teacher, I am a mother of two different girls. One can get her homework done in 10 minutes and the other one, takes hours to get it done. I find this frustrating as a mom! With all this new information it has changed my thinking of what to assign for my students at school!
What are your thoughts about homework?
If you are interested in reading the article is a link to the website:
So does the research support what you are assigning for homework? What does the research suggest about what tyoe and how much homework should be assigned?
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