School homework

roundthebend

I have 2 boys, one just started Year 12 (A levels) and the other in Year 10 (4th year secondary, GCSEs start).

Homework has been a regular feature of our dinnertime chats for a few years, and again came up last night. I've done some thinking on it and thought I'd put it out here for others to comment.

The implication with homework is usually that the student needs to complete it. Along with that, the homework is likely to get marked and a score awarded for correctness, so there's an implication that correctness is important.

Combine those two and it seems that there is pressure on the student to prove that they have understood stuff. This creates and/or supports the desire to get the right answers - at all costs. My boys would often ask for my help, or would ask their friends for the answers, or would Google it. I think that's all well and good and teaches a resourceful attitude, but I think the important bit here is that the teachers really ought to know where the students hit challenges. And while we're at it, the teachers should know what successes the students had while doing homework - did any Eureka moments occur, or what particular taught techniques did they depend on?

So, I think it would be really useful for many homework tasks if the teacher set it out like this:

"Here's a homework exercise. The task is to work through the sheet, but all I want you to hand in is a list of things you found challenging and a list of successes you had whilst doing the exercise."

lloyd

The dog ate it.

crunchman

I used to teach (although I left teaching 18 years ago).

I think it's slightly different with different age groups and subjects but in Physics (my subject) the homework was about reinforcing what we taught in class.  You need a certain amount of repetition to actually get something into your brain  properly but you don't have enough time for that in class.

Ultimately it's going through the process of solving and getting familiarity that with it that is key.  I wouldn't have a lot of objections to them using Google.  At least they can't do what I did with my maths A level homework where I would be lazy and find a plausible place to get stuck and not finish it.  It's how they use Google that it the issue.  Using it to solve a problem is ok to me but you don't want them just copying stuff out without understanding it.

My gripe with homework is the amount my daughters get in primary school.  I never got any homework (apart from a reading book and times tables) until I was nine, but mine are bringing home stuff at the weekend that can take 45 mins or more when they are in the lower part of primary school.  It's often stuff that can't do on their own as well and needs a lot of parental support.  I could understand if they gave a little 10 minute task to get them in the habit of doing homework but this is overkill - especially on top of a reading book, spellings to learn, and weekly times table tests to learn for.

guitarfishbay

I think you being involved in your kids homework is a great thing.  I'm not sure teachers actually have enough time for every kid to do this regularly, but parents can help fill in the gaps in understanding.  My dad always took an interest in my homework from a young age and I think it helped me a lot.  I know a lot of people don't have the same help at home - not just getting the answers, discussing and understanding the why and how etc.  Anecdotal I know, but the people I know who struggle with basic maths skills as adults came from families where their parents struggle with it too (and didn't/couldn't help them with it).

BigMonka

@roundthebend I like what you're saying but I think @crunchman is right in that the homework is supposed to be reinforcing what they've already learnt at school. So the bit about finding out where students are getting stuck and helping them through it is one of the main jobs the teachers have in the classroom. The teachers should start the lesson by finding out what knowledge the students already have on the subject, then expand that a bit, then find out where the hindrences to progress are, then make sure that everyone in the class is happy with it. The students then take their homework away to practice applying it, rather than them going away to learn it from scratch.
Well that's the theory which my wife teaches her trainee teachers to do! (she runs a PGCE course for wannabe secondary school maths teachers).

@crunchman I'm totally with you on primary school homework! My daughter has just started year 1 and has started bringing home more to do - we're making a distinct effort to teach her about self-study and self-motivation... definitely not because we can't be bothered ;-)

roundthebend

I think where it might be going wrong then is in class. I don't recall my school days very well but I did work in a secondary school for a short period, and the teachers are more focused on pushing new information into the kids' heads than they are interested in checking current understanding. I think that's a result of a target based system.

With that culture, homework is being set too soon. Kids are then, effectively, teaching themselves. But they are teaching themselves how to get answers, not useful logical thought processes. I'd be fine with it if teachers were reviewing the results of homework and saying, "OK, my class struggled with X, Y and Z so I'll revisit that in my lessons."

But if the kids are getting answers for X, Y and Z, then the teacher doesn't get the useful feedback about the struggles. All I'm suggesting is just a rephrase of how some homework is set. It's wrong for the teacher to say "it's just repetition" because that assumes the kids know the fundamentals to repeat.

holnrew

I think homework is dumb and pointless.

axisus

Homework = google these days.

It's never been easier, although there is still a time element that kids don't generally like.