Saturday, December 29, 2012

Rethinking Homework


Changing Thoughts on Homework

 

                After our last discussion on homework, I have had my eyes opened to several things to take into consideration when assigning homework.  Homework should demonstrate learning.  Homework should be practice on content taught to the students.    Feedback on homework for the students is a must. Keeping these things in mind, I have changed my outlook on what types and how much homework is really beneficial to the students.

                Because homework should demonstrate learning, how much practice is really necessary?  I feel that if the homework, used as practice, is showing me that the students are learning do I need to assign so much for them to “practice” on?  Once they have shown me that they have grasped a certain concept, I now see extra homework as “busy work” for them.  Before our group discussions, I really didn’t think about the amount of unnecessary work that I have been assigning. 

                Feedback for and from students is very important as well.  I normally give necessary feedback to my students on their assignments, quizzes and tests.  One thing that will definitely change for me now is to get feedback from the STUDENTS.  Very rarely, until now, have I taken into consideration how the KIDS feel about how things are going for themselves or for me.  They are the ones who are doing the learning, so what better way for us to teach them, than to get their opinions on what is being taught, and how it is being taught?  I thought in our last discussion that letting the kids help write questions for quizzes was a great idea.  It involves them all in the learning process.  In the past, I have given small groups of students a choice of concepts that they need to re-teach to the rest of the class.  It gives them the opportunity to find a particular lesson that they maybe struggled with to “teach” to the rest of the students.  I have found this to be very helpful to the “teaching group”, to the “learning group” and to myself.  Watching them present the material that I have already shown them allows me to see how they present it from their own perspective.  I have even learned different approaches that make it easier to teach to the next class.  It is rewarding for the students and me as well. 

                Have my outlooks on homework changed?  I certainly feel that they have.  I now look at things from a different perspective when assigning homework.  How much is necessary for the students to demonstrate learning?  Is all of the repetition necessary?  Have I been allowing the kids to provide me with THEIR feedback?  These are some questions that I now pay more attention to than I have before.  I also feel that my ideas of homework will now be approached differently.