Homework vs no homework

Here's what the research kids return to school, debate is heating up once again over how they should spend their time after they leave the classroom for the no-homework policy of a second-grade teacher in texas went viral last week, earning praise from parents across the country who lament the heavy workload often assigned to young students. Brandy young told parents she would not formally assign any homework this year, asking students instead to eat dinner with their families, play outside and go to bed the question of how much work children should be doing outside of school remains controversial, and plenty of parents take issue with no-homework policies, worried their kids are losing a potential academic advantage. Here’s what you need to know:For decades, the homework standard has been a “10-minute rule,” which recommends a daily maximum of 10 minutes of homework per grade level. A massachusetts elementary school has announced a no-homework pilot program for the coming school year, lengthening the school day by two hours to provide more in-class instruction. New york city public elementary school implemented a similar policy last year, eliminating traditional homework assignments in favor of family time. The change was quickly met with outrage from some parents, though it earned support from other education solutions and approaches to homework differ by community, and these local debates are complicated by the fact that even education experts disagree about what’s best for most comprehensive research on homework to date comes from a 2006 meta-analysis by duke university psychology professor harris cooper, who found evidence of a positive correlation between homework and student achievement, meaning students who did homework performed better in school. The correlation was stronger for older students—in seventh through 12th grade—than for those in younger grades, for whom there was a weak relationship between homework and ’s analysis focused on how homework impacts academic achievement—test scores, for example. His report noted that homework is also thought to improve study habits, attitudes toward school, self-discipline, inquisitiveness and independent problem solving skills. On the other hand, some studies he examined showed that homework can cause physical and emotional fatigue, fuel negative attitudes about learning and limit leisure time for children. At the end of his analysis, cooper recommended further study of such potential effects of e the weak correlation between homework and performance for young children, cooper argues that a small amount of homework is useful for all students. Second-graders should not be doing two hours of homework each night, he said, but they also shouldn’t be doing no all education experts agree entirely with cooper’s vatterott, an education professor at the university of missouri-st. Louis, supports the “10-minute rule” as a maximum, but she thinks there is not sufficient proof that homework is helpful for students in elementary school. The author of rethinking homework: best practices that support diverse needs, thinks there should be more emphasis on improving the quality of homework tasks, and she supports efforts to eliminate homework for younger kids.

I have no concerns about students not starting homework until fourth grade or fifth grade,” she said, noting that while the debate over homework will undoubtedly continue, she has noticed a trend toward limiting, if not eliminating, homework in elementary issue has been debated for decades. The ensuing pressure to be competitive on a global scale, plus the increasingly demanding college admissions process, fueled the practice of assigning homework. Acknowledged that some students really are bringing home too much homework, and their parents are right to be concerned. A good way to think about homework is the way you think about medications or dietary supplements,” he said. Financial up for our up to receive the top stories you need to know now on politics, health, money and ibe today and save up to 84% off the cover up for our up to receive the top stories you need to know now on politics, health, money and homework good for kids? Any answer with the word, "work" in its name, as in "homework," is not typically going to be met with eagerness or enthusiasm by y, we want children to understand that they are always learners. So it makes no sense to even advertise a "no homework" policy in a school. Realistic homework strategy should be a key topic of back-to-school night and the first parent-teacher conferences of the school year. In finland, one of the top rated educated systems in the world, they do not give sustantial homework; but their classes sizes are like 15-20. I think it is ironic that we are having a debate about homework when kids in japan go to another school after to expand learning and achieve an education that would give them an competitive edge. The purpose of homework for me is to deepened your understanding on a topic, a depth that may not be accessible in school. For example, i go to church every sunday, i hear the sermons, but i come home at do "homework" researching, making connections and creating new knowledge or seeing things from a different perspective. There is no doubt that a teacher should be open and clear about their homework policies with students and parents from the beginning, but no one knows the needs and demands of their students more than that student's teacher and these needs and demands can change from class to class.

It be in college or in the work force, all adults are asked to take a certain amount of work home, so in preparation for that we can't simply eliminate homework from the school system. Instead teachers can build a homework plan based on the knowledge of their students and with the support of their administration. According to peter dewitt in his article "homework: high quality learning or act of compliance? Peter dewitt shares that homework should focus on relationships and even developing assignments with students so that they can be meaningful and completed in a timely manner, not within an unreasonable amount of time. Within this information, homework should be allowed in public education and the homework amount and content should be up to the teacher and their knowledge of their students in order for it to be meaningful and l, what a wonderful, thoughtful addition to the conversation about homework. My only addendum is the need for coordination among teachers regarding the assignment of even enlightened homework. This is less of an issue at the elementary level, where, typically, one teacher is assigning homework, but it is certainly an issue at the secondary level. Want to once again advocate for a language change, and urge that we no longer use the word, "homework," because it is laden with surplus meaning and it is highly imprecise. Descriptive accuracy will help us move past the homework-no homework question, which has been and continues to be unproductive. These experiences are so much more valuable and unforgettable in comparison to a homework assignment in which the student has to create a powerpoint presentation, build a model, or write a the spirit of the holiday season, i will simply say to cypress70, "amen. At the same time, don't go too far in the other direction and dismiss homework entirely. More about social and emotional learningboom-bang homework ing homework cornerstone of social and emotional power of being seen. Throughout the first few decades of the 20th century, educators commonly believed that homework helped create disciplined minds.

By 1940, growing concern that homework interfered with other home activities sparked a reaction against it. Education lacked rigor; schools viewed more rigorous homework as a partial solution to the problem. By 1980, the trend had reversed again, with some learning theorists claiming that homework could be detrimental to students' mental health. Since then, impassioned arguments for and against homework have continued to now stand at an interesting intersection in the evolution of the homework debate. Arguments against homework are becoming louder and more popular, as evidenced by several recent books as well as an editorial in ne (wallis, 2006) that presented these arguments as truth without much discussion of alternative perspectives. At the same time, a number of studies have provided growing evidence of the usefulness of homework when employed case for rk is typically defined as any tasks “assigned to students by school teachers that are meant to be carried out during nonschool hours” (cooper, 1989a, p. A number of synthesis studies have been conducted on homework, spanning a broad range of methodologies and levels of specificity (see fig. Synthesis studies on of effect , weinstein, &walberg, l effects of l effects of l, weinstein, & walberg, rk versus no rk versus no , 1992; fraser, walberg, welch, & hattie, l effects of teacher , robinson, & patall, rk versus no : this figure describes the eight major research syntheses on the effects of homework published from 1983 to 2006 that provide the basis for the analysis in this article. Commenting on studies that attempted to examine the causal relationship between homework and student achievement by comparing experimental (homework) and control (no homework) groups, cooper, robinson, and patall (2006) noted,With only rare exceptions, the relationship between the amount of homework students do and their achievement outcomes was found to be positive and statistically significant. Therefore, we think it would not be imprudent, based on the evidence in hand, to conclude that doing homework causes improved academic achievement. Case against gh the research support for homework is compelling, the case against homework is popular. The end of homework: how homework disrupts families, overburdens children, and limits kralovec and buell (2000), considered by many to be the first high-profile attack on homework, asserted that homework contributes to a corporate-style, competitive u. The authors called for people to unite against homework and to lobby for an extended school day instead.

Similar call for action came from bennett and kalish (2006) in the case against homework: how homework is hurting our children and what we can do about it. They provided evidence that too much homework harms students' health and family time, and they asserted that teachers are not well trained in how to assign homework. The authors suggested that individuals and parent groups should insist that teachers reduce the amount of homework, design more valuable assignments, and avoid homework altogether over breaks and a third book, the homework myth: why our kids get too much of a bad thing (2006a), kohn took direct aim at the research on homework. For example, referring to harris cooper, the lead author of the two leading meta-analyses on homework, kohn noted,A careful reading of cooper's own studies . Reveals further examples of his determination to massage the numbers until they yield something—anything—on which to construct a defense of homework for younger children. Also attacked a section on homework in our book classroom instruction that works (marzano, pickering, & pollock, 2001). Concluded that research fails to demonstrate homework's effectiveness as an instructional tool and recommended changing the “default state” from an expectation that homework assigned to an expectation that homework will not be assigned. According to kohn, teachers should only assign homework when they can justify that the assignments are “beneficial” (2006a, p. Finally, kohn urged teachers to involve students in deciding what homework, and how much, they should of kohn's recommendations have merit. For example, it makes good sense to only assign homework that is beneficial to student learning instead of assigning homework as a matter of policy. However, his misunderstanding or misrepresentation of the research sends the inaccurate message that research does not support homework. Kohn's allegations that researchers are trying to mislead practitioners and the general public are unfounded and detract from a useful debate on effective dangers of ignoring the nly, inappropriate homework may produce little or no benefit—it may even decrease student achievement. Schools should strengthen their policies to ensure that teachers use homework a district or school discards homework altogether, however, it will be throwing away a powerful instructional tool.

Cooper and colleagues' (2006) comparison of homework with no homework indicates that the average student in a class in which appropriate homework was assigned would score 23 percentile points higher on tests of the knowledge addressed in that class than the average student in a class in which homework was not s the most important advantage of homework is that it can enhance achievement by extending learning beyond the school day. Drop the use of homework, then, a school or district would be obliged to identify a practice that produces a similar effect within the confines of the school day without taking away or diminishing the benefits of other academic activities—no easy accomplishment. To enact effective homework policies, however, schools and districts must address the following gh teachers across the k–12 spectrum commonly assign homework, research has produced no clear-cut consensus on the benefits of homework at the early elementary grade levels. Even so, cooper (1989b) still recommended homework for elementary students rk for young children should help them develop good study habits, foster positive attitudes toward school, and communicate to students the idea that learning takes work at home as well as at school. Cooper, robinson, and patall (2006) meta-analysis found the same pattern of stronger relationships at the secondary level but also identified a number of studies at grades 2, 3, and 4 demonstrating positive effects for homework. 2007), cooper noted that homework should have different purposes at different grade levels:For students in the earliest grades, it should foster positive attitudes, habits, and character traits; permit appropriate parent involvement; and reinforce learning of simple skills introduced in students in upper elementary grades, it should play a more direct role in fostering improved school 6th grade and beyond, it should play an important role in improving standardized test scores and spent on of the more contentious issues in the homework debate is the amount of time students should spend on homework. The cooper synthesis (1989a) reported that for junior high school students, the benefits increased as time increased, up to 1 to 2 hours of homework a night, and then decreased. The cooper, robinson, and patall (2006) study reported similar findings: 7 to 12 hours of homework per week produced the largest effect size for 12th grade students. The researchers suggested that for 12th graders the optimum amount of homework might lie between 1. For example, good and brophy (2003) cautioned that teachers must take care not to assign too much homework. Robinson, and patall (2006) also issued a strong warning about too much homework:Even for these oldest students, too much homework may diminish its effectiveness or even become counterproductive. 92), which states that all daily homework assignments combined should take about as long to complete as 10 minutes multiplied by the student's grade level. He added that when required reading is included as a type of homework, the 10-minute rule might be increased to 15 ng on the amount of time students spend on homework, however, may miss the point.

A significant proportion of the research on homework indicates that the positive effects of homework relate to the amount of homework that the student than the amount of time spent on homework or the amount of homework actually assigned. Thus, simply assigning homework may not produce the desired effect—in fact, ill-structured homework might even have a negative effect on student achievement. Teachers must carefully plan and assign homework in a way that maximizes the potential for student success (see research-based homework guidelines). In addition, many parents report that they feel unprepared to help their children with homework and that their efforts to help frequently cause stress (see balli, 1998; corno, 1996; hoover-dempsey, bassler, & burow, 1995; perkins & milgram, 1996). And colleagues conducted a series of studies to identify the conditions under which parental involvement enhances homework (epstein, 2001; epstein & becker, 1982; van voorhis, 2003). Beyond the gh research has established the overall viability of homework as a tool to enhance student achievement, for the most part the research does not provide recommendations that are specific enough to help busy practitioners. Homework is a perfect example: figure 1 includes synthesis studies that go back as far as 60 years, yet all that research translates to a handful of recommendations articulated at a very general addition, research in a specific area, such as homework, sometimes contradicts research in related areas. For example, cooper (2007) recommended on the basis of 60-plus years of homework research that teachers should not comment on or grade every homework assignment. Like medical practitioners, education practitioners must develop their own “local knowledge base” on homework and all other aspects of teaching. Educators can develop the most effective practices by observing changes in the achievement of the students with whom they work every ch-based homework guidelinesresearch provides strong evidence that, when used appropriately, homework benefits student achievement. To make sure that homework is appropriate, teachers should follow these guidelines:Assign purposeful homework. Legitimate purposes for homework include introducing new content, practicing a skill or process that students can do independently but not fluently, elaborating on information that has been addressed in class to deepen students' knowledge, and providing opportunities for students to explore topics of their own homework to maximize the chances that students will complete it. Students should be able to complete homework assignments independently with relatively high success rates, but they should still find the assignments challenging enough to be e parents in appropriate ways (for example, as a sounding board to help students summarize what they learned from the homework) without requiring parents to act as teachers or to police students' homework lly monitor the amount of homework assigned so that it is appropriate to students' age levels and does not take too much time away from other home , s.

The case against homework: how homework is hurting our children and what we can do about it. Interactive homework in middle school: effects on family involvement and science l of educational research, 96, 323–g, h. Time, 168(10), a more detailed response to kohn's views on homework, see marzano & pickering (2007) and marzano & pickering (in press). Let us know on the wbir facebook subject of homework can be a divisive this parenting 101, we talk to a curriculum expert about the history of the homework debate and the national recommendations. We also visit a local elementary school where the third grade classes went homework free last school homework debate has a long history. Tension has been there off and on over the last 100 years,” said amy broemmel, associate professor of theory and practice in teacher education with the university of tennessee college of education, health and human provides a quick homework history lesson:at the turn of the century, it was believed homework created disciplined minds. However, the mid 80s brought more early 2000s, homework increased again with the no child left behind act. Associate professor of theory and practice in teacher education with the university of tennessee college of education, health and human sciences, grades her students' it comes to homework, broemmel defers to the research. Kids who do homework generally have higher achievement levels, but it varies a lot by grade level,” she said. But, it has a much higher impact on academic achievement in middle school and high guideline supported by both the national education association and national parent teacher association is no more than 10 minutes of homework per grade level. By the time you're a 12th grader in high school you're looking optimally somewhere between two and two-and-a-half hours of homework a night,” said ndale elementary school follows the national recommendation. Third, fourth and fifth grade are departmentalized and switch, so they have to work very closely together to make sure reading's not giving 40 minutes, and social studies isn't giving 40 minutes,” added o’ school's third grade teachers took a different approach last year by opting for no homework at all. Parents were extremely excited at the beginning, but then started having some concerns of 'i don't know where my child is struggling, i don't know what they're working on in school and they didn't do too well on this test,'” o'dell t homework, teachers had to create other ways to communicate with parents.