Home assignments, otherwise known as homework, is defined by Merriam-Webster as “an assignment given to a student to be completed outside the regular class period”. It’s a task given to students with the objective being to improve abilities and skills. But is it really rote exercises designed to be time consuming with no tangible benefit? Or is it fashioned to prepare students for future lessons, broaden what has been learned and then apply that knowledge to new situations?
Many studies (discovered by researchers from Duke University) provided information on the results of homework and the positive effect it had on test taking. Other studies have provided information on the negative effects resulting in a student’s loss of interest in learning. Interestingly, evidence from a recent study published in the Economics of Education Review reported that homework in core subjects has little impact on test scores.
There are various policies involving homework. And, teachers and administrators must defend many abused variations of assignments given to students. It stems from misunderstood content, to assignments that take hours to complete. Also, teachers witness many assignments completed by parents. In addition, they hear many excuses as to why an assignment wasn’t completed.
When subjects are departmentalized, many times educators are not aware of assignments given by each subject’s teacher. Thus, results are a stockpile of homework. With the actions of educators and the studies of professionals, it is not difficult to find both the positives and negatives of homework.
Parents have many opinions about the benefits of homework. However, after school programs take the word ‘home’ out of homework. Also. after school programs take away parental responsibility and involvement. As parents leave assignments to others, they are unaware of what is being learned in school. In addition, they miss out on the home-school connection.
According the Cathy Vatterott, author of Rethinking Homework, “Homework has generated enough research so that a study can be found to support almost any position as long as conflicting studies are ignored”. She also stated , “It is difficult to separate where the effect of classroom teaching ends and the effect of homework begins”.
According to the book, How The Brain Learns, by David A. Sousa, as the same skill is periodically repeated in small doses, the brain recalls and restores it over and over. Thus, eventually filing the information into the long-term memory.
Today the tide has turned the focus of the homework debate from academic achievement to the amount of time spent. Children spend enough time at school and in after school activities that there is no time to engage in after school community activities or eat dinner with the family. However, many parents and educators believe that homework is necessary because that is what they had to do when they went to school. They feel that a quest for excellence in anything requires hard work. Learning is a continuous process that prepares students with a positive work ethic.
If homework is here to stay, make sure that it is beneficial to the content being studied and practiced. Teachers and parents must see that the assignments are relevance. Consider the potential of the students and their creative minds. Keep the focus the focus and don’t assign just for the sake of assigning work.
**Updated version of previous post.
