Making Homework an

Effective StrategyAugust 4 & 5, 2010

New Teacher Institute:Teaching and Learn Now

ESU #4Ellen Stokebrand

estokebr@esu4.org

Objective for Today

• To begin looking at what research indicates about how homework can be effectively used to enhance student learning.

• To begin a change process of how homework is used in your classroom to help student learn (and enjoy learning).

Art and Science of Teaching

• Chapter 3—What will I do to help students practice and deepen their understanding of new knowledge.

• Chapter 1—What will I do to establish and communicate learning goals?

• Chapter 5—What will I do to engage students?• Chapter 8—What will I do to establish and maintain

effective relationships with students?

Key Points

• Introduction• Purposes of Homework• History of Homework• Research Related to Homework• Feedback and Homework (how much to count)• Strategies to Improve Homework Effectiveness• Parent Involvement• Homework Policy (Guidelines)• Students Not Testing Well

Priming the Brain

• Take a couple minutes to think about homework. (This will get you to thinking about homework.)– Personal Assessment Tool: Homework

Philosophy– Short answer– Questions (on back… note what questions

you may have.)

More Questions Than Answers

• Today we will create more questions than answers.

• Here are just a few to think about.

Questions that you may have…

• “If its not graded kids won’t do it, right?”• If students come to a problem that they have to

think about for more than 30 seconds, they won’t do it and give up.

• How to make homework fun for students?• How can I make homework effective and less

time consuming?• How much should homework be worth?• What to do if homework is not done?• How to motivate students to do homework?

Google Homework

• “homework” has 52 million hits, 5 times as many for “sex education”, 15 times as many for creationism, 50 times as many for “standardize testing”

• “homework is bad” has 288,000 hits while “homework is good” has 373,000 hits

Assignment AssumptionsWe Assume:

• that students can copy the assignment from the board correctly.

• that students can complete the assignment.• that the assignment is not too difficult.• that the assignment is not too long.• that students understand the assignment

because they did not raise their hand when you asked “Are there any questions”

• that students have materials needed to complete the assignment.

Judy Wood

Assignment AssumptionsWe Assume:

• that students have access to technology (computers and internet) to complete work.

• that students’ parents will help them with the assignment.

• that the students’ CAN DO the assignment.• that the students have parents.• that the parents are home.• that the parents even care.

Judy Wood

Assignment AssumptionsWe Assume:

• that students have a home.• that students have time to complete the

assignment.• that the students care if they complete the

assignment.• that the students and/or parents have the

language skills necessary to complete the assignment.

• that the students have proper places to compete the assignment.

• that we are the ONLY teachers giving homework.Judy Wood

Essential Question for the Day

What homework practices lead to increased student

achievement?

Homework

• Source of complaint and friction between home and school more than any other teaching activity

• Student—Teacher—Parent

• Designed to accomplish many goals

• Influenced by numerous complex factors

• Bottom line—Homework is an instructional strategy

“Is homework the hill you want to die

on with your students?”Bea McGarvey

Keep An Open Mind

Homework is just one strategy. If this strategy is working for

your kids, keep doing it. If it is not working for some kids, stop

doing it.

Consider this Homework Policy

No Homework Will Be Given

Unless

There is good reason to believe that a

given assignment is likely to benefit most

students.

The Battle Over Homework—

Common Ground for Administrator,

Teachers and Parents

by Dr. Harris Cooper

Harris Cooper

• Third Edition

• 1st edition 1989 used over 120 studies

• 2nd edition 1995 survey of 80 teachers and 700 families

• 3rd edition 60 more studies

• National Expert and Presenter on Homework

The Homework Lady

• Dr. Cathy Vatterott www.homeworklady.com• Homework Myths• Belief #1: Homework Teaches

Responsibility• Belief #2: Lots of Homework Is a Sign of a

Rigorous Curriculum• Belief #3: Good Students Do Their

Homework.

The Center for Public Education

• http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org

• Search “homework”

• Key Lesson from Research

• Question and Answers FAQ

• Archived Chat: Homework—What is good for? March 2007

Sara Bennetthttp://stophomework.com/

• Sir Ken Robinson• The Case Against homework: How Homework is Hurting

Our Children and What We Can do About It.• “The Homework Myth; Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a

Bad Thing” by Alfie Kohn• Be willing to question conventional wisdom.

• Homework in and by itself is not beneficial.

• Homework and grading will overlap to a great extent.

• How to Grade for Learning by Ken O’Connor

• Lee Jenkins from L to J

The Question Asked by Everyone

Why Do We Learn Algebra?

Homework Policy

• Does your school have a homework policy?

• Does your building have a homework policy?

• Does your team or grade band have a homework policy?

• Is that policy well defined and communicated to parents and students?

• We will come back to homework policies at the end.

When the going gets tough the

tough get going.

• Some just give up and quit.• Because of a student’s dread of homework

it can lead to a lack of interest in learning.

Grades as Motivation

• Write down the percentage of your students that are motivated by the grade they receive.

• Not all students are motivated by grades.– Most teachers were when they were students.

• Now think about which students are not motivated by grades.

From the Brain

• If a student is getting a low grade, getting another low grade will not increase motivation.

• Success builds and breeds success.

• Find small success and use this to put together a string of improvements.

• Increase student confidence

Purposes of Homework

Homework Decisions

• Amount—frequency and length

• Difficulty—easy, hard, interspersal

• Skill areas—writing, reading, memory or retention

• Individual or independent, parent assisted or group

• Compulsory, task options, voluntary

• Long-term or short term deadlines

Homework as Practice

• Practice makes perfect.• Perfect practice makes perfect• Practice makes permanent.• Once learned it takes more effort to relearn or

unlearn the connections.• Homework should be clear and the probability

of success high• Homework should be started in class.• Practice is a time to learn

History of Homework

Research Regarding Homework

Center for Public Education

• Key lessons: What Research says about the value of Homework.

• Skim the article and find:– Two things you agree with– Two things that surprise you

• Stand up, find a three-ish group not from your table and share what you found.

Research on Effectiveness of Homework

• Dependent on type of research completed.

• Homework can improve children’s scores on class or unit test. This comes from a variety of grade levels and subjects.

• A broader measure comes from NAEP and finds a positive relationship between how much homework kids do and their achievement on NRT test.

Average Math Scores On NAEP 2000

200

220

240

260

280

300

320

0 15 30 45 60 >60

Time in minutes reported spent on homework

Scor

e on

NAE

P As

sess

men

t

4th 8th 12th

Looking at the DATA

• When it comes to amount of time spent on homework there seems to be a point of diminishing returns.

• Not keeping up with homework is a contributing factor to students dropping out of school. (concept of compacting)

• Focus on Quality rather than Quantity. (Quality School by Glasser)

Correlation Data

• There is a positive correlation between homework and achievement.– With elementary students no correlation was

found. Half of the studies were positive and the other half negative.

– With middle level students a correlation was found.

– With secondary students a strong correlation was found. Of 23 studies, 20 were positive.

Is Homework Effective at All Levels? (from Marzano)

• A meta analysis of research showed– 24 percentile gain in high school– 12 percentile gain in middle school– 6 percentile gain in elementary

• Other studies have shown a positive effect for homework in grades as low as 2nd.

Why is Grade Level Important?

• Possible reasons from Harris Cooper• Attention span is less younger children• Younger students have less well-

developed study skills• Poor achieving students spend more time

on homework because it is difficult for them.

• Time management and study skills are necessary for homework to be effective

Supervised Study VS Homework

• Two different forms of same strategy

• In elementary school students supervised study had a more positive effect than homework.

• A possible explanation is that elementary students are still learning how to study.

What About Homework Building Character, Self Discipline, Study Habits, or Organizational Skills

• There have been no studies that show homework promotes good work habits, independence, or self-discipline.

• A positive correlation is found, but is homework causing attitudes or attitudes causing homework?

• In the early grades teachers use homework to build study skills, time management, and get parents involved.

Homework Does Not Teach Responsibility….

• Parents do.

• Says Debra Pickering one of co-writers with Robert Marzano

• Students need to be taught organization, time management, stress management, goal setting, etc

In the Elementary

• “Teachers may use homework to build time management and study skills in the earlier grades because they are aware of it limited potential for improving achievement until these skills have been learned.” – p 31 The Battle Over Homework

• High school teachers just assume, probably incorrectly, they have these skills

Stand Up

Touch 3 different walls

Find someone who you have not shared with and discuss

under what conditions is homework effective?

Feedbackand

Homework

Providing Feedback

• Homework assigned but not commented on has an effect size of .28

• Homework is assigned and graded has an effect size of .78

• Homework is assigned and teacher provides written comments has an effect size of .83

Does this mean?

• Is it important to provide students feedback about their homework?

• Is it important that every problem on homework must be graded by the teacher?

• Is it important that homework is a significant part of a students letter grade?

Fox Trot by Bill Amend

Providing Feedback

• How do you handle feedback on homework?

• A quick check √+, √, or √- maybe a 1-5

• Grade a sample of the homework over a whole unit

• Give a quiz that contains some of the questions on the homework.

• Thumb up, thumb down

Students Provide Feedback

• Clickers

• Two stars and a hope

• Thumb up, thumb down

• White boards

• Writing assignments

• Self Assessment Stickers – green, yellow, red

From L to J

• Choose a sample of homework from the class. Randomly choose students.

• If you have multiple sections of the class or 3 teachers at a grade level sample from all of the classes and combine.

• Grade those assignments.• Create an item analysis of which questions are missed.

Find common errors from the class. (Pareto chart) • Share the results with the class and re-teach

accordingly.• Randomly choose problems from an assignment. Let

the students see that the process is random.

Checking Homework in Class

• When does it occur?

• How does it occur?

• What is done to streamline the process?

How Much to Mark?

• Marking everything is detrimental• Teachers mark too much• Lighten the load:

– Mark some work as done or not done– Skim some work for an overall impression– Focus on one or two key ideas– Utilize peer assessing

• These approaches save time and are beneficial to students

Sampling Student Performance

• Formative vs Summative Assessment• Formative: Assessment designed to

provide direction, it takes place in conjunction with learning

• Summative: Assessment designed to provide information about student achievement at the end of a grading period

Summative vs Formative

• When the cook tastes the soup, it is formative, when the guest tastes the soup it is summative.

• In fine arts and sports there is a clear distinction between practice and games. Practice is time to take risk and learn

• Formative assessment can be done quicker than summative. There are not as many decisions that must be done.

Formative Assessments

• Exclude formative assessment scores from grades

• Some work can be recorded as done or not done

• Some can be skimmed for a general impression• Some can be assessed on one or two important

facets• Some can be assessed by peers

Referee or Coach

• Much of the time during class the teachers role is to be a coach. Help students to improve and learn.

• Sometime the teacher must be a referee. Determining if the student has reached a specific level.

• Make sure the students know what role you are playing at what times.

Special Education and Homework• The majority of the time spent by students

working with the special education teacher is spent working on completing homework.

• Remember that homework is a strategy but not the only strategy to improve learning.

• Why not give the special education teacher whose specialty is to help student learn in a variety of ways the ability to do what is best.

How Much Should Homework Count?

• Forcing students to do work they don’t need for the learning process only teaches them that grades are about pleasing teachers and not about learning.

RETESTING

• Example of taking the drivers test.

• You get a second opportunity, the grades are not averaged, not labeled as failure, get the same permit as everyone else.

Bottom Line

• Scores from summative assessments should be included in the grade

• Scores from formative assessments should not be included in the grade

StrategiesTo ImproveHomework

Completion ContractFrom Ken O’Connor page 52

• Missed Work—The following work has not been handed in…

• Original Due Date…• Reason—please indicate why the work is

late.• Next steps—What will you now do to get

this work completed?• New Due Date…• Student, parent and teacher signature

Homework Suggestions• Do as many of these problems as you can in

15 minutes. Bring those you were able to complete.

• Find out why students’ work is late or incomplete and assist them.– Is there something that I should know that I don’t

know?

• Establish consequences (not penalties) for late work such as– After school follow up– Documentation

Choice Boards

• Enables students to choose tasks, practice a skill and demonstrate and depth of knowledge.

• Allows for differentiation of instruction related to interest or readiness level.

• Teachers need to carefully design the boards to ensure a good experience regardless of which “path” is chosen.

ParentInvolvement

Parent Involvement

Parent Involvementfrom Marzano

• Parent involvement in homework should be kept to a minimum.

• Parents should know what homework their children are responsible for completing.

• Parents’ role should be to facilitate homework not to do the homework for students.

• Parents’ role should be defined and communicated in a homework policy from the teacher and school.

A Parent’s View

• Homework is the intersection between home and school.

• Homework is a bridge that joins school, parents and students.

• It serves as a window through which parents can observe their child's education.

• Provides an opportunity to express positive attitudes toward children and their education.

What About Students Who

Do Not Test Well?

HomeworkPolicy

(Guidelines)

Every School and Teacher Should Have a Homework Policy (Guideline) and It Should Be Consistently

ObservedA recent survey of schools found that only 35% of school districts have a

written homework policy.

ClosingThe Next Step is Up to You.

Consider

The question is not “there should never be any homework”

• instead teachers need to have good reason to believe that a given assignment is likely to benefit most students

• Shift away from a model in which assignments are checked off or graded.

• Decrease the impact of homework on grading and increase the value of what the student learns.

In Conclusion• Create a homework policy• Think quality and quantity.

– In the elementary especially error on the side of too little

• Homework must be started during class.• Think meaningful and relevant• Get parents on your side• Don’t assign more homework as

punishment or no homework as a reward.• Homework is formative, grade accordingly

Teachers should not abandon homework. Instead, they

should improve it instructional quality.

Robert Marzano and Debra Pickering

Educational Leadership March 2007 p 74-79

A Question That You Still Have

• What would you like to know that I have not talked about today?

Closure…Changes

• The beginning of a new school year is the best opportunity to create new practices.

• Name one feeling, rule or policy that you have changed the most on as a result of today’s training.

• Name one strategy that you will continue to do as a result of today’s training.

We are what we think. We can bring sunshine or clouds into a

room. We can encourage success or predict failure. We

can determine our own attitude or let others determine

it for us. We can build our attitude or simply absorb the

attitudes of others. Dr. Anthony F Bisciglia, Editor of “The Effective School Report”