Many of us
come home and one of the first questions we have for our children is, “How was
school?” After the smile or the rolling of the eyes (depending on the mood and
the day) we get a “Fine,” or “I don’t know” which doesn’t tell us a whole heck
of a lot. Somewhere in there will be an
exchange about homework. “Have you
finished your…” “Do you have any…” “What
about your…” and after asking for a few weeks it turns into, “Why don’t you
ever have any…” HOMEWORK!!! Let’s look at the reasons homework plays a key part in a student’s
learning process.
The four main reasons given for assigning
homework:
1. Finding out what
students already know or what we at school call background knowledge. The assignment may be to write down questions
or to simply explain something. Maybe students attempt to solve math problems or read a passage to explain
the purpose and key points. This work is important because it shows what students understand and can do.
2. Following up on
lessons taught to make sure students understand. Writing about what they have learned from a science
experiment; composing a persuasive essay about homework J; or completing
problems 1-10 in chapter 10 are ways teachers and students work together to
make sure mastery of new material happens.
3. Practicing of
skills learned. The key to this type of
homework is the student must have learned the concept in the first place. Practice homework is best used after a lesson. Practice lessons also include checking for understanding.
4. Processing
assignments involves the use of what students learn while solvoing real world problems such as calculating the cost of materials needed to pave a street;
the square footage of a room; or writing about what a student has learned and
how they believe they will use this knowledge in the future.
Discovering, following-up, practicing and processing are all
reasons for homework. Talking with our
children about the reasons for a particular assignment at school and at home
will help make homework a more effective tool for learning. Who knows... Maybe the next time we ask the
question, “Have you got any homework?” the answer we get could surprise
us!! Go Knights!!
