Math Homework
I was asked to share my thoughts on homework the other day. I decided this was a conversation worth bringing up with all of you. I’ve done a lot of thinking about this topic over the years. A great article on this topic was written by Stephen Fisher and published in TOMT magazine in September of 2008. Steve included this interesting historical look at the evolution of homework in our country.
“Homework was not always the institution it is today. A 1901 California civil code forbade homework. In the 1920s, five to six hours of fresh air and sunshine were considered preferable to homework. Attitudes towards homework have changed through history; but the present role of homework as a critical tool for increasing student achievement can be traced to the 1957 Soviet launch of Sputnik. Since then, homework has played an increasingly dominant role in school-home dynamics.”
He goes on to include the following quote regarding some research done on the effectiveness of homework.
“In their groundbreaking book, The End of Homework: How Homework Disrupts Families, Overburdens Children and Limits Learning, authors Etta Kralovec and John Buell (2000) cite a significant body of research that shatters many popular beliefs about homework’s effectiveness. They argue that homework actually pushes students and families away from schools. This is particularly true for students from low-income families:
‘Like tracking, homework is a practice that perpetuates the social-class inequity that seems built into schooling. When we look at homework in the context of a poor student’s life, the practice seems almost abusive… In their world, homework simply didn’t fit in. … Homework further disadvantages these children by assuming they have a quiet, well-lit place to study, far away from the TV.’ ”
I agreed with many of the premises in the article and had done a fair amount of changing the homework assignments I gave to my students. I decided that I would work to insure that any homework I assigned would be meaningful to the students and would not cause stress to family systems that in many cases were already highly stressed. I also knew that some families continued to support their children in doing homework and it was not uncommon for me to get requests to provide more homework than what was usually assigned.
So, I decided to give students (and their families) a larger variety of choices for homework and this included math homework. My underlying belief is that when students have learning choices, they take more ownership of their learning process and are more motivated to complete it. For many years now, I have used the “Home Connections” from the Bridges in Mathematics program published by Math Learning Center. I really like these packets and think they are the right blend of application and practice of concepts taught in the classroom but I find that the large amount of reading required can be challenging to families where English is not spoken in the home. So, I also included a worksheet that practiced math fluency and test taking skills. In addition, I tried to incorporate as many opportunities as possible to integrate math in problem-solving contexts and utilized the tools of technology wherever possible, too.
I developed a planner sheet that I used to help students contract with me what their homework choices for the week were going to be. I also did a search of the Internet and found some great problem solving newsletters, so I included one of those in each packet. Finally, I put together a list of math choices students could do in addition to any of the math homework included in the packet. I’ve uploaded a Homework_Sample to this web site for those who might be interested.
I did set a minimum expectation for students that required they do at least a half hour of math homework each week. Our school had a policy that students were required to spend a certain number of minutes practicing reading each night. The minutes increased as student moved up in the grades. Also, at the elementary level there are other content areas that need to be practiced. It was like walking a tightrope trying to find a balanced approach to decide how much homework to assign.
I decided to let families and students have more of a say in how much homework was enough. I accomplished this by building in a reward system. At different times of year, I varied my reward program because I found that holding students’ interest was always a challenge. The rewards they were working for also changed periodically to shake things up and keep them interesting. At different times of the year students could earn a certain number of points, tickets, or class cash per assignment completed. Some homework like the Bridges Home Connections projects earned more than completion of a single worksheet. The coupons, tickets, cash or points could be traded in for a variety of treats like trips to a treasure chest, earning a mid-morning snack or buying items in a class auction.
Ultimately, it was up to the family and child to decide how much homework he or she was going to complete in a week. Students and families used the planner sheet to communicate with me about what homework they were contracting to do for the week. They carried the planner sheets and their completed homework packets to and from school in a plastic folder that had a clear sleeve in the front to slip the planner sheets into.
I hope you will let me know your thoughts about homework. What are your philosophies? What great homework projects have you come up with?
Many immigrant families expect plenty of homework, even endless math fact drill pages. Families will use this homework to provide opportunities for older siblings to help younger siblings, and for parents to be able to participate in the children’s schooling. Math becomes more than math; it offers a tool for family togetherness. While parents express consternation about being unable to guide reading at home, they are excited about computation because no English is required.
So there are two ways in which teachers can assist their immigrant students in completing homework. First, Jackie’s idea about rewards for students who submit homework is excellent; it places the decision in the hands of the parents. I would encourage teachers to assure themselves that parents know what homework is available and how much their children are submitting.
Second, teachers have to be very sure that the homework is comprehensible Rule of thumb: Any page with a word on it becomes a word problem if no one in the home can read that word.