Homework; Unanswered Questions

As I was responding to Natasha's comment on my previous post, it was getting a bit long - so I thought it would be better served as a post than a comment.

Natashazen said...

I have often wondered about how much true learning a student can do at home alone. What homework resources, how much homwork, and precisely what kind of homework taska are the best for true learning? It is a question for which I still do not have all the answers

I have many of the same questions about homework - and also a lack of definitive answers. The article I posted presented some interesting conjectures about the amount of homework that is assigned and its relation to student learning - there was not a clear correlation in the research saying more homework = more learning. As you mentioned, I'm sure much of this is also influenced by the tasks as well as the resources available to students; it seems quite difficult to isolate just one of these factors as an individual influence on learning.

Another question that I have is whether or not students NEED homework in order to learn? Yes, it can be used as a form of formative assessment, but do students view it that way? Do they know how to use it that way? Should we teach them?? Should students be punished for not doing it? We know (or at least we think we know) it will help them improve their learning and perform better on assessments, but does that mean they should receive a lower grade for not doing it? So many questions....

I sometimes wonder (and I believe this was also in the article) if we are creating a bigger gap between the "smart" students and the "not-so-smart" students. The students who do the homework usually do better on assessments, but do they need it; would they learn the same amount without doing the homework? And for those students who seem like no amount of harassing will get them to trouble themselves to do homework, will it just keep them thinking (and behaving like) they are "not-so-smart"? Ok, I need to stop... question overload!

On a somewhat related topic, it is interestingly related to the growth vs. static mindset issue, which I have been currently reading about. It's really interesting, and it also reminds me of another book I heard about in grad school this past fall called Choice Words (which is on my list of books to read). I'm excited to learn more...!