Just a Reminder: Please don't forget to read each others' comments and respond!!!! :)
Assignment #5: Complete the 4 part assignment format as you read, reflect, and respond to Chapter 5 – Homework and Practice.
Remember: Although your course packet asks you to post to blog for parts A, B, C, and D…we are asking that you only post part C and D. We’re trying to make the blog easier to read and more user- friendly. Thanks!
A. Self Assessment of Current Beliefs and Practices: This component asks you to reflect on how and why you currently use the instructional strategies of Homework and Practice in your classroom. The intent of this is to activate your prior knowledge of your strategy use so that you can make comparisons as you read the chapter. Below are the questions to help you complete your self-assessment. After completing your self assessment please post a thought or two as a comment (click on comment link below) to this posting labeled Week Five: Homework and Practice.
• Think about the kinds of homework you assign to your students and what some of the purposes of those assignments might be.
• Do you have questions about using homework?
• How do you decide which skills students need to practice a great deal and which skills they can just have a basic proficiency in?
• What makes skill practice effective?
B. Read & Reflect “Research & Theory”: This portion of the assignment asks you to read chapter 5 and reflect briefly on your thinking after reading the “Research and Theory” section for both homework and practice. You may want to think and respond to one of the bulleted thoughts below. After completing your chapter reflection, please post it as a comment (click on comment link below) in the posting labeled Week Five: Homework and Practice.
• Reviewing the research on homework emphasizes the importance of commenting on students' homework assignments. What strategies would your recommend to a teacher who wants to assign homework but claims that it is logistically impossible to comment on students' work?
• The research described in this chapter suggests that, especially for older students, homework seems to be positively correlated with student achievement. Even when some parents who are opposed to homework become aware of this research, they express strong negative feelings about homework. What do you think are some of the reasons for these feelings?
C. Practice: Choose one of the specific “classroom practice” strategies or techniques shared in this chapter to teach to your students (If you are not currently teaching, you may share how you would use this strategy in your classroom). Please post a brief reflection of how this went to the posting labeled Week Five: Homework and Practice. Click on the “comment” link below..
D. Final Strategy Reflection: Use the following sequence of questions/promps to reflect on what you’ve learned about both the strategies presented in the chapter and what you’ve learned about yourself as both a teacher and a learner. Please post your brief reflection to the posting labeled Week Five: Homework and Practice by clicking on the “comment” link below.
How has the information you read in this chapter on homework and practice effected your thinking about teaching and learning? What have you learned about yourself as a teacher and learner? Use the following questions to assist you in writing a brief strategy reflection:
• How might I change how use both homework and practice in my classroom?
• What is something you now understand better about homework or practice?
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5 comments:
c. With so many state standards and district standards that we have to teach. I get so overwhelmed. So consequently I am guilty of trying to push curriculum on students too quickly.
Currently, we are trying to review math skills for state testing. It is apparent which skills my students are lacking in. It is obvious to me that I did not teach some concepts slow enough. So this week I have been concentrating on assessing which specific phase of a given math concept that students do not understand.
When I asked students to find equivalent fractions I found some students had no clue what I was asking them the do. I had to take a small group of students back to the beginning of the process of identifying equivalent fractions. In the beginnin I had students using manipulatives to explore equivalents. As a result of going back to the beginning students (not all) are understanding not only what an equivalent fraction is but how to find its equivalent.
D. I understand the importance of homework practice. I try to assign homework that is an extension to what we are doing in the classroom. But, we have never timed and charted our progress. My class is up to the challenge.
This week I sent home timed multiplication practice. Students are asked to time themselves and chart their progress over the next few weeks so I will let you know how they improve.
Hi Grace, I think the most important thing here (and State testing aside), you can see how valuable it is to use assessments to bring students from where they are and where you need to go with them....It is so hard to find that balance of time and expectations!!! Good luck using the timed and charted practice with the multiplication tables...it's the perfect strategy to help them learn them!!!
Hi Grace. I think we as teachers all feel that pressure to "push the curriculum" in order to get through all the state standards. My district, Tigard-Tualatin, just adopted a new math curriculum and in that process we also "powered" our state math standards.
I am on the adoption committee so I was a part of this process. Each grade level looked at our standards and combined some, deleted others and decided that some were more appropriate for the next grade level. By doing this we hope to be able to focus on fewer concepts but also be able to teach them to a greater depth. I'm excited about implementing this next year.
C. "Shaping Phase"
My first graders have been working on mastering their addition/subtraction facts. We discussed how being fluent in reading helps ones comprehension/speed so being fluent in math facts helps one in all areas of math. I sent home a letter asking parents to help their child work on math fact fluency by practicing flashcards , minute timings, and then help their child chart the number of correct problems. At the end of the week I conference with each student and we talk about how it is going, what improvement if any and how much gain. My first graders really like using the chart and I have seen gains in their fact fluency.
D. Classroom Practice in Assigning Homework
My school district has a homework policy stating that K-5th grade will dedicate 20 minutes daily to "At-Home" reading which includes read to/read with for the younger students. Our students keep a homework log in which parents initial. We have seen lots of reading growth in those students that practice reading at home.
I really liked the parent communication part in this chapter that clearly described a teacher's homework policy. I do this at the beginning of the year but I think that I need to be a bit more explicit in helping parents to understand my homework policy. I particularly liked "Encourage, motivate, and prompt your child"but do not sit with them and do the work with them.
Thanks for your comments Paula! I think practicing and charting their addition and subtraction facts is probably one of the best ways for them to build fluency. How encouraging for you to be able to look forward to using more manageable standards next year! As time consuming as it is to be involved with different committees, it's so important for teachers' voices to be heard. Kudos to you!!!
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