Assignment #5: Complete the 4 part assignment format as you read, reflect, and respond to Chapter 5 – Homework and Practice.
Don't forget to comment on each others' thoughts and reactions :)
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?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
11 comments:
Assignment #5:
Part C:
After reading this section of the text, I realize that I need to communicate a homework policy more clearly to families. Currently, at our Back to School Night, I discuss information about homework expectations with parents, but I do not have a very explicit policy that is written and provided to all families. I plan to create this for this coming school year, as I think that it will help me to give families important information about how they can better assist their students at home.
I have always held the idea that homework should be practice with familiar concepts or an opportunity to think more deeply about a concept already presented, but I have not always communicated that clearly to my students. I think that if students know the purpose of the homework that they are assigned, it would help them to focus and place more effect upon the task; currently, it seems that many students perceive homework as “busy work”. I want my students to see that this is not the case. At the end of each day, I complete a homework planner with my students, and I plan to integrate the discussion of the purpose of each assignment with my students as we write them down. We could code each assignment with a “P” for practice assignments, or “E” for extensions of thought.
Finally, I would like to discuss homework with students on a more daily/weekly basis. Currently, I do grade and provide feedback on almost all assignments, but they are all sent home in Friday Folders each week. In this situation, I feel that some families review the work and comments, but many others do not. To increase the feedback for all students, I would like to use the ideas from the text and return some assignments to students as a group to be reviewed or to conference with students about assignments individually. In doing this, I think that I will increase the accountability of students in regards to work that they do at home, as well as help them to set more specific goals regarding effort and success.
Part D:
As I discussed above, I plan to change the way in which I present homework to students so that they are able to see the purpose in this part of their school experience. I want them to see homework as a way to practice and develop their skills, as well as a way to develop the important independent study skills that will help them throughout their further education. I also plan to change the way that I communicate my homework expectations to families so that they can support their child at home in a more positive manner.
I also better understand the need to be sure that students are very familiar with the concepts they are being required to practice at home. This has always been my mindset in regards to the homework that I assign; however, the discussion of the negative effects of assigning work that students may not be ready to practice independently reminded me that I need to be very mindful of the level of comfort with concepts before assigning homework.
I now also have a better idea of ways in which I can use homework to provide even more feedback to my students regarding their progress. I will now view completed homework more as a possible teaching tool, and increase students awareness of how they are doing on assignments.
Cassandra,
I agree with you completely about your posting. Getting ready to post my comment for this assignment that we are saying very similar things even though we teach at the opposite ends of the age spectrum. Also the point about talking with students more regularly is key and I, too, need to do that more consistently.
C. I like the guidelines on p. 65 and how the teacher had laid these out in print for students and parents. I have often mentioned these during back-to-school nights, but having them in black and white is more beneficial. I plan on including those in my beginning of the year handout that I give to all of my students. I also plan on being more consistent with defining for my students whether the assignment is “practice” or “preparation”. I also really like the homework diary squares that kids fill out in their agendas. I can see where that would really help them to focus on them, especially hours later when they are at home and may be foggy about what they have to do. I could see making an ink stamp and stamping it in their notebooks (teachers could personalize and adapt the squares as necessary).
D. In this chapter, I have seen what I already knew about homework and practice and also some new ways to look at both. I think the idea of focused practice is really important and that kids know what is being practiced in their homework and practice exercises. I often ask kids to identify what they think are being practiced and I now see the importance of doing that consistently. I also give them guided practice time the last 10 minutes of class to try to insure that they know what they are doing before they leave my classroom. In addition, I see the advantage to having timed, accurate exercises (for example, verb conjugations) that kids could do at home that could make it more fun for them. Overall, I plan to be more consistent about how I use homework in my classroom and involving kids more in getting feedback and making sure they understand the purpose in the homework and practice they do.
C. I plan to lift the parent letter for homework right off of page 65. I very much liked the directive that parents are not to sit with the child during the homework time. I also like the idea of the parents being asked to contact the teacher when kids seem unable to explain their homework or don’t have the skill to complete it.
What is more I loved the assignment square idea asking kids to think about what skills they need to do the homework and to think about its purpose. I always know when a book like this is very good by how many pages I dog-ear. The pages I dog-ear are the ones I intend to come back to at the beginning of the year when I am planning my routines for class operations.
I also have to admit that as a math teacher, I usually just checked for completeness; but having seen the percentile gain you get form correcting it, I plan to correct more.
D. How might I change how I use both homework and practice in my classroom?
Like I said above I plan to check more of my students’ math homework.
What is something you understand better about homework or practice?
I guess I understand better that the percentile gain becomes smaller and smaller with more and more practice.
C. Practice: Student and parent understanding of and buy-in to the value of homework is very low in the school I currently work in. This chapter gave me numerous ideas of strategies to improve that. One thing that can sometimes change people’s minds is research that demonstrates a point contrary to what they believe. For those who are influenced in that way, I think I will make a poster with the following information from the chapter. “ For every 30 minutes of “additional” homework a student does per night, his or her overall grade point average (GPA) increases about half a point.” “It’s not until students have practiced upwards of about 24 times that they reach 80% competency.” I’ll have my English 9 students write a journal reaction to the quotes. I might also include the first quote, about GPA, on the paper that contains my homework policy. The detailed nature of the student/parent homework letter from the chapter was wonderful! I will probably use everything that was in that 6 bulleted letter. It is so nice to find something so well thought out and well written. I might alter it a little to fit my needs. For example I’d need to add to contact the teacher if your child is frequently telling you that she has no homework. This was a comment I heard many times from parents who came to conferences. Unfortunately our school does not have a Back to School Night where teachers and parents have an opportunity to meet. That fact makes the parent letter all the more important. I like the idea of talking with students about the purpose of the assignment. Most students are more likely to do something if they understand it and see a purpose to it. Therefore, taking the time to talk with students about the purpose of their homework seems like a good idea. After teaching students that homework serves to provide either practice of a skill, or a means of preparation for new content or elaboration, I will involve them in a discussion around what purpose various homework assignment provide. I think this can deepen their understanding of why it might be worthwhile to do the homework. The assignment square was also something that I’d use, especially with my English 9 students. Training them to be systematic about how they write assignments and making sure that they thoroughly understand the assignment parameters would be beneficial to many students.
Final Strategy Reflection: This chapter made me think about my communication about homework to both parents and students. I think that there are many changes that I can make in this area that will be beneficial. As I mentioned sending home a more detailed letter to parents and talking with students about the purpose of homework are things that I want to do. As a learner, I know I always liked it when teacher’s would comment on work that I did. As a teacher, I find it overwhelming to keep up on grading so much homework, but I also know that on those pieces of homework that I do write comments, students usually are very eager to read what I have to say. The fact that homework that a teacher provides written comments for the students on results in the highest percentile gains in student achievement, makes me think that I need to be more deliberate in making sure that I’m writing comments more consistently. If I keep track of when I do this and vary it with my six classes so that I’m not doing that type of grading in all of them at once, I should be able to manage this better. I also want to try to make more personal comments to individual students about the quality of their homework.
Homework and Practice
C.
I also found that the classroom practice that I focused on was the homework policy. A written homework policy has always been a part of my 6th Grade Handbook, but it was more student-focused. I want to make my homework policy focused on both parents and students. The policy on page 65 was great. The specifics for parents were especially interesting to me. I also like the idea of the students placing the policy in the front of their notebook for easy reference. My homework policy has not been very specific as to the consequences for missing homework. Part of this may be because I struggle with what the consequences should be. I don’t really want to deduct points or give up my lunch, their recess, so that students can make up their missing homework. Clearly, this is a decision I will need to make before September. The idea of clearly identifying the purpose of the homework and communicating that purpose also stuck with me. I would like to incorporate this idea either by posting that purpose and communication on my classroom blog, having students write it on their assignment, or writing it in their daily planner (Awesome idea, Cassandra!). Wherever we end up recording this information, I want it to be accessible to parents as well as students.
D.
One thing I better understand about practice is that learning new content does not happen quickly. The fact that a student needs to practice a skill about 24 times to reach 80 percent competency was surprising. Man that is a lot of practice! I also better understand the importance of slowing down and focusing more on the skill or process I am teaching.
Something I may change in my classroom is to make my homework policy more specific for my students and their parents. I also want to communicate the purpose of the homework assignments. Charting accuracy and speed, especially in my math class, is something I would also like to add to my class. Finally, slowing down and focusing more on the skill or process I am teaching is another change I may make in my classroom.
I agree with everyone that the homework letter given in the text is a great example to use when communicating with families. I plan to make a few personalizations, but I will use it as well!
Thanks Cassandra, Gina, Jeff, Colleen, and Heidi. It really was great to have the opportunity to read your thoughts coming from such a wide range of both grade and subjects. I’m glad that everyone found the homework policy letter on page 65 so helpful, even if it’s used as a foundation for a more personalized letter. There are two bottom lines for me. The first is that both parents and students need to be aware of homework expectations (via policy letter, monthly newsletters, blogs, daily planners…Cassandra – I loved the idea of coding the type of homework to reinforce purpose for students.). The second is that there needs to be balance (for both students and teachers). For students, especially elementary (I know expectations increase with grade levels), often there isn’t someone available to help students at home. In a home where both parents are working, parents get home, dinner needs to get cooked, there’s usually after-school activities (call me crazy, but I think these are just as important ) and time can be very limited – kids should be reading every night as well as spending time practicing the math they are learning in class. As a reading coach, I’d prefer my teachers to be planning more meaningful lessons for their students rather than spending hours correcting homework!
Chuck Camp
Assignment #5
C.
Like everyone else, I also was impressed with the Homework Policy sent home on page 65. I send home a Homework Policy letter now, but it’s a bit thin by comparison. Having parents set up a consistent time for doing their homework could eliminate the students that sometime say they didn’t have the time, especially with as many after school activities and sports that our kids are involved with. I also like the suggestion of calling the teacher if a student is unable to do the homework or cannot explain the knowledge being practiced. Another great idea is the homework squares, which I think I’ll modify for my use and print out on sheets of labels.
D.
As far as the homework, I may not change much in what I send home with my students, because it works well for me and I see positive results. Being clear to my parents about policy can always be improved upon and I will do that. I agree with what the authors said about consistently commenting on homework and because the homework I send home is nearly the same each week, I’ve found that there is always a parent or two who ask to do this and I have a student teacher. I do think I’ll change how I do some of the practice in class, because I liked the idea of having a more pointed focus on a skill. I was surprised about Figure 5.6 and the amount of practice needed for speed and skill. I wouldn’t have thought 24 times. I seem to remember hearing long ago something about if you do it 15 times you won’t forget it.
Chuck – it sounds as though you have a great system in place for your homework policies. I’m glad that this chapter and the policy letter might be able to help firm up your communication with parents!
Chapter 5
Part C:
I really enjoyed reading this text because as I am transition to 5th grade in the fall I realized I need to change some of my homework policies and ideas. My homework policy needs to be changed especially since I will be doing my homework a little different. Instead of doing homework packets I am going to be trying Homework Books, which I am taking from another 5th grade teacher who learned this in New Zealand. It is an open ended homework over 2 weeks which has student work on specific tasks that they have been learning in school. By doing this I will have to re-do my policy and communicate it much better so my students and parents really understand. I plan on doing this on Open House night plus send home plenty of information about my new homework and the policies I will establish. The other thing I came away from this chapter is that I need to do a much better job in commenting on the homework and actually looking it over a little more. By doing the homework books it will force me to do this and I think this will make the homework more effective for my students.
Part D:
I talked in Part C how I will change my homework in what is assigned and how I will change my policies so both parents and students know what is expected. I will comment on the homework more so the homework is more effective for my students. I am done with parents grading it and I just barely look it over. If the students are going to take the time to do homework I owe them the time to look it over and make beneficial comments for them.
With practice I am planning on doing it more as research shows. It is so hard to do this because it seems like the time we have is so little. But the research shows the more practice the more benefit it is. Sometimes I assume the students know it real quick and I can move on but it can be dangerous to assume what your kids know.
What I understand better about homework and practice is that it can be an effective tool if done right. LIke it says on page 71, "homework and practice are ways of extending the school day and providing students with opportunities to refine and extend their knowledge." This is so true but it has to be done the right way.
Post a Comment