Should We Kill Homework?
Zach Cresswell
Mt. Pleasant High School
Twitter: @z_cress
zcresswell@mp.edzone.net
Exploring the role of homework in the modern math classroom.
About you
- Grade level/Role
- Years of experience
- Parents?
- Attend last year?
About Zach
My Motivation
Text
Calvin's take on homework
Homework - Definitions
- Independent Practice
- Prep work (watch video, do reading)
- Reflection and Asynchronous Conversation
- Activities
The case for homework
- If we want to get better at something, we need to practice it
- It doesn't take much - the compound effect
- An in-person class can be more effective if students come to class with an experience to build on
- Doing work independently, without a teacher present, teaches time-management and problem-solving persistence
- Curriculum time constraints
The case against homework
- Isn't a school day enough time?
- If every teacher gives homework, that's a lot of time from the evening
- Students, especially in high school, have other responsibilities
- Many students simply won't do it (or they'll copy the answers)
- The home life of the student may not be conducive to doing homework, resulting in them falling behind their peers
- Parents often can't help
What did I miss?
Discussion
Your Intuitions
- What's your current philosophy/practice regarding homework?
- What problems do you have with your current policy/approach?
Solutions
- Are there any creative approaches to homework that you think are worth sharing? (This could also be ways in which you've completely avoided assigning homework.)
- What's the best kind of homework?
The Moral Question(s)
- Do we have the right to demand that a student uses his/her time outside of school for the purposes of our class?
- What do we do with the fact that assigning homework will almost certainly create an unequal outcome between our students?
Closing Thoughts
Thoughts from the backchannel
credit: https://xkcd.com/336/
The Research
Go here (my highlights): bit.ly/MIAhwresearch
Or here (publication link): bit.ly/37SctN4
Takeaways
- It's a multilevel problem
- For instance, there's a negative association for the individual but positive for the school/classroom
- The success or failure of homework depends on your values/goals
- Frequency seems to have a bigger impact than volume (on student achievement)
- Correlation versus Causation
My thoughts
Questions, comments or feedback?
Thank for attending!
Zach Cresswell
Mt. Pleasant High School
Twitter: @z_cress
zcresswell@mp.edzone.net
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Should we kill homework?
By Zach Cresswell
Should we kill homework?
In this session we'll be exploring how the lecture fits into math teaching in 2019.
