New study: Homework only beneficial in high school

Sibil · March 2012

2V, I think you're reading Helper's situation backward. Her older child is being asked to provide proof of a skill she should have learned in middle school. By high school, the only proof she should have to provide is successful mastery of the material.

Can I add the flip side to training kids to sit for homework at a young age? I was smart and didn't need much homework. My school actually gave very little, and it was usually not much busywork. Still, it was a waste of time (from my perspective). I already knew the material, so why did I have to do more homework on it?

So, I was conditioned to think homework was really really stupid and not worth my time. And I rarely did it. My grades were so good that even 0s on homework didn't convince me. Also, I didn't really care if my overall grade dropped to an a- instead. It was a constant battle with my parents, and I'm pretty sure they tried everything, but I just didn't care.

Because of that attitude and pattern I was pretty effed by the time I got to high school b/c I had no ability to see that putting in the time was worth it since it never had been. I still did very well, well enough to get into a competitive university, when I was really super effed. I had blown off stupid homework for so long that that was the habit I couldn't break, not the habit of playing instead of doing homework.

IrishBrideND · March 2012

Flipped classroom is they have to watch a video of me teaching a lesson at home. The videos are no onger than 10 minutes. They take notes. We then spend class applying the knowledge ( high level math problems and activities) basically, they flip the lecture and the practice. No longer are they practicing in isolation at home. They are practicing with me and each other...and do much more high level work. Plus, the videos are always in my website so they can rewatch them to study if ey want. It's crazy how much they watch them on their own time ( I track it). I don't do this with every lesson, and I still teach in class, lol. But it's really be effective. it's crazy what they can do compared to prior years since we focus on the higher level questions now. We are basically a problem solving class. It's a lot of fun. I teach eighth grade algebra ( and one class of geometry)

brideymcbriderson · March 2012

That is a really interesting concept, Irish. I had never heard of that.

I can definitely see how that would work for some courses.

2Vermont · March 2012

Sibil:

2V, I think you're reading Helper's situation backward. Her older child is being asked to provide proof of a skill she should have learned in middle school. By high school, the only proof she should have to provide is successful mastery of the material.

OOps. I guess I could have used more homework in reading comprehension ;-). I think I assumed she was talking about her younger child. I'm not sure what is expected of high school students, but it is possible that they must do this on their state exams as well. So, it's not so much proof, but reinforcement and practice of an ongoing needed skill.

is_it_over_yet? · March 2012

IrishBrideND:
Flipped classroom is they have to watch a video of me teaching a lesson at home. The videos are no onger than 10 minutes. They take notes. We then spend class applying the knowledge ( high level math problems and activities) basically, they flip the lecture and the practice. No longer are they practicing in isolation at home. They are practicing with me and each other...and do much more high level work. Plus, the videos are always in my website so they can rewatch them to study if ey want. It's crazy how much they watch them on their own time ( I track it). I don't do this with every lesson, and I still teach in class, lol. But it's really be effective. it's crazy what they can do compared to prior years since we focus on the higher level questions now. We are basically a problem solving class. It's a lot of fun. I teach eighth grade algebra ( and one class of geometry)

I would have loved this for some of my own classes. I was just telling H the other night that I despised my Advanced Chem homework because the concept would make sense in class, but then the homework would be the three questions in the textbook that would seem completely removed from what we had learned in class because they were designed to be part of the lesson taught, not used as homework. I had no guidance and would have gained so much more had we done these in class with a teacher available.

shouldbworkin · March 2012

Sibil:

I still did very well, well enough to get into a competitive university, when I was really super effed. I had blown off stupid homework for so long that that was the habit I couldn't break, not the habit of playing instead of doing homework.

I've seen this happen before, too.

erbear · March 2012

IrishBrideND:
Flipped classroom is they have to watch a video of me teaching a lesson at home. The videos are no onger than 10 minutes. They take notes. We then spend class applying the knowledge ( high level math problems and activities) basically, they flip the lecture and the practice. No longer are they practicing in isolation at home. They are practicing with me and each other...and do much more high level work. Plus, the videos are always in my website so they can rewatch them to study if ey want. It's crazy how much they watch them on their own time ( I track it). I don't do this with every lesson, and I still teach in class, lol. But it's really be effective. it's crazy what they can do compared to prior years since we focus on the higher level questions now. We are basically a problem solving class. It's a lot of fun. I teach eighth grade algebra ( and one class of geometry)

This is also how I teach. Maybe it's an 8th grade thing? (I teach social studies).

huber22 · March 2012

I really believe that homework says everything about the parents and nothing about the kids, and being graded on homework at such a young age does nothing but perpetuate that the kids with a good home life will be successful and the kids whose parents can't/won't help them will fall further and further behind.

sonrisa · March 2012

How can you learn to write a 2 page essay without homework (which you write weekly in 8th grade, right)? How do you practice algebra? I can't imagine middle school without some out of classroom practice, let alone freshman year of high school.

IrishBrideND · March 2012

sonrisa:
How can you learn to write a 2 page essay without homework (which you write weekly in 8th grade, right)? How do you practice algebra? I can't imagine middle school without some out of classroom practice, let alone freshman year of high school.

Or how do you read novels in English class without homework? If they have to read every page of every book in class, they will get through two books lol...and not have time for other things like writing and grammar.

lachute · March 2012

If my future first grader is playing Xbox there lies the problem. I do have a master's in museum education so I might be biased a small follow up hw is fine to help engage the parent in what is being learned and help reinforce new information. But no intense amount of homework should happen to middle school. I think after school engagement through play is important for the under 10 sect.

New study: Homework only beneficial in high school

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