Heads-Up Homework Hints for Teachers and Students

Debbie Willingham
May 31, 2010

Fact: schools in which homework is assigned and quality feedback is provided tend to have higher achieving students. Fact: students complete more homework when teachers make it central to course work, collect it routinely, and spend time reviewing it.
So what does this mean? Homework should be tied to current subject matter and assigned in amounts and levels of difficulty which students can complete successfully. Homework should be necessary and useful, appropriate to the ability and maturity level of students, well-explained and motivational, and clearly understood by students. In a nutshell, students should understand they NEED to do their homework because they will need it for something else - in other words, it is not just "busy work," and they can be successful in completing it. Refer to homework content in class and use it in classroom assignments to reinforce its value. Most importantly, it needs to be done in a fairly short amount of time, checked quickly (either in or outside class), and feedback given to students in a timely manner. Is this doable? Yes, if you tie it closely to the Lesson Essential question (or as the answer to part of it) and to what students did in class that day.

Never give homework as punishment, and never use "no homework" as a reward for behavior. Daily assignments should not be overly long; research shows that teachers usually underestimate the amount of time necessary for students to complete it. This can lead to frustration by both students and parents, which does not help anyone. In middle and high school coordinate homework assignments with other teachers as much as possible so students do not receive excessive assignments on a single night. Care should also be taken to prevent any one subject from dominating a student's homework time. Whether you assign points toward a grade for homework is of course optional, but sometimes students need to know there is an expectation and the work assigned is important enough to at least count somewhat. Sometimes, assigning a point or two to each question or problem, with the points from 10-12 homework assignments could add up to the equivalent of a quiz grade.

Students need to have a specific place to write down all the assignments for any given day. They should include a list of any materials from school that they will need to take home to complete them. They should have a specific place and time at home to do homework; teachers should ask them about this and reiterate its importance. The non-negotiables for students include completing assignments on their own, on time, carefully and thoughtfully with attention to detail and quality of work. They should feel comfortable talking to you about problems with understanding assignments, skills, content, volume of homework, or other circumstances that you need to know. Above all, students need to know that the homework assigned is important and will be useful to them, that they can successfully complete it, and that doing it is not optional.

Making sure the guidelines are clear and that both teachers and students have a clear understanding about homework gives both a greater sense of organization and expectations. In a future Connections newsletter look for Heads-Up Homework Hints for Administrators and Parents.