How much time should students spend on homework?

Thursday, May 27, 2010

How Much Homework Should Students Receive?




How much homework should students receive? This is an ongoing question that lingers in the minds of parents and teachers. It is a controversial topic that teachers are faced with due to trying to get students prepared for standardized testing. Teachers are working with limited time to get the students to learn information and homework is essential to assess what the students can do.
Students and the parents often feel overwhelmed with the amount of homework given per night. Both groups may see homework as pointless and unnecessary and this is a misconception. The interest of the students may fade with the more homework given. Howework is helpful for students to apply the concepts learned in class, study the information, and reflect on the lesson provided by the teacher.
In teaching Middle Childhood Mathematics, I think that homework will be essential for their learning. Mathematics needs to be practiced and engrained into their thinking. It is the teachers role to deliver the material and explain how to do. Homework is the key for assessing and applying what they have learned from the lesson taught in the classroom. Howework can also be a good indicator for what concepts the students understand (grasp), or what they need help with.
Students should receive homework but limited amount of time should be spent on the homework assignments a night. As a teacher I would limit the time the students spent on the homework material a night.
How much time should students spend on homework?
Technology can make it easier for parents to keep track of homework assignments and grades with a wiki website.

3 comments:

  1. Yes, teachers do need to think about how much homework they are giving their students! It gets ridiculous when a first grader has 2 hours worth of homework each night! But, I do like the "family projects" that my son's school has. Also, a little amount of homework may keep parents more involved. But, homework in kindergarten? That is slightly out of control

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  2. Homework can be a great tool for teachers to use but there is a thin line between having homework be a tool and having it be overbearing. Homework can bring parents and students together in the home setting, it can help the student recall the lessons from the day, and can help build a good knowledge foundation. Too much homework can work against a teacher. Students can get bored and stressed. This goes into frustration and no knowledge is gained. There needs to be a set amount of time needed to be spent on homework. Families want to be able to spend time with their children too!

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  3. Yes homework can be a great tool for teachers, but I think teachers need to communicate with each other and their students so they can be cognizant of how much homework is being assigned. Your one page of exercises may seem innocent enough, but when added on top of research papers and other projects, it can become overwhelming for the students and the parents. But overall I agree, a little homework never killed anyone and it can be a great tool to measure progress and to involve parents in their kid's education.

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