Assigning Purposeful Homework & Practice

Suzanne Whisler Esu 4 Johnson Brock Public Schools January 25, 2012
esu4instructionalstrategies.wikispaces.com

Session objective . . .
What will I do to help students practice and deepen their understanding of new knowledge?

Best practices in assigning homework & designing practice assignments

Almost All Teachers at One Time or Another Give Homework Assignments.

If you were King or Queen, what would homework look like in your school?

Category
Identifying Similarities and differences Summarizing and note taking Reinforcing effort and providing recognition

Ave. Effect Size 1.61 1.00 .80

Percentile gain 45 34 29

Homework and Practice

Nonlinguistic representations Cooperative learning Setting objectives/providing feedback Generating and testing hypotheses Questions, cues, and advance organizers

.77
.75 .73 .61 .61 .59

28
27 27 23 23 22

Click icon to add picture

What is effective homework?

5 Characteristics of Quality Homework

1. Clear academic purpose 2. Efficiency 3. Ownership 4. Competence 5. Aesthetic appeal

Ahas & Questions

Form a group of 4 In your group letter off A-D Each partner will silently read a segment of the article 5 Hallmarks of Good Homework.
A Hallmark 1 Purpose B Hallmark 2 & 3 Efficiency and Ownership C Hallmark 4 Competence D Hallmark 5 Aesthetic Appeal

As you read, record any Ahas or questions you have regarding your segment. Share you Ahas and questions with your group.

Lets explore the 5 qualities of homework in depth.

The ultimate goal of the assignment should be clearly communicated to the student.
(Marzano, Pickering and Pollock, 2001)

1. Clear Academic Purpose

Students shouldnt have trouble connecting the purpose of homework to classroom learning.

Four Purposes of Homework

Pre-learning Checking for understanding Practice Busy Processing

Work

Pre-learning ~ Cues
Provide an introduction to a topic Provide background information Find out what student already know Stimulate interest in a topic
Read a chapter and complete an advance organizer Write down questions you have about the topic Watch a video KWL Chart

Check for Understanding

Homework should provide feedback to the teacher and student about the students understanding
Adjust instruction Reteach concepts

Example assignments
Do 5 math problems, explain the steps Have students complete a journal assignment about a class science experiment to check students understanding of what happened and why

If homework is assigned, it should be commented on.

Homework is assigned, but not commented on has an effect size of .28. Homework is assigned and graded has an effect size of .78. Homework is assigned and teacher (Marzano, 2007) provides written comments has an effect size of .83.

Practice
Practice should be assigned only after the teacher is confident that students fully understand the concept.
Dont skip Check for Understanding Students may practice skill incorrectly

Distributed practice is better than mass practice.

 Part 1

Twotiered Homework
Assign 3 problems to check for understanding of a new concept

Part 2
Assign 10 problems to practice and reinforce a concept previously taught.

Practice is more effective when distributed over several days.

Processing
Used when the teacher wants students to reflect on concepts
Think of new questions to ask Apply skills or knowledge learned

Often a long-term project

Summarizing major concepts in a unit Writing poem Write an an original editorial defending or

criticizing the actions of the participants of the

Homework Does Not Teach Responsibility . . .

Parents do! (says Debra Pickering one of co-writers with Robert Marzano). Students need to be taught organization, time management, stress management, goal setting, etc.

Ahas and Questions

What Ahas and questions do you have regarding clear academic purpose?

2. Efficiency
Some tasks are wellintentioned attempts to create fun or interesting tasks, while losing sight of the academic focus.
(Vatterott, 2010)

Efficiency
Do students clearly understand the assignment? Does the assignment help students learn?
Color the map Writing the definitions of the words Read Chapter 4 Solve the word puzzle

Efficient homework examples . . .

List the 3 most important ideas in Chapter 4. Write a reaction to what you read. During your reading place post-it notes on the parts of the reading you had questions about. During your reading place post-it notes on the parts that you found most interesting to discuss in class.

10-Minute Rule
The maximum amount of nightly homework should not exceed 10 minutes per grade level per night, all subjects combined.

1st -3rd grades = Assign homework to teach good habits 4th 6th grades = 30-45 mins. 7th 9th grades = 50-120 mins. 10th 12th grades = 60-120 mins.

3. Ownership
Personally relevant Give students choices Self-assess and reflect about their learning
Circle the part of the spelling word that is the trickiest. Determine the best way for you to study your multiplication facts.

Assign corrections as homework after a test

Students state why they missed questions and find the correct answer in their notes or book

Ownership
Promote ownership by . . .
Offer students an opportunity to personalize their work Allow students to share information about themselves or their lives Tap emotions, feelings, or opinions about a subject Allow students to create products or presentations

Ahas and Questions

What Ahas and questions do you have regarding efficiency and ownership?

4. Competence Tasks are doable!

Homework that cannot be done without help is not good homework and is demotivating to students.

4. Competence
Homework should instill a sense of competence in the mind of the learner. Students feel positive about learning

5. Aesthetic Appeal
The way homework looks is important!
Its important to younger students and academically challenged students. Overwhelming
Small spaces for writing Worksheets with too much information on a page Five page worksheets Endless lists of definitions

Ahas and Questions

What Ahas and questions do you have regarding competence and appeal?

What about parent involvement? Parent Involvement from Dr. Marzano

Parent involvement in homework should be kept to a minimum. Parents should know what homework their children are responsible for completing. Parents role should be to facilitate homework not to do the homework for students. Parents role should be defined and communicated in a homework policy from the teacher and school.

Does Johnson Brock have a homework policy?

Every School and Teacher Should Have a Homework Policy (Guideline) and It Should Be Consistently Observed! What is the purpose of homework? How much homework will be assigned? What are the consequences for not completing homework? What types of parental involvement are acceptable? How will I communicate my

Lets Move!
Please stand up. Move around the room and form a group of three-ish. Discuss what important information you learned about using homework effectively.

abandon homework. Instead, they should improve its instructional (Marzano and Pickering, quality. 2007)