Comments on: Homework Crisis

By: Brett Gilland

Brett Gilland — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 16:18:33 +0000

I definitely think that Cornally’s post on homework isa must read. You can find it here: http://shawncornally.com/wordpress/?p=583&cpage=1&wpmp_switcher=mobile

I still disagree with Cornally that it is never worthwhile. I have been running a system without homework for 4 years, and is year the students begged me to reinstate homework. They don’t care about it pulling up their grade so much. They just think that the lack of points for HW makes it hard for them to properly prioritize it, even when they know they need the practice. Academic habits are poor across the board in this community and many students, even among the high performers, have never really had planning skills taught to them or required of them, so giving them freedom to choose, even with guidance from me, isn’t really a help. It is more like the freedom to not have health insurance- no real freedom at all. My reasoning behind an upcoming change back to a SMALL amount of their grade based on hHW in a SBG scheme can be found here: http://ihati.wordpress.com/2013/04/19/homework-and-coercion/

By: reilly1041

reilly1041 — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 02:53:13 +0000

Wait, have you read Shawn Connally’s new post “All riled up, stop grading homework!”. Think thank thunk. Have to read that.

By: reilly1041

reilly1041 — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 02:51:19 +0000

So right there with you, math blogosphere has me in near constant state of reflection-panic. I hadn’t really thought about HW lately until,these recent posts. I think the exit slip idea is genius. I teach regular classes with kids who probably should be in a lower class but we don’t have one. So, I have the same experience of strong Ss doing HW and weak Ss not. Plenty of copying before class “in case” mrs. Reilly grades the HW. I had been trying to grade randomly to increase the chance they’ll do it. It all sounds pathetic now as I write it. Going to have to try out some of these ideas now and pick for next year, thx for the GREAT post.

By: Dan Anderson

Dan Anderson — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 01:51:22 +0000

Small data point: I started off this year by checking Precalc H’s homework and having a small amount of points for completion (momentum from teaching with another teacher last year and having the same grading system). Quick check, not collected, just 2 “points”. But it’s been a crazy year so I had to triage. Stopped grading and checking. Guess what. They still did work at the same rate.

For this class and AB calc I was updating a public google spreadsheet with completion for the first two quarters. The parents could find this document and see if their child was doing the homework. But the updating stopped as well. Kids still do the homework. As long as they can see the value then they will mostly do the homework. Sometimes other things come up and then they underperform on tests. Chalk it up to a life lesson.
Old hmwk post: http://blog.recursiveprocess.com/2011/03/11/no-homework-grade-no-way/

By: mrdardy

mrdardy — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 16:26:17 +0000

Polya is SO important in my evolution of thought as a teacher. So glad you mentioned him. In fact, one of my prouder moments as a teacher was recently when I was observed and the observer mentioned that I reminded him of Polya’s writing.

By: Michael Fenton

Michael Fenton — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 14:04:28 +0000

John,

Thanks for your thoughts (and for original thought-provoking post). Suppose I’m starting to see the wisdom in your perspective. Suppose further that I can imagine what my future Algebra 1 class will look like. (That is, I can visualize a new classroom routine—complete with learning, formative assessment, and opportunities for re-teaching and extension as needed.)

Suppose now that I can’t imagine what my new AP Calculus routine will be like. If my students are averaging an hour of homework a night, all year, and I take some or most of that away with the intention of shifting that necessary practice to the classroom… Couple that with the notion (true or not, it’s one that I hold) that we use time efficiently in class (though we could also do a bit better)… How do I recapture that practice time? Or maybe a better question, how do I structure my new AP Calculus classroom so that students get sufficient practice (whatever that may be for an individual student) with most of their practice time occurring in class?

For background, here’s a look at my typical routine:

In Class
[1 min] Play SET Game
[2 to 4 minutes] Check homework
[10 to 40 minutes] Learn new material
[Remaining class time] Begin assignment

At Home
[30 to 90 minutes] Finish assignment

I suppose what I’m really saying is… In light of the wisdom you and others have shared about the value of balance in their home life (in particular, removing the burden of massive amounts of math homework that I’ve imposed on them, and replacing it with a “use it sparingly and wisely” approach), do you have any advice for what to do with our in class time that will calm my current fears (“Oh no! They’re not going to get enough practice!”)

Thanks again!

By: Michael Fenton

Michael Fenton — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 13:51:44 +0000

mrdardy,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on exercises vs problems. I’m beginning to think along the same lines. Too many frustrating experiences at home, and many students begin to learn that homework isn’t worth the effort. Maybe that’s why some of my current students (Algebra 1, in particular) won’t even try their homework: too many frustrating experiences (possibly with “problems” rather than “exercises”) in the past.

My working definition of a problem vs an exercise comes from George Polya’s How To Solve It. I’ll paraphrase his thoughts since I don’t have the book nearby and Google failed me: A problem is something for which an efficient method for solving is not (yet) known. An exercise is something for which an efficient method IS already known.

(As an aside, it’s interesting to me—if you buy this pair of definitions—that the very same thing may be a problem to me but because of your experience it may be merely an exercise to you. Certainly that difference will exist if you compare a student in Pre Algebra with a student in Precalculus. I wonder how often that difference will occur within a class, and how that affects this whole conversation.)

With those definitions in mind, I think one change (at the minimum) that I will make heading in to next year is that I’ll save the problems for our time together in the classroom.

By: John Scammell

John Scammell — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 12:29:41 +0000

I’ve been there. I’ve marked homework. I’ve done homework quizzes. I’ve done homework checks. What I learned was that not everybody needs to practice (Ask Allen Iverson). Kids who I was docking marks for not doing the homework were still acing exams. Kids who did every question were still failing exams. Kids who need to practice but don’t practice suffer very real and natural consequences. Their performance on the summative assessments suffer.

I also taught AP Calculus. You’re right. Those kids will do homework. They’ll especially do it if you tell them the questions are similar to ones they might see on the AP Calculus exam. It’s a great power. Use it sparingly and wisely, because those kids also need to be well rounded. They still need time in the evenings to talk to their families, play community basketball, volunteer at the local food bank, practice the trumpet, and many other things. The top AP student I ever taught (guaranteed 5 on the exam) did a lot of homework. She was also well rounded and was a serious piano player. She ended up not writing the AP exam because it conflicted with a big piano test she had to take. Despite her significant mathematical strengths, she went into music at post-secondary because it was her passion. I think she made a great choice.

By: mrdardy

mrdardy — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 12:15:25 +0000

I’ll write something more detailed when I sort out my own thoughts, but I am reminded of an important conversation with a colleague. We were talking about the difference between exercises and problems. My take is that exercises are more of the mechanical type of practice problem. You know, factor some quadratics (if that sort of thing seems important…), sketch this trig graph, take that power rule derivative… Problems are more of the multi-step, thought provoking activities. Those where it is not obvious what needs to be done right away. When my colleague Jason and I were talking he proposed the idea that HW assignments were more likely to be completed if they were routinely of the exercise variety where our students might nor get so easily frustrated. Leave the problems for our time together when we can pick each other’s brains. Might be a helpful line of thought.