Homework: How Much is Enough?

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Homework. Homefun. Practice. Whatever you want to call it, I have been struggling with how much is too much, how to grade it (does it need to be graded?), and what should it count in their grade? Our math department began looking at homework and the role it plays last year. We did a book study, Rethinking Homework, and it really started a dialogue about what our philosophies are.
My philosophy has sure changed in the past 20+ years of teaching (yes, I am OLD). I used to weight homework more than tests...until I passed a student that had not passed an assessment all year. I then went down with the weighting (and it has went down each year I think) and now it is around 20% in my classes. Plus, having my own son in tears over 3 hours of long division homework one night made me REALLY change my beliefs. That was a post I wrote a couple years ago on Mathicide! There are so many issues I struggle with - here are just a few:

1. What if a student can get an A on every test and has not done any homework? Does he/she deserve an A? (interesting I used the word deserve and not earn or receive-was going to change that but it was my first instinct to type it)

2. Why do I give all students the same assignment when I know their speed at it, mastery of it, and resources for help at home are all different? What is enough? 10? 20? 50?

3. How do I know they are even doing it themselves? And what does it represent even if they are? I don't expect them to be perfect at it - if they were, there would be no need to do it.

4. What are we teaching students about self-discipline if I don't count it? Will this affect their ability to conquer more difficult material later if they don't get practice and deepen their understanding?

Ok...those are the big 4 but I really have lots more! Here are my thoughts on the homework issue today. I use "today" because my thoughts are evolving as I read more and experiment with it all the time. I believe every teacher should actually do the homework themselves and find out how long it really is taking. My rule of thumb is to triple or quadruple my time and that is what it takes a student. This year I have been experimenting in one class with the no homework rule as much as possible. I expect them to work hard in class, but what we get done in class is what we get done. We do group work and I monitor/adjust the assignment as the hour goes by making sure they do a few examples of each type of problem and then when the bell rings, they are done. This has worked really well for most students. I may try not counting homework next year - but instead give a grade at the end of the hour on work ethic. Wouldn't that be more equitable in terms of what homework is really evaluating?

I used to coach and think of myself as a math coach most days. I preached constantly - you practice like you play in a game. If that is true, shouldn't they need to practice? a lot? on their own? This is a tough one for me. I did expect my players to practice on their own outside of the gym but it was only after I gave much guided instruction based on what their individual needs and skills were. I need to do that more in my class. Maybe Ben needs to work on solving systems by elimination, whereas Kate dominated elimination but needs to practice graphing. Ahh...differentiated instruction! However, there are 140 of them and only one of me. So I am playing the "I don't have enough time" card on that one. Cop out? Maybe.

This post could get really long with my questions/thoughts/philosophies of homework!! So I am quitting here - maybe I will revisit it after reading your comments. I would love hearing what the opinions are on the topic of homework from various groups - parents, students, and educators.

Want to listen to a 7 minute, thought-provoking video on homework? Go to Rick Wormeli's video by clicking here.

The Flipped Classroom

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I am blessed to work with people who are always looking for ways to improve student learning and instruction. It may be a colleague who asks, "What about doing a foldable of some sort to teach special triangles?" to my technology integration specialist who asks, "What if you tried the flipped classroom?" After researching the advantages and disadvantages of the flipped classroom, I decided I would give it a try. If you are wondering what a flipped classroom is, it is where the classroom flips around instruction and homework. The homework for the student is to watch a video of the explanation and then in class they work on the assignment - essentially flipping around our traditional view of instruction/homework.

The advantages of this approach are many according to some of the research I have done. Students get to collaborate in class more extensively, real learning takes place during homework and there is more teacher to student time to guide that learning, the teacher is more of a tutor/facilitator, the students can pause or rewind explanation as their learning pace dictates, the student can listen to the explanation more than once, absent students can catch up easier, etc. So I had read enough to think this was worth a try and I did a trial run. I emailed parents sharing the research and the new approach, and parents were very supportive of me trying something new and open to the idea. My students on the other hand were not so supportive at first. I let them vent their concerns. It was a good reminder that change is hard - very hard and sometimes scary. Their concerns were valid: technology issues, what if they needed a different explanation, needed to ask questions, etc.

So after the first run of it, students decided it wasn't "awful" and there were some advantages to it. They began to think we could try this occasionally. I agree. I think the key word here is "occasionally." It was awkward teaching to a camera and I missed the interaction, had a hard time with pacing without student feedback and could feel my energy for the material draining as I taught. It was a reminder of why I teach - although I like math, my passion is my students.

I still have some questions where education is headed with technology and online learning. Although I could get some of the best math teachers in the world to videotape themselves teaching the material, the teacher in the classroom is not replaceable. It makes me wonder where education is headed with virtual instructors and student/teacher accountability. I know a lot of students who have taken online classes and cheated their way through the course (perhaps they cheated in my class too and I just don't know it).

And what about who "owns" the video that is put online? There are many issues with copyrights on teacher created work. Does the teacher or the district own the creation?

Want more information on the flipped classroom? Here is a link!
Flipped Classroom

I Am Back At It

Hard to believe, but it has been 2 years since I started my first blog, 2009 KTOY Travels. I quit writing that blog after my year serving as Kansas Teacher of the Year ended but have found I miss writing (strange for a math teacher, huh?). Plus, I have had a few people (does your mom count as a few?) say they miss reading my blog, about my speaking engagements, and about education issues. So I have decided to create a new blog about mostly education and my classroom.

I hope you join me in my journey as I continue to learn, grow, and reflect about education.