Please reply here with your thoughts about homework.
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I really think we should take this seriously. The homework we've been assigning is in general pretty frustrating to parents and creates a huge paperwork load on us. Fifth grade has discussed a possible solution with the following:
All homework is a series of logs. Students are asked to read on average 30 min. per school night, they are asked to practice basic math drills for 50 minutes per week and practice typing skills for 45 minutes per week. So that would work out to 30 minutes of reading each night, 10 minutes of math practice per night, and 15 minutes of typing practice for 3 nights per week. The homework would be turned in by students turning in a log that is signed by the parents. Of course parents can just lie about it, but then it is on them. What we are doing now just frustrates everyone and flies in the face of the research on homework (EM HW does not follow the research) and AFL (formative assessment being reported in grades).
What do you think?
I detest grading HW just as much as the kids and parents do in having to do it! As exciting as this idea is, I think the no-HW policy is something that we'd have to adopt school-wide.
ReplyDeleteHW isn't going away in middle school nor high school or even college, so we'd almost be doing an injustice to the students if they don't have HW in 4th and 5th, then get slammed in 6th and beyond.
In 4th grade, we are trying some of the options mentioned in the article, like having a reading log where parents sign versus a home reading letter, which involved lots of writing and the kids or parents were a bit confused on what to do. We also try not to give tests on Mondays or HW over the holiday breaks.
A no-HW policy a huge step that I don't think just 4/5 can take by ourselves, but not really sure where the starting point should be either. More voices are needed in this discussion school wide, which might spark some change.
@Amanda - agreed. I don't think we'd ever win that argument (at least not in the short run). But I would like to trade the EM HW for logs having the kids practice their basic facts instead. I think creating a space for them to have that as the expectation will, in the long run, be more valuable than the EM stuff - which is also often confusing and does't really apply to what is going on in class.
ReplyDeleteAlong with that, I'm going to continue to push for a system like Math Facts in a Flash where we can require students to track their progress on learning these facts rather than just hoping they play the games correctly and/or do the practice at home.
:)
Cary
Basic fact practice...Umm...Yes! We have even swapped out the HW from EM at times because we found something clearer that would actually address the skills we wanted to target.
ReplyDeleteI just wonder what would happen if we didn't do the EM HW and how that would affect the fidelity of the program?
Good wondering....I'm not sure. But I do know that the research about HW is pretty clear - that it should either be something the student can complete on his/her own (independent practice) or be exploration (and therefore not graded for accuracy). I feel that EM has a few independent practices and a few explorations (that we end up grading) but MOST of theirs fall in between. In other words, it is practice of skills that most of the students are not independent with - thereby making it a struggle.
ReplyDeleteAlong with that - I wonder about the fidelity of the program no matter what. None of us have ever really done the program with fidelity (games, anyone?!?) so why would we think the HW fidelity is what would make the difference (in my opinion). We've been discussing in fifth grade ways to unpack EM some this year anyway - in preparation for next summer. I'm just not sold on EM's pacing as the best thing for the kind of school we are trying to be....
hmmmm.....thoughts?
You both made great points. I wonder though if we are truly getting rid of homework if they still have logs (reading, math, typing). If anything that's more homework time wise then before excepts it will be more meaningful and be something they can successfully do on their own. I know in regards to EM HW that was the thing that caused the most parent emails about "my kid hates math" or "my kid struggles with math", when they didn't in class (or on the assessments) it was only the too hard HW. So, if we're not "getting rid" of homework only changing it would it still be a disservice to the kids?
ReplyDeleteWell...we should probably figure out exactly what logs and how much time. I was just throwing out numbers, but I agree it shouldn't be MORE work. But in the end, if it is work that the kids can do independently, it shouldn't be as big a deal. Of course, if they are doing it independently, we are banking on honesty. But I think we have to trust. The idea that we would already operate from the standpoint of distrust of our kids at 10-11 years old would speak volumes. It is all about how you set it up.
ReplyDeleteKidbiz and FCAT Explorer warrant consideration as homework options too given their availability and the trouble we have with sandwiching them in. Why not develop a list of criteria that we can use if we look at a big decision like this and evaluate options, then see at the end of the year if they were met – things like online, non-fudgable, paperless, provides data
ReplyDeletewithout teacher as clerical worker, differentiated, free, administratively approved, involves critical thinking, “Value-added” through verifiable source, etc.
As far as bagging Study Links it represents about 20% of the kid’s daily interaction with Everyday so that should give us pause. If that brick is removed, we have to rewrite and create assessment forms, while at the same time the clerical expectations on teachers increase you have to question whether the program is suiting our needs – value added?
Wow - You all have really great thoughts and contributions to this discussion!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of giving Math logs (as well as reading logs) to the students as their consistent "homework." I've found that many students don't even know all their math facts, and practice at home is key! Bill, I agree that there are some EM HW pages which are beneficial, such as when they're practicing a new skill - like, partial products, etc. Yet, not all of the EM HW's correlate with the actual day's lesson, which led to confusion on the kids' part (at home). Couldn't we choose a few EM HW's to give to the kids (like 1/week or 1/every 2 weeks) for them to complete, and go with the "math log" for everyday practice?
I agree with Bill as far as using KidBiz and FCAT Explorer for reading HW options (in addition to the option of reading a book). I started to use reading logs at the end of this past year, and I included the requirement of "30 min. of FCAT Explorer/week." The logs were very helpful in seeing who was reading "just-right" books, etc.
I realize we all need to discuss this further, but I definitely like the idea of going to logs. As for the math practice log, we should come up with a resource sheet for students/parents which details all the different ways (online and offline) that kids can practice their facts, etc. at home.
Max's teachers had an equivalent resource to give us a variety of ways to practice his word wall words, which was very helpful. That way, he wasn't always having to practice by writing them down with pencil and paper - there were many other fun options. :-)
I like the idea of possibly using something like FCAT Explorer. My only concern there is universal access. As for the EM HW being 20% of their exposure to the program, I disagree with that percentage. I would say it is more like 5% at most. And the issue I have with it stems from the research. Research about HW clearly states that in order to be effective, HW that is intended for practice must be at the independent level. Most "practice" HW from EM is not at that level for a good chunk of the students. Most practice HW (the ones that directly relate to the content from that day) are at the Guided Practice level for many of the students - generally the same ones that need the extra practice. So if they need someone to guide them through it, it shouldn't be HW b/c we cannot expect the parents to take on that role (esp. w/ EM work).
ReplyDeleteThe beginning of the article sounded like a snap shot of many of my evenings with Jackson . . . his experience last year was certainly that HW contributed to his negative feelings about school. So, as a parent, I'm all in. I want the assignments my kids are doing at home to be meaningful and stress-free. However, I also want to instill a strong work ethic and the ability to prioritize tasks.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher, I agree that the EM HW is not meeting our students needs & often creates a great deal of frustration for students and parents.
But I don't know that logs are the answer either. From our experience last year, they were not very meaningful or accurate and they create paperwork for us and for students.
The article mentioned 10 minutes per grade level per night . . . I personally think 50 minutes a night is too much (Good lord, please don't let Jackson have 80 minutes of homework this year!!)
I like the idea of KidBiz, FCAT Explorer, Math Facts in a Flash, etc. but also agree that there will always be some kids without access.
I don't assign homework, so I'm not sure how deep my iron is really sitting in this fire, but I like the idea of moving to the logs. I think it fills several needs; the need for students to gain and practice organizational skills, the need for parents to not be stressed out, and the need for 4/5 teachers to have a little lighter load but still hold students accountable for doing work. If there is a concern about the homework from EM not getting done and that creating a hole in the program somehow, perhaps they could have one or two assignments from EM HW to do during their autonomous time for the week as an assignment not only to "fill time", but also to keep the fidelity of that part of the EM program alive. Just my thoughts...
ReplyDelete@Brian, your idea with incorporating the EM hwk into the autonomous time seems to make sense and sounds like a reasonable compromise. If the homework is more on a guided practice level then it makes sense to do it in class where they can get help if they need to and work on it at a less frustrating pace.
ReplyDeleteYeah, interesting idea, Brian! :)
ReplyDelete