Targeted homework motivates kids

GOOD teachers worry about the effectiveness of their homework procedures, and research shows this concern is legitimate. How do educators justify assigning homework in the face of conflicting research results?

I believe that some schools, teachers, and students do not take homework seriously. Consequently, some studies produce results showing outof-class work of no value. Other researchers tell us (and teachers quickly agree) that a significant percentage of students do not do their homework. One major study of over 2,500 teachers shows that while a majority of students complete their entire assignments, others do not, and still others do absolutely nothing! These latter behaviors often become the norm, weaving their way into the culture of the school. While this study indicates that almost all teachers were diligent in checking or grading assignments, it also shows the quality of assignments to be less than challenging. Approximately half of the teachers use textbook assignments, while another 25% rely on worksheets.

Teachers in schools where students have become accustomed to low-level and underemphasized outof-class activities will need to expand the demands of homework slowly while carefully marketing its value to students. Establishing a routine for written homework can increase the probability of total compliance.

For example, in upper grades and secondary schools, assign written work on Monday due on Thursday, and then assign work on Thursday due the following Monday. Students develop the habit of preparing assignments for those days, and teachers develop the habit of planning to receive them and incorporate them into instruction. This format is considerate, allowing time for students' social, athletic, and other activities and responsibly answering the question, "Do we have to have homework on the weekend?"

Various educational commissions and studies have strongly urged expansion of homework. For example, the report of the National Commission on Excellence in Education, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, states, "Students in high schools should be assigned far more homework." The Education Commission of the States Task Force further comments, "States and local school systems should establish firm, explicit, and demanding requirements concerning homework."

The message is clear: Homework is valuable and will contribute to learning. Students will do homework when teachers apply the principle of "targeted homework"-carefully planning, executing, assessing, and integrating assignments.

Targeted homework is based on the belief that homework can make a significant contribution to student achievement in the areas of knowledge, skills, and acquisition of values. Teachers implement targeted homework when they employ the following strategies:

* Share with students and parents or guardians the school's homework policy as well as the teacher's personal policy.

*Target assignments to student needs, learning style, and abilities, individualizing some assignments.

* Plan out-of-class learning experiences that integrate current classroom content.

* Use a wide variety of challenging assignments of various lengths and difficulties of an individual and group nature. Some may involve the textbook; others, different resources and research.

* Explain the out-of-class activity in detail, ensuring that students have sufficient tools to complete the assignment. This may involve class visits to the school library or discussion of other facilities.

* Allow sufficient time for completing the assignment. * Assess the student's completion and performance (always checking; sometimes grading).

* Provide feedback as quickly as possible on collected homework. * Hold all students responsible for completed assignments.

* For students and classes not in the homework habit, this might mean beginning assignments in class until new positive habits are formed.

Honor the belief that homework, because of its ability to make a major contribution to the learning process, deserves serious attention.

The targeted homework approach does NOT mean: assigning homework as an afterthought; coming up with busy work; routinely assigning the questions at the end of the textbook chapter; assigning homework and then failing to check, collect, or assess the work; or requiring unreasonable amounts of homework designed to placate parents.

In planning out-of-class assignments, select ones from each of the following four categories to provide the most interesting and engaging learning opportunities for your students:

1. Practice is the most frequently assigned homework. Practice activities usually follow the teaching of specific skills and procedures in class. This type of homework has the potential to be the most deadly boring; consequently, teachers should incorporate variety and individualization in their planning. An example for a middle-school basic-ability mathematics class would be: Obtain a copy of the local newspaper containing advertising. Using procedures discussed in class, select three items on sale and compute the percent discount on each item.

2. Preparation is designed to provide background information before a lesson. It usually involves reading pages of a textbook or supplemental material. Teachers may find it beneficial to differentiate the assignment by ability and to provide some student prereading materials (e.g., a new vocabulary definition sheet). Expanding the preparation interactively increases the likelihood of assignment completion and improves learning. Students may be asked to outline the material, answer questions, complete a map, etc. A third-grade religion assignment, made on Thursday, might be: Read the Bible story to be distributed and fill in the blanks on the map showing the relationship between the people in the story.

3. Extension activities offer the opportunity for the student to operate at a higher level of thought. They might be cooperative learning projects, research papers, oral presentations-all at such higher levels. Teachers will need to guide and monitor students' progress at these highly individualized activities. An example for a ninth-grade honors social-studies class is: Examine a case study to be distributed and solve the problem it presents. Prepare a three-page typed paper citing five references. A working outline is due in one week; the completed paper in three weeks. The class will visit the media center to begin the project.

4. Creativity. Open-ended, outof-class learning experiences can be springboards for student creativity. Extension and creative homework assignments often allow students to display their knowledge and ability in their preferred learning styles. An example of this for twelfth-grade English is: Select a controversial contemporary issue that you have studied in science or social studies or from your personal reading and draw an editorial cartoon (stick figures are acceptable). The cartoon must present the student's position on the issue and is due in one week.

Students may always regard homework as a necessary evil, but the targeted homework approach can encourage the motivation they need to benefit from the time they spend on out-of-class assignments.

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By William Ray Heltzmann

From Today's Catholic Teacher

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