Does More Homework Mean More Learning?

When I was in high school, I had a sardonic teacher named Mr. Green. He taught history and always assigned reading homework from the textbook in preparation for the next class meeting. As all the students groaned in unison, Mr. Green would say, "We always have homework, stop complaining!" And he was right; we DID always have homework. I don't think we went one class meeting without it. The surprising thing, is that none of my peers ever asked the question, why? Why do we always have homework? What is the purpose of assigning work outside of school?

I always assumed we had homework because our teachers couldn't fit all the material we needed to learn during class. So by assigning homework, we could learn more on our own time to compensate for the lack of time. But we all know that not all students do their homework, and even for those that complete homework, it doesn't mean they absorbed any pertinent information. Is there truth behind the common myth that homework means more learning? Is there even a significant advantage to giving students more work? I decided to find out for myself!

As an aspiring teacher, I believe there are some benefits to assigning homework for our students. Homework can enhance the time we have in class with out students. According to a 2006 article written by researchers at Duke University, homework can require students to integrate separately learned skills and concepts (Cooper, Robinson, & Patall, 2006). While we direct these skills and concepts in class, students can continue learning at home by applying them in assignments without the teacher telling them what to do next. But there are also arguments that any activity [homework] remains rewarding for only so long, and children may become overexposed to  academic tasks (Bryan, Nelson, & Mathru, 1995).

This topic has continued to be controversial for many years, but some research I found cannot be ignored. In an article discussing how homework effects our students, the authors pointed out how students always speak of the high stakes of homework in terms of grades (Sallee & Rigler, 2008). It's true, nearly every homework assignment I have ever been given had a grade associated with it. Sometimes it was a simple completion grade. But in core subject areas, like math, science and history, homework quality was a heavy percentage of our overall grade in the class. These authors further argued that the high expectation for all students to read and understand the material in a way that both enables them to complete the homework AND prepare for a quiz in class the next day is a lot to expect of grade school students (Sallee & Rigler, 2008). The authors ask, if teachers put high pressure on performance (grades) and little allowance for questioning and uncertainty (outside of class), it again leads us to the question of the high expectations of homework (Sallee & Rigler, 2008). I think this expectation is too much to ask of all students. There is too much variance between how each student learns best, and making them figre it out on their own is not going to benefit most students. Not all of them have parents at home who have time to help them with homework when questions arise. We might be unintentionally making students use outside resources to perform on homework assignments. I don't think this enhances learning at all. If anything, I think it makes students discouraged with learning. If they have to learn everything on their own anyway, why should they attend class? Why should they pay attention in class? What is the point of school?

In another study, the authors interviewed many teachers asking why they assigned homework to students. They responded that they gave homework on a regular basis to students to meet parent expectations and to meet school district requirements, and both of these reasons for assigning homework are consistent with findings from other educational researchers (Brock, Fisher, Flood, Lapp, & Tao Han, 2007). These findings seem ridiculous to me! It is my teaching philosophy that we are here to help our STUDENTS learned more about the world and to cater to their individual needs to achieve academic excellence, not to please parents. Although I do understand wanting to follow district requirements, this seems like a ridiculous standard. I would ask any colleague who was in favor for homework standards this question; to what extent do those teachers take into account their students needs to successfully complete their homework? Is there a specific and reachable objective for each assignment? If the answer is no, then I don't believe that homework should be assigned.

I have concluded from my research that the amount of homework assigned in a class is not conducive to the amount of information students learn. Just because we are giving a certain amount of homework every night does not mean that students are learning more overall. We should be teaching our students valuable information and concepts during class in an atmosphere that fosters high level, critical thinking. This is the only way we can ensure that our students are getting positive experiences from their academic careers. 


Resources:

Cooper, H., Robinson, J., & Patall, E. (2006). Does Homework Improve Academic Achievement? A Synthesis of Research, 1987-2003. Review of Educational Research, 76(1), 1-62.

Bryan, T., Nelson, C., & Mathru, S. (1995). Homework: A survey of primary students in regular, resource, and self-contained special education classrooms. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 27, 85-90.

Sallee, B., & Rigler, N. (2008). Doing our homework on homework: How does homework help? English Journal, 98(2), 46-51

Brock, C., Fisher, D., Flood, J., Lapp, D., & Tao Han, K. (2007) Does homework matter? An investigation of teacher perceptions about homework practices for children from non-dominant background. Urban Education, 42(4) 19-24

Blogs in PE

Blogs are a great use of technology in physical education. This content area not only carries a physical domain, but we are also responsible for the development of cognitive and affective physical literacy. With these concepts, fitness development and health is an essential component.

When I am a teacher, I could have my students log their food intake and daily exercise routine on a personal blog. From the initial entries during the first few weeks of class, I can then have my students analyze their own behaviors: What is keeping them from making healthier choices? Who influences their choices? Can these factors be changed? How can we change them? Blogging all this information would be a great way for students to keep track of personal data. I can set it up so that only I can see what they write for confidentiality purposes. From this, I can help each student create a reachable health goal for the end of the semester. We can have blog check in weeks when I sit down individually with each student and ask if the goal was appropriate or if it needs to be changed. I could grade the students on their online blogs and whether they made appropriate goals and showed signs of progress. Even if they didn't meet their goal, the blog would show proof of effort or (lack thereof) towards a reaching goal. 

Especially in PE, goal setting can be a touchy subject because of the obesity epidemic in our country.With a blog, the goal setting experience can be more personable and meaningful to the student. They can have their own voice without knowing what other students wrote and not feel like anyone else might judge them for their comments. My students can find new appreciation of health and fitness when they meet their personal goal, which is what inspired me to want to be a part of this profession.

Learner Analysis

Blair Waldorf is a leading character in the teenage drama television series Gossip Girl. The show aired from 2007 until 2012, taking place on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York. Although the series revolves around social climbing schemes and high fashion dreams, the main characters attend two highly ranked private high schools with the hope of getting into an Ivy League University.
Blair's socioeconomic status is off the charts. The Waldorf name has been in the city for generations with her mom owning one of the highest fashion lines in New York. Many scenes come from the Met Steps outside the school, where studying, gossiping, and of course, scheming, occur. Constance Billard School for Girls and St. Jude's School for Boys are meant to prep the students for a prosperous future in academia, but Blair and her friends are always fighting another battle. Whether it's bad boys, drugs, cheating on tests or hiding emotional disorders, they keep their social standing at the top of their priority list.
While at school, Blair is the leader of cult that determines who is "in" and who is on the "outskirts" of the social radar. She and her minions use academic success, fashion, and social status to intimidate other students. Appropriately, she is referred to as "Queen B". She has the final say in everything from hat styles to the finishing touches on the final class project. Throughout the series, she fights with bulimia as yet another form of control. Although she always has another agenda for social climbing, she excels when it comes to school work. She is a straight A student with a resume loaded with academic extracurricular, making her a perfect candidate for an Ivy League institution. But, she is distracting to other students and creates drama between them for her own benefit.This is all a part of her controlling and over-the-top personality, demanding attention from everyone she crosses.

"You can't make people love you, but you can make them fear you." -Blair Waldorf

If Blair was one of my students, I would have to report her for bullying. First of all, her cult-like demeanor has a negative effect on a lot of other students and teachers. Although her grades are impressive and her involvement in the school is exceptional, her immaturity in bullying is keeping her from having a positive learning experience. I would also be communicating with the school's counselor for an intervention with her eating disorder. She needs someone who cares about her enough to it down with her to talk about what was going on in her life at home. Social media and technology takes precedence in her life as a teenager, so encouraging her to join an online network for recovering bulimics might be a viable option for her.

A typical day at school with Blair Waldorf: A video of her and her minions bullying another social climbing student about her choice in wardrobe.
She calls there moments "disciplinary hearings".

About Me

Hi All!!

My name is Hannah Deak and I spent my entire life in the small town of Middlebury, Indiana. Here, I grew up with two supportive parents, two amazing older brothers and one perfect little sister. Upon graduating from Northridge High School in 2012, I made my way to Michigan to continue my education. Today, I am just beginning my fifth (and final year!) towards obtaining my Physical Education and School Health Education Teaching & Coaching certification from Grand Valley State University. I am SO excited to begin my teacher assisting and student teaching experiences!

Along with these responsibilities, I am also the assistant swim coach at Hope College in Holland, MI. I have been a 16 year member of the sport, including my time on Grand Valley's Varsity Swim Team throughout the past four years. This is where my love of the sport turned into a passion for coaching. In many ways, coaching is just like teaching. The best part of it all is getting to see the progress in my students-athletes, and the pride on their faces when they achieved their personal goals or achieved a new level of greatness, whether it be in the classroom or in the pool.

Although I have grown to love Grand Valley, my classes, my professors, and now my new job (still geeking out about it a little bit..:) I enjoy a plethora of other fun activities! I like skiing, ice skating and baking,  kayaking, beaching, swimming, and pretty much anything that keeps me active during! I love to read in my spare time (which is hard to find) but have more time for that during the summer months. But my favorite season is fall.. I'm obsessed with sweaters, warm beverages, and the smell of burning leaves.

My experience with technology in the classroom has been minimal with PowerPoint, Google Classroom, and Drive, although, I have used common apps that relate to teaching in physical education, such as Coaches Eye. Technology in the gym looks much different than it does in a classroom setting. When I am a teacher, I plan to use music and a projector screen that can hook up to a bluetooth connection for activities such as tabata, yoga and zumba.

I look forward to a fun semester with my student-athletes at Hope College AND with my K-5 PE students at Chandler Woods Charter Academy!

Here is a snapshot of my life! Swimming and a few moments of me with my boyfriend, Justin.