Welcome to Exploring Education Through Technology! We will use Robert Marzano's Classroom Instruction that Works as a vehicle to generate conversation!
Step 1: Introduce Yourself! Not only your name, but title and school.
Step 2: Describe any experience you have had with blogs. It's okay if this is your first blogging journey!
Step 3: Simply interact! Don't hesitate to comment.
Homework -- it si hard to believe but in digital media I do assign homework. Now some of my assignements are different than most, but I have found that the students for the most part do get it done.
I would have to say that the purpose for my homework is for preparation and elaboration. One of my assignements is to watch the students favorite program that night. Take notes of the violent actions, and words. I try to touch on the fact that we,as a whole have come so numb to the fact of violence and think that without it the program is not as good.
I have found that my students when asked to count up the number of times a violent act is committed are astounded by how many times they watch things. This homework is not only to get their minds open to what they are watching, but to hopefully change what they are watching.
Homework in general does help students prepare for a test or knowledge of a subject. I do believe it is very healthy and needed in all areas.
Homework as a source of “focused practice” is the heart of my homework routine. (Yum, my husband just brought me a bowl f strawberry short cake!!) It can be time consuming, but homework is much more effective and better received if the student understands the skill and is competent enough to practice without a great deal of support from another family member. This independence is empowering. That means that homework may need to be differentiated.
Homework...now there's a touchy subject. As an educator, I know the relative merits of homework, understand that a concept needs to be practiced and practiced and practiced some more to commit a skill to memory. I understand the opportunity to extend to learning beyond the school day, and understand the positive effect homework CAN have for most students. However, I hear many parents and their children make comments such as, "Why do those teachers give homework? They have you in school for seven hours a day. That should be enough. If they can't do their job in seven hours a day, let's get some teachers who can. It's not our job to teach our kids; it's theirs." I'm hearing several things here...1)some parents clearly have no idea why we assign homework 2)neither do the kids 3)the consensus of many is that we should "do our job" in the confines of the school day and leave them alone. If for no other purpose, homework allows the parents to see what is going on in their child's education. But that assumes the child does the homework, and the parent at least looks over it with the child. We all know that parental involvement in education is so important, but by upper elementary school, and earlier in some situations, the parents aren't able to help the kids with their homework...but that's a different topic.
The other problem with homework is so many kids aren't home after school. My seven year old son has baseball practice three nights a week and Cub Scouts one night a week. And we deliberately TRY to avoid over scheduling him. If a parent wants the benefits of extra-curricular activities, it often comes with a huge time commitment. I have students in my middle school classes who play one sport at school and a different sport in rec leagues during the same season. For example, I have a very bright eighth grade boy who ran Cross Country at MMS and played soccer for Cherokee County Soccer League and finished up travel baseball as school was starting. All of this on top of his commitment to school and church. I have girls who take dance three hours a night and teach the toddlers for one hour a night. Sometimes they, too, add in a sport before factoring in school, church, etcetera... It's not hard to see why the parents would want the kids to get all of their education between the hours of 8:00AM and 3:00PM.
To sum up...if I had a dollar for every time I've heard the "I don't have my homework because I had practice or dance" excuse, my children's college education would be paid for.
I think I live Rhonda's life! I have children who do outside activities also and my children are labeled "gifted" and I can't count the nights I have skidded into the house, hurried through a shower and then did homework just in time to throw them in bed. I always tell many parents IF I can do it you can to. I send home little "at home" calendars with activities to do at home to help the child. Of course these are not graded, just really for reinforcement. I think I can speak for most of us when I say the ones that really need focused practice at home don't do the homework anyway and often are not involved in outside activities. I feel like sometimes my own children are punished with homework because others in the class need the practice. I agree with Cindy in differentiated homework. So I don't think there is really an answer for this. I do believe if you give homework it really needs to be meaningful and the children need to be recognized for completing it. I think that the homework that would require them to think more about the skill learned that day would be more meaningful. Like in math if the children were doing multiplication what if one day they found five different ways around their home multiplication was used. Once again, I have no more answers than anyone else.
In PE, I rarely give homework. However, we are trying something new for the next six weeks. Students will be tracking the amount of activity they will be doing outside of school by writing down the time and activity and having their parents sign it. Each student will have a portfolio to log their activity in and they have a goal of 4 hours per week. Hopefully, both students and parents will become more aware and involved in their physical fitness. (Ask me in 6wks how it goes.) At other times, practicing locomotor skills is encouraged daily. With so little time in each class, homework and practice is essential to student learning.I'm sure teachers facing EOG's understand that pressure much better than I do. The charts demonstrating the amount of learning based on practice shows impressive results that is hard to argue with. However, each class and each teacher is different.
In business computer classes, I find it difficult to send home certain types of homework. I still have less than 50% of my students with a computer at home with the same or similar software and devices that we have available in the lab. I also know that as stated in the chapter, it takes about 24 times of practice to reach 80% competency. That is difficult for me. I don't like to send home work just to be busy and say I sent work home. Every time the High Schools That Work committee visits, they always say that our vocational areas are not doing enough homework. Would love to hear some suggestions here!
In high school, the competition for scholarships and admission to college gets fierce. So many students want to be involved in community, missions, or civic organizations to help make a difference as well as become more competitive for these scholarships and acceptance into certain colleges. And for that student who excels in the classroom, involves herself in many clubs and organizations, as well as plays three sports, (like my daughter) it is a tremendous struggle. But, it is a choice. We too, like Donna said, rush here, there, and skid in at home. But, we never go to school the next day without homework finished. I believe that some parents are lazier than their children and don't want to be bothered. All learning cannot just exist at school.
Pam you certainly didn't offend me. I agree, my children have never missed a project, assignment, or not had time to study. My husband who is a non-educator says he wonders if all families spend as much time with kids activities and then with homework or studying as we do. I assure them they don't but I don't know to get everyone to buy into it and see the benefits of being a very active role in their child's education. I even have parents who do my little calendar activities for their kindergartens instead of taking time to do with them. I guess they think I can't tell and they forget their children will tell on them. I have a student teacher now and she is amazed at how little time is spend on learning at home.
As a media person, I do not usually give homework per se. I have on occasion given a 'thinking' assignment at the end of class and then revisit the subject when class resumes 2 days later. (Remember...I'm at two schools so I only see the kids 2x's per week). When we do something in library, such as a worksheet, etc., I always pass these on to the teacher to use as a grade. This works especially well for those who choose to collaborate their classes. I also grade and comment on the papers before sending them to the teacher. My biggest pet peeve is to put a lot of work into something and then not get any credit for it such as a grade, comment, etc.
As a parent of a second grader, we see about 20-30 minutes of homework per night (except on Friday) which is acceptable. Now, because my little darling has a mind of her own, this can stretch out into an hour or two on some nights, and I fear with the longer days and warmer weather, this is just going to get worse. However, we have not gone to school wiithout it....yet! A lot of what she brings home is practice, for example math facts, spelling, etc. I think this is fine at this age. I know she does journaling at school and I am a huge fan of this.
This chapter has been very informative to me not only as an educator, but also as a parent.
OK...clarification time...When I said my biggest pet peeve is to put a lot of work into something and then not get any credit for it, I was not talking about me. I was talking about the student. I think credit should be given where and when it is due. Sorry....I have this proof reading issue.......
Wow! I enjoyed reading the comments on this topic. Like Ronda, I agree that homework can be a touchy subject. I remember what it was like my first year teaching. I was the "odd ball" kindergarten teacher who gave homework. I did not give much, just enough to a)get students use to this responsibility (it will be asked of them many times in life, and b)so certain skills can be reinforced at home.
I definitely sympathize w/all the busy families out there. With sports, church, not to mention, "family time," it's difficult to juggle it all! Like Pam, I do feel that some of the learning needs to take place in the home, as long as it is a small amount.
Not long ago, one of our parents wrote a note that said "did not finish, church night." We gave her an extra day to finish it. In conclusion, I think a small homework is a good practice in many cases. However, I feel it us important for us as teachers to be understanding/sympathetic in this area!
I agree with all of you. I think homework is a necessity because it does allow for practice for students. At the same time I think homework needs to be limited. Give a kid 5 well developed problems instead of 25. Teachers need to be selective. Don't just assign work for the heck of it, make it meaningful.
I agree that some parents are lazy and don't want to be bothered. Some kids are way over scheduled as well. I think some parents value education less than the extra-curricular, when it just if not more important.
While I think yes as teachers we have to be understanding of parents situations, we also shouldn't take the blame for everything. IT'S CALLED BEING A PARENT, SUCK IT UP!!! Sorry if I have offended anyone. Sometimes I think parenting classes should be required. Anyway, in PreK we ask that a small book (chose by the student) is read each night and written in the planner. Over half of my students parents do not meet these requirements and they sign a contract saying that they will do this to maintain their child's PK slot. So all I know is good luck ladies! I've talked till I'm past blue in the face.
Homework -- it si hard to believe but in digital media I do assign homework. Now some of my assignements are different than most, but I have found that the students for the most part do get it done.
ReplyDeleteI would have to say that the purpose for my homework is for preparation and elaboration. One of my assignements is to watch the students favorite program that night. Take notes of the violent actions, and words. I try to touch on the fact that we,as a whole have come so numb to the fact of violence and think that without it the program is not as good.
I have found that my students when asked to count up the number of times a violent act is committed are astounded by how many times they watch things. This homework is not only to get their minds open to what they are watching, but to hopefully change what they are watching.
Homework in general does help students prepare for a test or knowledge of a subject. I do believe it is very healthy and needed in all areas.
Homework as a source of “focused practice” is the heart of my homework routine. (Yum, my husband just brought me a bowl f strawberry short cake!!) It can be time consuming, but homework is much more effective and better received if the student understands the skill and is competent enough to practice without a great deal of support from another family member. This independence is empowering. That means that homework may need to be differentiated.
ReplyDeleteHomework...now there's a touchy subject. As an educator, I know the relative merits of homework, understand that a concept needs to be practiced and practiced and practiced some more to commit a skill to memory. I understand the opportunity to extend to learning beyond the school day, and understand the positive effect homework CAN have for most students. However, I hear many parents and their children make comments such as, "Why do those teachers give homework? They have you in school for seven hours a day. That should be enough. If they can't do their job in seven hours a day, let's get some teachers who can. It's not our job to teach our kids; it's theirs." I'm hearing several things here...1)some parents clearly have no idea why we assign homework 2)neither do the kids 3)the consensus of many is that we should "do our job" in the confines of the school day and leave them alone. If for no other purpose, homework allows the parents to see what is going on in their child's education. But that assumes the child does the homework, and the parent at least looks over it with the child. We all know that parental involvement in education is so important, but by upper elementary school, and earlier in some situations, the parents aren't able to help the kids with their homework...but that's a different topic.
ReplyDeleteThe other problem with homework is so many kids aren't home after school. My seven year old son has baseball practice three nights a week and Cub Scouts one night a week. And we deliberately TRY to avoid over scheduling him. If a parent wants the benefits of extra-curricular activities, it often comes with a huge time commitment. I have students in my middle school classes who play one sport at school and a different sport in rec leagues during the same season. For example, I have a very bright eighth grade boy who ran Cross Country at MMS and played soccer for Cherokee County Soccer League and finished up travel baseball as school was starting. All of this on top of his commitment to school and church. I have girls who take dance three hours a night and teach the toddlers for one hour a night. Sometimes they, too, add in a sport before factoring in school, church, etcetera... It's not hard to see why the parents would want the kids to get all of their education between the hours of 8:00AM and 3:00PM.
To sum up...if I had a dollar for every time I've heard the "I don't have my homework because I had practice or dance" excuse, my children's college education would be paid for.
I think I live Rhonda's life! I have children who do outside activities also and my children are labeled "gifted" and I can't count the nights I have skidded into the house, hurried through a shower and then did homework just in time to throw them in bed. I always tell many parents IF I can do it you can to. I send home little "at home" calendars with activities to do at home to help the child. Of course these are not graded, just really for reinforcement. I think I can speak for most of us when I say the ones that really need focused practice at home don't do the homework anyway and often are not involved in outside activities. I feel like sometimes my own children are punished with homework because others in the class need the practice. I agree with Cindy in differentiated homework. So I don't think there is really an answer for this. I do believe if you give homework it really needs to be meaningful and the children need to be recognized for completing it. I think that the homework that would require them to think more about the skill learned that day would be more meaningful. Like in math if the children were doing multiplication what if one day they found five different ways around their home multiplication was used. Once again, I have no more answers than anyone else.
ReplyDeleteIn PE, I rarely give homework. However, we are trying something new for the next six weeks. Students will be tracking the amount of activity they will be doing outside of school by writing down the time and activity and having their parents sign it. Each student will have a portfolio to log their activity in and they have a goal of 4 hours per week. Hopefully, both students and parents will become more aware and involved in their physical fitness. (Ask me in 6wks how it goes.)
ReplyDeleteAt other times, practicing locomotor skills is encouraged daily. With so little time in each class, homework and practice is essential to student learning.I'm sure teachers facing EOG's understand that pressure much better than I do. The charts demonstrating the amount of learning based on practice shows impressive results that is hard to argue with. However, each class and each teacher is different.
In business computer classes, I find it difficult to send home certain types of homework. I still have less than 50% of my students with a computer at home with the same or similar software and devices that we have available in the lab. I also know that as stated in the chapter, it takes about 24 times of practice to reach 80% competency. That is difficult for me. I don't like to send home work just to be busy and say I sent work home. Every time the High Schools That Work committee visits, they always say that our vocational areas are not doing enough homework. Would love to hear some suggestions here!
ReplyDeleteIn high school, the competition for scholarships and admission to college gets fierce. So many students want to be involved in community, missions, or civic organizations to help make a difference as well as become more competitive for these scholarships and acceptance into certain colleges. And for that student who excels in the classroom, involves herself in many clubs and organizations, as well as plays three sports, (like my daughter) it is a tremendous struggle. But, it is a choice. We too, like Donna said, rush here, there, and skid in at home. But, we never go to school the next day without homework finished. I believe that some parents are lazier than their children and don't want to be bothered. All learning cannot just exist at school.
ReplyDeleteI certainly hope I did not offend anyone with my comment. Sometimes I shoot my mouth off before thinking of others! My apologies if I did.
ReplyDeletePam you certainly didn't offend me. I agree, my children have never missed a project, assignment, or not had time to study. My husband who is a non-educator says he wonders if all families spend as much time with kids activities and then with homework or studying as we do. I assure them they don't but I don't know to get everyone to buy into it and see the benefits of being a very active role in their child's education. I even have parents who do my little calendar activities for their kindergartens instead of taking time to do with them. I guess they think I can't tell and they forget their children will tell on them. I have a student teacher now and she is amazed at how little time is spend on learning at home.
ReplyDeleteAs a media person, I do not usually give homework per se. I have on occasion given a 'thinking' assignment at the end of class and then revisit the subject when class resumes 2 days later. (Remember...I'm at two schools so I only see the kids 2x's per week).
ReplyDeleteWhen we do something in library, such as a worksheet, etc., I always pass these on to the teacher to use as a grade. This works especially well for those who choose to collaborate their classes. I also grade and comment on the papers before sending them to the teacher. My biggest pet peeve is to put a lot of work into something and then not get any credit for it such as a grade, comment, etc.
As a parent of a second grader, we see about 20-30 minutes of homework per night (except on Friday) which is acceptable. Now, because my little darling has a mind of her own, this can stretch out into an hour or two on some nights, and I fear with the longer days and warmer weather, this is just going to get worse. However, we have not gone to school wiithout it....yet! A lot of what she brings home is practice, for example math facts, spelling, etc. I think this is fine at this age. I know she does journaling at school and I am a huge fan of this.
This chapter has been very informative to me not only as an educator, but also as a parent.
OK...clarification time...When I said my biggest pet peeve is to put a lot of work into something and then not get any credit for it, I was not talking about me. I was talking about the student. I think credit should be given where and when it is due. Sorry....I have this proof reading issue.......
ReplyDeleteWow! I enjoyed reading the comments on this topic. Like Ronda, I agree that homework can be a touchy subject. I remember what it was like my first year teaching. I was the "odd ball" kindergarten teacher who gave homework. I did not give much, just enough to a)get students use to this responsibility (it will be asked of them many times in life, and b)so certain skills can be reinforced at home.
ReplyDeleteI definitely sympathize w/all the busy families out there. With sports, church, not to mention, "family time," it's difficult to juggle it all! Like Pam, I do feel that some of the learning needs to take place in the home, as long as it is a small amount.
Not long ago, one of our parents wrote a note that said "did not finish, church night." We gave her an extra day to finish it. In conclusion, I think a small homework is a good practice in many cases. However, I feel it us important for us as teachers to be understanding/sympathetic in this area!
I agree with all of you. I think homework is a necessity because it does allow for practice for students. At the same time I think homework needs to be limited. Give a kid 5 well developed problems instead of 25. Teachers need to be selective. Don't just assign work for the heck of it, make it meaningful.
ReplyDeleteI agree that some parents are lazy and don't want to be bothered. Some kids are way over scheduled as well. I think some parents value education less than the extra-curricular, when it just if not more important.
While I think yes as teachers we have to be understanding of parents situations, we also shouldn't take the blame for everything. IT'S CALLED BEING A PARENT, SUCK IT UP!!! Sorry if I have offended anyone. Sometimes I think parenting classes should be required. Anyway, in PreK we ask that a small book (chose by the student) is read each night and written in the planner. Over half of my students parents do not meet these requirements and they sign a contract saying that they will do this to maintain their child's PK slot. So all I know is good luck ladies! I've talked till I'm past blue in the face.