Giving homework involves a lot more than just checking it and giving it a grade. Think carefully and plan your own homework policy for your class.
At one of our staff meetings at the school I teach, the subject of giving homework was brought up. The motion for debate was its effectiveness. Is homework usually a waste of time?
Some arguments for giving homework:
Material needs revision
Students take responsibility for their learning
Homework enables the learner to become familiar with his/her learning style
Some learners need the free time to review new material
Doing homework makes the subject more affirmative
Pupils respect teachers (more) if homework is communicated on a quality level (something serious)
Some arguments against:
It is just another burden. (another task)
It is a subject for disagreement between teaches and parents.
It is hard to be controlled (who did what?)
If homework is not taken seriously, the teacher may loose his/her credibility.
How to deal with weaker students when it comes to giving and checking homework?
One conclusion that can be drawn is that there should be a logical consequence for what homework students do.
Homework Procedures (there are quite a few!) Again, where do you stand with these?
recording who has done their homework
collecting, checking and returning homework
reviewing homework in class
partially completed homework
unacceptable homework
no homework
opportunity to redo homework
meaning for each HW assignment with reference to student's grade
Where do you stand with regard to homework?
How lenient or practical are you when it comes to your policy on homework?
Consider also the practical side of giving homework.
Amount. How much is enough to given in conjunction with the review and reinforcement of the material?
Frequency. How often is enough?
Checking. What is the most effective and best way to check homework. There are a variety of options such as answer sheets. See Tips for Checking Student Work for more information about this topic.
Use as punishment. Should homework be given as a logical consequence?
Records. Homework can be useful criteria for giving grades especially with problematic students who don’t give in homework.
Consider your homework policy in terms of its use for: practice, learning or finding out something new and testing and assessment.
Are there other means for establishing your homework policy?
What other suggestions do you have for doing homework? Join the homework discussion.
