Homework: For Better or For Worse

It's an interesting phenomenon. Ask a preschooler to name one thing that they most look forward to when they move on to grade school and you're likely to hear "getting homework" somewhere toward the top of the list. Ask a student in middle school to list the things they like most about school and the response is likely to be "lunch, recess, and not getting homework." Pose the question to a high school student, and homework is rarely mentioned. Why the difference in responses? What does the research tell us about homework at different times in a student's educational career? And what should parents and educators do to ensure that homework is a positive and productive ingredient in a child's school experience?

In Search of a Definition

Look for a definition of the word "homework" and you're likely to find descriptions that include:

• Preparatory school work done outside school (especially at home)
• Work that is planned or approved by the teacher but that is to be completed by the student outside of the regular classroom
• Work assigned to students that is to be completed while not directly supervised by the teacher

Interestingly, when I did a cursory search for definitions online, none of the sources mentioned anything about parents. Now think for a moment about the conversation that takes place in virtually every household where parents and school-age children cohabitate: "How was your day in school?" "How did you do on your test?" and "What do you have for homework?". Why is it that parents are conspicuously omitted from this definition? Is it because they have no role in the homework process? Read on.

The Research Says ...

As might be expected, there is no definitive body of knowledge about the benefits of homework, how much is enough (or too much), how frequently it should be assigned, and for which students and in what subject areas it is most helpful. There is, however, a strong literature to suggest that homework serves a number of different purposes:

• Practice: rehearse and re-learn skills and information taught in class
• Preparation: introduce material that will be formally taught in future lessons
• Extension: apply already learned skills to new problems and situations
• Integration: use many different skills to complete a single task (i.e., book report, science project)

Related Content

Study Skills for Teens

Getting good grades isn't easy, and understanding how to make the best use of your time and effort takes careful planning. It also helps to be a strategic learner. That means you: Plan how you are going to learn and manage your time in the process; Use the skills you have to lea... More >

Tweet

Homework 101

"It's time to do your homework.""But Mom, Dad..." Sound familiar? For many parents, these words are heard from the month of September and last well into June. What can be done to maximize stronger work habits and minimize frustration for you and your child? Quite a lot. School... More >

Tweet

Helping Your Child Learn to Read: Preschool to Grade 3

When children become good readers in the early grades, they are more likely to become better learners throughout their school years and beyond. Learning to read is hard work for children. Fortunately, research is now available that suggests how to give each child a good start in readi... More >

Tweet

Tips for Teens on Getting Organized

While nobody likes to be disorganized, for students with learning disabilities, disorganization can spell certain disaster. Searching for lost assignments or course handouts can take up valuable time, and it's almost impossible to study and meet deadlines when notes from different su... More >

Tweet

How Older Kids Can Improve Their Writing Skills

You know, it's interesting that here in California — and my reading of studies from around the country suggests that this is relatively consistent — we find across the board, whether students are doing pretty well or not so well, that they're usually doing better in reading than ... More >

Tweet