The Case FOR and AGAINST

Homework

Robert J. Marzano Debra J. Pickering

Summarized by:

Angela Orlikowski

March 2007/Volume 64/ Number 6

Responding to Changing Demographics

Pages 74-79

Attitudes Toward HomeworkTIMELINE

1910-1920: POSITIVE ATTITUDE “Homework helped create disciplined minds” (p.1)

1940: NEGATIVE ATTITUDE“Homework interfered with other home activities” (p.1)

1950: POSITIVE ATTITUDELaunch of Sputnik led to concern that “U.S. education lacked rigor…more rigorous homework” (p.1)

1980: NEGATIVE ATTITUDE“Homework could be detrimental to students’ mental health” (p.1)

Today: We are at an interesting intersection between positive and negative attitudes toward homework!

The Case FOR Homework

Homework is defined as “any task assigned to students by school teachers that are meant to be carried out during nonschool hours” (Cooper, 1989, p.7)

Many studies have been conducted between the years 1983-2006

The relationship between the amount of homework students do and their achievement outcomes was positive (See chart on page 2 of article)

DOING HOMEWORK CAUSES IMPROVED ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT!

The Case AGAINST Homework

The End of Homework: How Homework Disrupts Families, Overburdens Children, and Limits Learning By: Kralovec and Buell (2000)

– MAIN POINTS:“Asserted that homework contributes to a corporate

style, competitive U.S. culture that overvalues work to the detriment of personal and familial well-being” (p.3)

Disadvantaged children whose environments make it impossible for them to complete their assignments are penalized unintentionally

The Case AGAINST Homework

The Case Against Homework: How Homework is Hurting Our Children and What We Can Do About It By: Bennett and Kalish (2006)

– MAIN POINTS:Quantity: Giving students too much homework

effects their family time and healthQuality: Teachers are not trained well enough in

how to assign homework“Reduce the amount of homework, design more

valuable assignments, and avoid homework altogether over breaks and holidays” (p.3)

The Case AGAINST Homework

The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing By: Kohn (2006)

– MAIN POINTS: “Teachers should only assign homework when they can

justify that the assignments are ‘beneficial’” (p.4)– Beneficial: experiments at home, cooking, crossword

puzzles with the family, watching TV shows, or reading

Teachers should involve students in decision making of what and how much homework should be assigned

Kohn’s research sends the wrong message that research does not support homework.

Dangers of Ignoring the Research

Homework that is inappropriate has little or no benefit and may even decrease achievement

If a district gets rid of homework completely, “they are throwing away a powerful instructional tool” (p.4)

Homework increases student achievement because students are continuing to learn beyond the school day

It would be difficult to get rid of homework because then teachers would have to practice a similar task during the already crammed school day!

Issues for EFFECTIVE Homework

1. Grade Level

2. Time Spent on Homework

3. Parent Involvement

Grade Level

According to Cooper in The Battle Over Homework (2007), at different grade levels homework has different purposes:

– Early Grades: “It should foster positive attitudes, habits, and character traits; permit appropriate parent involvement; and reinforce learning of simple skills introduced in class” (p.5)

– Upper Elementary Grades: “It should play a more direct role in fostering improved school achievement” (p.5)

– 6th Grade and Beyond: “It should play an important role in improving standardized test scores and grades” (p.5)

Time Spent on Homework

According to Good and Brophy (2003), “Homework must be realistic in length and difficulty given the students’ abilities to work independently. Thus, 5-10 minutes might be appropriate for 4th graders, whereas 30-60 minutes might be appropriate for college-bound high school students” (p.5)

According to Cooper, Robinson, and Patall (2006), “Even for these oldest students, too much homework may diminish its effectiveness or even become counterproductive” (p.5)

The “10 Minute Rule”: All students homework assignments in one day combined together should take about as long to complete as the students grade level multiplied by 10 minutes (Cooper, 2007).

– Example: – 1st grade: 10x1= 10 minute– 6th grade: 10x6=60 minutes– 10th grade: 10x10=100 minutes (1 hour and 40 minutes)

Parent Involvement

Studies show that parents feel like they are not prepared to help their children with homework and stress occurs when they make an effort

Interactive Homework (Epstein, 2001)– Clear guidelines are given to parents explaining their role– Parents are not expected to be experts or teach the content– Parents ask questions to children asking them to summarize or clarify their

learning

Recommendations for homework from Good and Brophy (2003)– Students show and explain work completed at school to their parents and get their

reactions– Students “interview their parents to develop information about parental

experiences or opinions related to topics studied in social studies” (p.6) Effects:

– Engagement in conversation– Extending student learning– Enjoyable rather than threatening experiences!

Going BEYOND the research

“The answer is certainly not to wait until research ‘proves’ that a practice is effective. Instead, educators should combine research-based generalizations, research from related areas, and their own professional judgment based on firsthand experience to develop specific practices and make adjustments as necessary” (p.7)

“Educators can develop the most effective practices by observing changes in the achievement of the students with whom they work every day” (p.7)

Homework Guidelines

Assign homework that is purposeful

Design homework so that students will be more likely to complete it

Involve parents in homework in appropriate ways

Monitor the amount of homework assigned

Reference

Marzano, R.J. & Pickering, D.J. (2007). Special topic/ The case for and against homework. Educational Leadership, 64 (6), 74-79.