By ron kurtus revised 8 july 2012 teachers often give assignments consisting of reading, problem solving, or writing that the students must do after class mdash usually at home. Sometimes its purpose is to gather extra information beyond what was taught in class. Unfortunately, there are some teachers who just don't understand the meaning of homework and give it as something to keep the students busy. Questions you may have include: how does homework reinforce knowledge? what homework goes beyond what was taught in class? what is meaningless homework? this lesson will answer those questions.

Although your teacher can provide information and explain the subject in class, you typically will only remember about 50% of the information you get by seeing and hearing the explanations. Although, you can ask your teacher questions if you do not completely understand the principles or facts involved, you still need to apply the information to learn the subject and turn it into knowledge. But after megan went home, she didn't bother doing her math homework or try to solve any math problems herself.

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By the next day, she had already forgotten what had been taught the previous day. Likewise, your teacher may explain the reasons for the action of people in an historical event. When you later read about the event, you can understand what really happened and why. Sometimes teachers will only give an overview of material and then assign reading for the students to get the major part of the information.

Then the next day, the teacher will answer any questions students may have or perhaps verbally quiz them on the material. History, english literature and sociology are examples of classes that require extensive reading outside of class. Jerry was glad he was able to speed read, because he had so many reading assignments in his history class. Besides assigning reading, the students may be required to write an essay or answer questions in the book on what was read.

This homework will be graded to verify that the student did the assignment and understood the material. The advantage of outside reading is that much more material can be covered than what could be covered in class. The disadvantages to you are that questions you have may not be answered and there is no reinforcement to enhance understanding what was read.

One example of this type of homework is having to do repetitive problems or solving puzzles that really don't add to your knowledge. Unfortunately, you may have to do this sort of nonsense to get a good grade in the class. It is popular for teachers to assign students to look up some subject on the internet and put together an essay on it. Many students will find a number of resources and copy and paste the material without really reading or understanding it.

All this amounts to is an exercise in using google to find things, as opposed to actually learning something. The purpose of homework is to help you learn what was taught in class or to gain information by reading and answering questions. In any case, it is necessary to do your homework mdash and do it well mdash in order to get a good grade in the class. You learn by doing

how can parents get involved?

share any concerns you may have regarding the amount or type homework assigned with your child's teacher or principal. encourage your child to take notes concerning homework assignments in case questions arise later at home. Provide a suitable study area and the necessary tools for example, paper and books to complete the homework assignments.

Limit after school activities to allow time for both homework and family activities. If questions arise about the assignments, and your child asks for help, ask him or her questions or work through an example rather than simply providing the answer. Younger children need more parental assistance with homework than older children. Do several problems or questions together, then observe your child doing the next one or two.

how much time should my child spend on homework?

according to some researchers, two ways to increase students' opportunities to learn are to increase the amount of time that students have to learn and to expand the amount of content they receive. Reforms in education have called for increased homework, and as a result, reports show that students are completing considerably more homework than they did a decade ago.

According to statements by the national pta and the national education association nea , the following amounts of homework are recommended:

why should parents be concerned about a school homework policy?

lack of an established homework policy may place either insufficient or unrealistic demands on your child. Students may not be expected to work to capacity alternatively, they may receive too many assignments from different teachers on the same evening.

Schools with homework policies tend to carefully design and provide homework assignments appropriate to each grade level. Students may not always view homework as a pleasant experience, but if the assignment serves a good purpose and parents reinforce the completion of the tasks, students will benefit by gaining higher grades, better study habits, and a more positive attitude toward school and learning. Homework assignments give parents insight into the school curriculum and offer a greater opportunity for student learning to occur.

where can parents find out more about homework guidelines?

eric clearinghouse on elementary and early childhood education

The national pta 700 north rush street chicago, il 60611 2571 most of the following references those identified with an ed or ej number have been abstracted and are in the eric database. For a list of eric collections in your area, contact access eric at 1 800 let eric. This publication was prepared by access eric with funding from the office of educational research and improvement, u.s.

The opinions expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of the department of education. Spending more than two hours a night doing homework is linked to achieving better results in english, maths and science, according to a major study which has tracked the progress of 3,0 children over the past 15 years. Spending any time doing homework showed benefits, but the effects were greater for students who put in two to three hours a night, according to the study published by the department for education. The finding on homework runs counter to previous research which shows a relatively modest link between homework and achievement at secondary school. The academics involved in the latest research say their study emphasises what students actually do, rather than how much work the school has set. Said that time spent on homework reflected the influence of the school – whether pupils were expected to do homework – as well as children's enjoyment of their subjects. What we're not saying is that everyone should do large amounts, but if we could shift some of those who spend no time or half an hour into doing one to two hours – one of the reasons private schools' results are better is that there's more expectation of homework.