HOMEWORKDOES IT INCREASE STUDENT

ACHIEVEMENT?

By: Carmen SerranoSocial Studies, JFK Teacher

• FOR YEARS AMERICANS HAVE BEEN CONCERNED ABOUT FALLING BEHIND IN EDUCATION AND THEY MAY HAVE BEEN CORRECT IN DOING SO.

• IN A RECENT REPORT BY THE ANNIE E. CASEY FOUNDATION, ONE OUT OF THREE STUDENTS SCORED "BELOW BASIC" ON THE 2009 NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATION PROGRESS (NAEP) READING TEST. EVEN MORE ALARMING IS THE FACT THAT MORE THAN 67 PERCENT OF ALL US FOURTH GRADERS SCORED "BELOW PROFICIENT,"

• AMERICAN STUDENTS RANKED 25TH IN MATH, 17TH IN SCIENCE AND 14TH IN READING.

• THE UNITED STATES PLACES 17TH IN THE DEVELOPED WORLD FOR EDUCATION, ACCORDING TO A GLOBAL REPORT BY EDUCATION FIRM PEARSON (2007).

WHY HOMEWORK HAS BECOME SO CONTROVERSIAL?

• SOVIET UNION LAUNCHED SPUTNIK CAUSED THE UNITED STATES TO FOCUS ON EDUCATION, ESPECIALLY IN THE AREAS OF SCIENCE AND MATH (NELSON 2007).

• A NATION AT RISK WAS PUBLISHED, AND IT CRITICIZED UNITED STATES EDUCATION, CALLING IT MEDIOCRE (U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, 1983).

• NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND LEGISLATION WAS IMPLEMENTED TO SECURE ALL CHILDREN’S EDUCATION (PL 107-110, 2001).

• HOMEWORK HAS BECOME A COMMON AND WELL-KNOWN STUDENT DAILY ROUTINE (COOPER, ROBINSON, & PATALL, 2006).

• DOES HOMEWORK REALLY HELP STUDENTS INCREASE THEIR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE?

• DO STUDIES SHOW A LINK BETWEEN HOMEWORK AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT?

• THERE IS VERY LITTLE CORRELATION BETWEEN HOMEWORK AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT (COOPER, 2006).

• KOHN (2006) ARGUES THAT NONE OF THE RESEARCH SHOWS A CONNECTION BETWEEN HOMEWORK AND INDEPENDENT THINKING. (KOHN, 2006).

• SO WHY DO TEACHERS CONTINUE TO GIVE HOMEWORK?

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY• COLLECTING HOMEWORK BECAME FRUSTRATING!!!!

• IS HOMEWORK A MAJOR COMPONENT OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT?

• AM I FAILING TO PROMOTE HIGH ACADEMIC STANDARDS BY NOT GIVING HOMEWORK?

• WILL ASSIGNING HOMEWORK HELP THEM UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT BETTER?

• IS MY IMPLEMENTATION OF HOMEWORK CORRECT? AM I ASSIGNING THE RIGHT WORK?

• DOES HOMEWORK HELP INCREASE THEIR CRITICAL THINKING SKILL?

• THE PURPOSE OF THIS ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT IS TO IMPROVE MY EDUCATIONAL PRACTICES AND DETERMINE IF USING HOMEWORK BENEFITS STUDENT LEARNING.

• TO DETERMINE IF ASSESSMENT RESULTS ARE SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT AMONG STUDENTS WHO WERE GIVEN HOMEWORK AND STUDENTS WHO WERE NOT GIVEN HOMEWORK.

• THE POTENTIAL OF LEADING TO PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES ON HOMEWORK IMPLEMENTATION.

RESEARCH QUESTION

• 1. WHAT ARE THE STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS CONCERNING HOMEWORK?

• 2. HOW DOES HOMEWORK IMPACT STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT?

SIGNIFICANCE

• THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS STUDY IS TO GAIN INSIGHT AS TO WHETHER HOMEWORK ACTUALLY HELPS INCREASE STUDENT LEARNING.

• HOMEWORK CONTRIBUTES TO THE CORPORATE STYLE AND COMPETITIVE CULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES (KRALOVEC AND BUELL, 2000)

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF HOMEWORK?

• BUTLER (1987) STATES THAT HOMEWORK SHOULD BE ACTIVITIES THAT REINFORCE LEARNING, PROVIDE PRACTICE, AND ALLOW STUDENTS TO APPLY NEW LEARNED SKILLS.

• COOPER (2007) DEFINES HOMEWORK AS "TASKS ASSIGNED TO STUDENTS BY SCHOOL TEACHERS THAT ARE INTENDED TO BE CARRIED OUT DURING NON-SCHOOL HOURS” (P. 4).

• HOMEWORK SHOULD BE FUN, AND RELATED TO LIFE SKILLS (KOHN, 2006)

• HOMEWORK HELPS STUDENTS DEVELOP SELF-DISCIPLINE, RESPONSIBILITY, AND GOOD HABITS AND ATTITUDES (PAULU, 1995).

PERCEPTION OF HOMEWORK• MORE THAN 80% OF TEACHERS AND

77% OF STUDENTS AFFIRMED THAT HOMEWORK IS VERY IMPORTANT TO THEM; APPROXIMATELY 90% OF TEACHERS AND PARENTS AND 69% OF STUDENTS BELIEVED THAT HOMEWORK HELPED STUDENTS LEARN MORE IN SCHOOL (MARKOW, KIM, AND LIEBMAN 2007)

• ONLY 10% OF PARENTS BELIEVED THAT THEIR CHILDREN HAD TOO MUCH, WHILE 25% BELIEVED THEY HAD TOO LITTLE, AND 64% OF PARENTS BELIEVED THEIR CHILDREN HAD ABOUT THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF HOMEWORK (GILL & SCHLOSSMAN, 2003

LITERATURE REVIEWADVANTAGE OF HOMEWORK

• HOMEWORK INCREASES LEARNING AND, THEREFORE, SHOULD BE CONTINUED AND MODIFIED FOR IMPROVEMENT WHEN NECESSARY (MARZANO & PICKERING, 2007).

•

• HOMEWORK ENHANCES CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION, CONNECTS FUTURE LESSONS, BOOSTS FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS, AND ADDS TO THE STUDENT’S INTEREST IN LEARNING (ALLEMAN, 2010).

ADVANTAGE OF HOMEWORK• STUDENTS REMEMBER ONLY 50% OF THE INFORMATION. THUS,

HOMEWORK WILL REINFORCE OR HELP STUDENTS APPLY THAT INFORMATION (KURUTS, 2006).

• THERE IS A POSITIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE AMOUNT OF HOMEWORK GIVEN AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT. (BEMPECHAT, 2004)

• SINCE 1962, OUT OF 20 STUDIES DONE, 14 ARE PRO-HOMEWORK ; OUT OF 50 STUDIES, 43 SHOWED STUDENTS WHO DID THEIR HOMEWORK IMPROVED IN THEIR ACHIEVEMENT (COOPER, 2000).

• ALSO NOTED THAT STUDENTS WHO DO HOMEWORK WILL OUTPERFORM STUDENTS WHO DO NOT DO HOMEWORK BY 69% ON A STANDARDIZED TEST. COOPER (2000)

• ALSO SHOWS THAT THE POSITIVE CORRELATION IS MUCH STRONGER FOR SECONDARY STUDENTS THAN ELEMENTARY STUDENTS (COOPER, 2006)

• HOMEWORK COMPLETION SIGNIFICANTLY INFLUENCES STUDENT’S SELF-REGULATORY BEHAVIOR AND MOTIVATIONAL BELIEFS, AND THAT HOMEWORK IMPROVES STUDENTS’ SELF-EFFICACY AND INSTILLS RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS THEIR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT (BEMBENUTTY, 2009)

• HOMEWORK FOSTERS SELF-REGULATION SKILLS, IT ALLOWS STUDENTS TO PRACTICE BEHAVIOR SUCH AS PLANNING, ORGANIZATION, OVERCOMING OBSTACLES, PERSISTENCE AND STAYING ON TASK (XU, M., BENSON, S.N.K., MUDREY-CAMINO, R., & STEINER, R. P., 2010)

• DUKE UNIVERSITY RESEARCHERS HAVE REVIEWED MORE THAN 60 RESEARCH STUDIES ON HOMEWORK BETWEEN 1987 AND 2003 AND CONCLUDED THAT HOMEWORK DOES HAVE A POSITIVE EFFECT ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT.

• DURHAM, N.C. 2013, DUKE UNIVERSITY

LITERATURE REVIEWDISADVANTAGE OF HOMEWORK

• RECENTLY, HOMEWORK HAS BECOME “A SOURCE OF COMPLAINT AND FRICTION BETWEEN HOME AND SCHOOL MORE OFTEN THAN OTHER TEACHING ACTIVITIES” (COOPER, 2001 P. IX).

• TEACHERS LACK THE SKILLS TO DESIGN HOMEWORK THAT ACTUALLY BENEFITS THE STUDENT’S LEARNING (COOPER, 2007).

• REVIEW OF 60 STUDIES NOTED THAT TOO MUCH HOMEWORK MAY REDUCE THE EFFECT OF HOMEWORK OR MAY EVEN BECOME A HINDRANCE TO STUDENT LEARNING (COOPER, 2007)

LITERATURE REVIEWDISADVANTAGE OF HOMEWORK

• IF THERE IS A CORRELATION BETWEEN HOMEWORK AND ACHIEVEMENT, IT IS NOT SUFFICIENT ENOUGH TO JUSTIFY THAT CONCLUSION AND THAT SEVERAL FACTORS SURROUNDING HOMEWORK AND ACHIEVEMENT NEED TO BE CONSIDERED (KOHN, 2006)

• HOMEWORK SEEMS TO BE TAKING OVER SOME OF THE TIME MEANT TO BE FOR SOCIALIZATION. (KOHN, 2006).

• FOUND CONTRADICTING RESEARCH STUDIES—THAT SHOWED HOMEWORK DOES BENEFIT LEARNING WHILE OTHER RESEARCHERS ARGUED THAT IT DOES NOT (KOHN, 2006)

• HOWEVER, SOME EDUCATORS BELIEVE THAT HOMEWORK IS INEFFECTUAL AND EVEN HARMFUL TO LEARNING AND SHOULD BE BANNED (KOHN, 2006).

DISADVANTAGE OF HOMEWORK• 4 OUT OF 10 PARENTS POLLED BELIEVED THAT

MOST OF THE HOMEWORK GIVEN WAS MERELY BUSYWORK (PAUL, 2011)

• TOO MUCH HOMEWORK CAN BE HARMFUL TO A CHILD’S HEALTH AND FAMILY TIME (BENNET & KALISH 2006, P. 53).

• CAUTIONED TEACHERS NOT TO GIVE TOO MUCH HOMEWORK BECAUSE THIS MAY DIMINISH ITS’ EFFECTIVENESS OR EVEN BECOME COUNTERPRODUCTIVE (COOPER, ROBINSON, AND PATALL, (2006)

• HOMEWORK SHOULD NOT BE GIVEN TOO OFTEN, BUT WHEN IT IS GIVEN, THEN IT SHOULD BE REALISTIC IN LENGTH AND THE DIFFICULTY SHOULD BE BASED ON STUDENTS’ SKILL LEVEL.( GOOD AND BROPHY ,2003)

• CLAIM THAT HOMEWORK CAN BE HARMFUL TO STUDENT’S WELL-BEING WHEN TEACHERS ARE NOT TRAINED IN HOW TO ASSIGN HOMEWORK. THE AUTHORS RECOMMEND REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF HOMEWORK GIVEN, DESIGNING MORE VALUABLE ASSIGNMENTS, AND AVOIDING GIVING HOMEWORK DURING HOLIDAYS OR BREAKS (BENNET AND KALISH, 2006)

• HOMEWORK IS “FORCED LABOR.” TEACHERS SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO EVERYTHING INSIDE THE CLASSROOM (SCHNURMACHER, 2012).

• PRINCIPAL BANNED HOMEWORK IN HIS SCHOOL AND NOTED THAT EXCELLENT TEACHING DOES NOT REQUIRED HOURS OF HOMEWORK (NELSON, 2007).

• REPORTED THAT ONE QUARTER OF STUDENTS FINISH HOMEWORK ONLY SOMETIMES, RARELY, OR NEVER (MARKOW ET AL. (2007)

• CONDUCTED A STUDY ON ALTERNATIVE HIGH SCHOOLS AND WERE AMAZED TO DISCOVER THAT HOMEWORK WAS ONE OF THE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS THAT CAUSED STUDENTS TO DROP OUT OF SCHOOL. (KRALOVEC AND BUELL’S, 2000)

• SUGGEST THAT POLICYMAKERS SHOULD LOOK INTO THE QUALITY OF HOMEWORK BEING ASSIGNED IN ORDER TO MAKE HOMEWORK PRACTICES EFFECTIVE (BAKER AND LE TENDRE, 2005)

• COOPER ET. AL., (2006) NOTE THAT SINCE HOMEWORK HAS BOTH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES, A NEED FOR CONTINUED RESEARCH IS NECESSARY.

METHODOLOGY

• THIS STUDY TOOK PLACE AT A PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL.

• BLOCK SCHEDULE FORMAT WITH ALTERNATING PERIODS EACH DAY.

• STUDENTS ATTEND THREE 100-MINUTES CLASSES PER DAY.

• THE PARTICIPANTS OF THIS STUDY WERE STUDENTS IN MY U.S. HISTORY CLASS (N = 90).

• THE STUDENTS INCLUDED 44 MALES AND 46 FEMALES.

• THEY REPRESENTED A VARIETY OF ETHNIC AND CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS

• THE CLASSES CHOSEN FOR THE STUDY WAS CATEGORIZED AS CLASS A AND CLASS B.

• CLASS A WAS NOT GIVEN HOMEWORK, AND CLASS B WAS GIVEN HOMEWORK.

• THE STUDY WAS OVER A THREE WEEK PERIOD.

• CONSENT FORMS WERE DISTRIBUTED FOR STUDENTS AND PARENTS TO SIGN. THE STUDENTS WHO RETURNED THE CONSENT FORMS WITH SIGNATURES WERE USED AS PART OF THE STUDY.

• THE SAME LESSONS WERE GIVEN TO BOTH GROUPS USING A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION

• HOMEWORK WAS GIVEN TO GROUP B.

• HOMEWORK WAS EXPLAINED, DIRECTIONS GIVEN, AND ONE OR TWO PROBLEMS FROM THE HOMEWORK WERE SOLVED IN CLASS AS A TAKE HOME SAMPLE MODEL.

• HOMEWORK WAS ALWAYS DUE THE NEXT CLASS MEETING DAY AND WAS RETURNED ON THE SAME DAY OF THE QUIZ WITH COMMENTS AND FEEDBACK TO HELP THE STUDENTS UNDERSTAND THE MISTAKES THEY MADE.

• HOMEWORK CONSISTED OF: (A) VOCABULARY, (B) SIGNIFICANT INDIVIDUALS, (C) SIGNIFICANT EVENTS, AND (D) CRITICAL THINKING.

• STUDENTS WERE TOLD THAT HOMEWORK WOULD BE GRADED, AND LATE POINTS WOULD BE DEDUCTED FOR EACH DAY THE HOMEWORK WAS LATE.

INTERVENTION

INTERVENTION

• FIVE QUIZZES WERE GIVEN TO BOTH GROUP A AND GROUP B.

• QUIZZES TAKEN BY STUDENTS WHO DID NOT TURN IN THEIR HOMEWORK ON TIME WERE COLLECTED AS PART OF THE DATA BUT WERE RECORDED AND LABELED ACCORDINGLY.

• QUIZ QUESTIONS CONSISTED OF: (A) VOCABULARY, (B) SIGNIFICANT INDIVIDUALS, (C) SIGNIFICANT EVENTS, AND (D) CRITICAL THINKING.

DATA COLLECTION

• DATA COLLECTED WERE HOMEWORK COMPLETION, QUIZ SCORES AND SURVEY RESPONSES.

• THE QUIZ AVERAGES WERE COMPARED BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS: STUDENTS WHO WERE GIVEN HOMEWORK VERSUS STUDENTS WHO WERE NOT GIVEN HOMEWORK.

• HOMEWORK. STUDENTS’ HOMEWORK WAS COLLECTED, GRADED, AND THEN RECORDED.

• A CHECKLIST WAS KEPT WHETHER THE STUDENTS COMPLETED THE ASSIGNMENTS. STUDENTS WHO DID NOT TURN IN HOMEWORK OR TURNED IT IN LATE WERE NOTED ACCORDINGLY.

• QUIZ SCORES. QUIZZES WAS COLLECTED, GRADED, AND THEN RECORDED.

• STUDENTS WHO TOOK QUIZZES BUT DID NOT TURN IN THEIR HOMEWORK WERE PROPERLY NOTED IN THE CHECKLIST.

• SURVEYS. UPON COMPLETION OF THE STUDY, THE STUDENTS COMPLETED A SURVEY.

• ALL SURVEYS WERE COMPLETED ANONYMOUSLY.

• STUDENTS WHO WERE ABSENT WERE NOT GIVEN MAKE UP DAY

DATA COLLECTION

RESULTS AND DATA ANALYSIS1. WHAT ARE THE STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS

CONCERNING HOMEWORK?

• DATA WAS GATHERED USING A STUDENT PERCEPTION SURVEY CONSISTING OF 11 ITEMS GIVEN TO GROUP B (STUDENTS WHO WERE GIVEN HOMEWORK).

• STUDENTS RESPONDED TO EACH ITEM USING A LIKERT SCALE RATING: 1 = STRONGLY DISAGREE, 2 = DISAGREE, 3 = AGREE SOMEWHAT, 4 = AGREE, AND 5 = STRONGLY AGREE.

Item M SD

1. I like homework. 2.34

1.20

2. I always do homework 2.98

.864

3. I always get help at home when doing my homework 2.84

1.32

4. I get easily distracted when I am doing my homework 3.67

1.26

5. I always feel unsure on how to do my homework 2.95

.999

6. I feel teachers give too much homework 3.58

1.10

7. I have an adult to help me at home with my homework 2.97

1.26

8. Homework helps me often to better understand what I learned in class

3.08

1.17

9. I spend a lot of time doing my homework (Please fill in the blank on how many hours you spend each day on homework: ____)

2.78

1.06

10. I put a lot of effort when doing my homework 3.31

.990

11. Homework helps me often to pass all my tests and quizzes

3.13

1.12

TABLE 1: STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF HOMEWORK (N = 63)

Class Total number participants

HW # 1

HW # 2

HW # 3

HW # 4

HW #5

2nd Period 

19 

1158%

1158%

1263%

421%

1263%

4th Period 

22 1045%

836%

418%

1255%

1568%

6th Period 

22 1359%

941%

836%

1255%

836%

HOMEWORK COMPLETION RATE

 Quiz #1 Quiz

#2Quiz #3 Quiz #4 Quiz #5

Group ANo Homework N Mean SD

  

5013.765.34

  

5412.284.86

  

6013.805.31

  

5413.964.59

  

4913.844.32

Group BHomework NMean SD

  3412.414.34

  2813.434.14

  2414.425.24

  3214.944.63

  3514.113.69

Sig.(2-tailed)

.23 .29 .63 .35 .76

QUIZ AVERAGE

DISCUSSIONS

• THE RESULTS OF THIS ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT INDICATED THAT THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT BETWEEN STUDENTS WHO WERE GIVEN HOMEWORK AND STUDENTS WHO WERE NOT GIVEN HOMEWORK.

• HOWEVER, KOHN (2006) SUGGESTS THAT EVEN IF THERE IS A CORRELATION BETWEEN HOMEWORK AND ACHIEVEMENT, IT IS NOT SUFFICIENT ENOUGH TO JUSTIFY A QUICK CONCLUSION AND THAT SEVERAL FACTORS SURROUNDING HOMEWORK AND ACHIEVEMENT NEED TO BE CONSIDERED.

• STUDENTS NOT TURNING IN HOMEWORK ON TIME WERE ONE OF THE BIGGEST FACTORS THAT AFFECTED THIS STUDY.

• LIMITING MY COMPARISON BETWEEN THOSE WHO TURNED IN THEIR HOMEWORK AND THOSE WHO DID NOT.

• FOR EXAMPLE, PERIOD 4 AND 6 HAD LESS THAN 50% OF STUDENTS WHO TURNED IN HOMEWORK FOR HOMEWORK #2 AND # 3. THE STUDENTS WHO WERE ASSIGNED HOMEWORK BUT DID NOT TURN IT IN ON TIME STILL HAD TO TAKE THE QUIZ, BUT THEIR QUIZ SCORES WERE NOT INCLUDED IN THE ANALYSIS FOR GROUP B. THEIR SCORES WERE, INSTEAD, RECORDED UNDER THOSE STUDENTS WHO WERE NOT GIVEN HOMEWORK, GIVING MY “NOT ASSIGNED HOMEWORK” DATA A LARGER NUMBER.

• STUDENT ATTENDANCE.

• IF A STUDENT WAS ABSENT DURING THE QUIZ DAY, MY SAMPLE FOR THAT DAY DECREASED.

• STUDENTS WHO WERE ABSENT WERE NOT ABLE TO TURN IN HOMEWORK

• PRODUCING LESS RELIABLE DATA.

• NOT FOLLOWING DIRECTION PROPERLY

• FOR THE FIRST HOMEWORK, SOME STUDENTS DID NOT FOLLOW DIRECTIONS.

• SOME STUDENTS TURNED IN HOMEWORK WITH INFORMATION FROM CHAPTER

• TIME OF STUDY CONDUCTED

• THIS STUDY WAS CONDUCTED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR WHEN STUDENTS ARE STILL GETTING FAMILIAR WITH THEIR CLASSES.

• CONSENT FORM

• A NUMBER OF STUDENTS DID NOT TURN IN THEIR CONSENT FORM WITH PARENT SIGNATURE ON TIME

• CAUSING MY DATA TO SHRINK; SPECIFICALLY MY 3RD PERIOD CLASS THAT ONLY HAD 9 OUT OF 30 STUDENT PARTICIPANTS

• STUDENT PERCEPTION

• 36 OUT OF 63 (OR 54%) STUDENTS WHO WERE ASSIGNED HOMEWORK STATED THAT THEY DID NOT LIKE DOING HOMEWORK.

• THIS MAY CONFIRM TABLE 5 SHOWING AN AVERAGE OF ONLY 40% SUBMISSION OF HOMEWORK THROUGHOUT THE DURATION OF STUDY.

• HOWEVER, SURVEY QUESTION TWO SHOWED THAT 49 (OR 78%) STUDENTS STATED THEY ALWAYS DO HOMEWORK.

• STUDENTS MAY HAVE DONE THEIR HOMEWORK BUT MAY HAVE NOT TURNED IT IN ON TIME FOR SOME REASON OR HAVE TURNED IT IN INCOMPLETE.

• 43 (OR 68%) OF THE STUDENTS WHO WERE UNSURE ON HOW TO DO THEIR HOMEWORK.

• ONE OF THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL QUESTIONS ABOUT HOMEWORK IS THE AMOUNT GIVEN TO THE STUDENTS. ACCORDING TO THE SURVEY, 53 (OR 84%) STUDENTS THINK TEACHERS GIVE TOO MUCH HOMEWORK.

• I FELT THIS MAY HAVE BEEN PARTLY TRUE SINCE DURING THE STUDY, I GAVE STUDENTS FIVE CONSECUTIVE HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS WITHOUT RESPITE. IN FACT, I STARTED TO FEEL STUDENTS TIRING AFTER THE FOURTH HOMEWORK.

• ON SURVEY QUESTION NUMBER NINE, THERE WERE 40 (OR 63%) STUDENTS WHO STATED THAT THEY SPENT A LOT OF TIME DOING HOMEWORK.

• ON THE LINE PROVIDED, STUDENT’S PERCEPTION OF “A LOT” IS BETWEEN 10 MINUTES TO 3 HOURS

• THERE WERE 55(OR 87%) STUDENTS WHO STATED THAT THEY PUT A LOT OF EFFORT IN THEIR HOMEWORK. THIS MAY BE TRUE FOR THE LOW LEVEL STUDENTS WHO TRY HARD IN COMPLETING THEIR HOMEWORK BUT HAVE TROUBLE DUE TO COMPREHENSION.

• ON SURVEY QUESTION 8, THERE WERE 42 (OR 67%) STUDENTS WHO DECLARED THAT HOMEWORK HELPS THEM UNDERSTAND THE LESSON BETTER AND 45 (OR 71%) STATED THAT HOMEWORK HELPS THEM PASS THEIR TESTS AND QUIZZES.

• THIS CAN BE PROVEN ON TABLE 4 WHERE STUDENTS WHO RECEIVED HOMEWORK SHOWED A SLIGHT INCREASE ON QUIZ

• HOMEWORK SHOULD BE TREATED AS REINFORCEMENT ON LESSONS THAT WERE PREVIOUSLY PRESENTED IN THE CLASS TO HELP MASTER INDIVIDUAL SKILLS. IT SHOULD BE USED TO HELP STUDENTS APPLY PREVIOUS LEARNED SKILLS TO DIFFERENT CONTEXTS.

• THE MAIN INSIGHT I GAINED FROM THIS RESEARCH STUDY IS THAT HOMEWORK IS NOT A STRATEGY THAT WORKS FOR ALL STUDENTS. HOMEWORK SHOULD BE GIVEN IN MODERATION AND ALWAYS WITH CLEAR AND SIMPLE DIRECTIONS; IF POSSIBLE, IT SHOULD ALWAYS COME WITH EXAMPLES. HOMEWORK SHOULD BE GIVEN WHEN STUDENTS HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE LESSON, THUS, MAKING HOMEWORK A FORM OF HONING THEIR SKILLS AND NOT BURDENING THEIR MINDS WITH “BUSYWORK.”

RECOMMENDATION

• IN THE FUTURE, I WOULD RECOMMEND CONDUCTING THIS STUDY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SCHOOL YEAR WHEN STUDENTS ARE SETTLED IN AND FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE IN THE CLASS AS WELL AS WITH TEACHER’S INSTRUCTION.

• ALSO RECOMMEND LENGTHENING THE RESEARCH STUDY OVER AN ENTIRE QUARTER (2 ½ MONTHS).

• I FOUND THAT GIVING HOMEWORK DAILY CAUSED MY STUDENTS TO TIRE AND BE WEARY TO TURN IT IN. A LONGER STUDY PERIOD WOULD L ALSO ALLOW ME TO IDENTIFY MORE SIGNIFICANT PATTERNS AND TRENDS IN STUDENT BEHAVIOR AND PERFORMANCES IN REGARDS TO COMPLETING HOMEWORK AND ITS EFFECT ON THEIR ACHIEVEMENT.

• A NEED FOR CONTINUED RESEARCH IS NECESSARY. WITH ALL THE FACTORS INVOLVED IN MY STUDY, FURTHER RESEARCH IN HOMEWORK IS RECOMMENDED.

THANK YOU!

• COOPER POINTED OUT THAT THERE ARE LIMITATIONS TO CURRENT RESEARCH ON HOMEWORK. FOR INSTANCE, LITTLE RESEARCH HAS BEEN DONE TO ASSESS WHETHER A STUDENT'S RACE, SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS OR ABILITY LEVEL AFFECTS THE IMPORTANCE OF HOMEWORK IN HIS OR HER ACHIEVEMENT.

• HOMEWORK 'BRIDGES THE GAP BETWEEN LEARNING AT SCHOOL AND LEARNING AT HOME' AND SHOULD THEREFORE BE CONSISTENT WITH AND CONNECTED TO THE LEARNING EXPERIENCES BEING PROVIDED IN THE CLASSROOM. AS WELL AS EMPHASIZING CURRICULUM RELEVANCE, SCHOOL HOMEWORK POLICIES SHOULD ENSURE THAT HOMEWORK

• IS APPROPRIATE FOR EACH STUDENT'S AGE AND ABILITY

• TAKES INTO ACCOUNT STUDENTS' OTHER COMMITMENTS, SUCH AS SPORT, PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT AND HOME RESPONSIBILITIES

• TAKES INTO ACCOUNT TECHNOLOGY SUCH AS EMAIL AND THE INTERNET SO THAT STUDENTS WITHOUT ACCESS ARE NOT DISADVANTAGED.