Homework

OK, so we have seen what research tells us about homework. How far are we from processing this and using the information to guide our policy. Its easy to think of reasons why homework is crucial given the particular circumstances of our students. Its not so easy to produce evidence that demonstrates higher student achievement as a result of homework. It would be a HUGE leap to change current practice relating to homework. However, IF homework can be shown to be doing more bad than good, that is exactly what we need to do.

I digress. Please be patient and wait for this video to load. Click on the icon itself, not the distracting choices in the speech bubble. There is a girl on the right hand side of the screen at the start, wearing a white T-shirt. Count how many times she bounces the ball.

                                                                               

For those of you who have seen this before, call me boring. For anyone who hasn’t, comment a number and I’ll get back to you.

Making a point using a metaphor may not be making a point at all, but on the homework issue I think there’s a strong possibility that our focus on ensuring its done, well presented, in on time, relevant to course content, expected outcomes bla di bla may be a factor in overlooking the obvious. The exact nature of the obvious is something I’m exploring. Ha!

We are definitely predisposed to learn. Does the homework we set take advantage of this predisposition or does it stub it out? I’m looking for an argument.