What do you think about no Homework?

[RobAnthony66]

As a teacher I have always had concerns about the usefulness of homework set for the sake of it. I am thinking of trialling a term of no 'normal' homework for our Year 8 students. Alternative tasks would be offered, though not made compulsory, along the lines of something to research or do (like find out about Pablo Picasso or find out how your parents maintain their car). There would be a choice of four each week but, as they are not compulsory, it would be up to students to decide which one, if any to do. They would not need to write anything down to 'prove' that they had done it but would be free to explore the ideas for themselves or with their parents. If it works I might make it school policy for Years 7 to 9.

I know this is a bit radical but I wondered what you all thought about it as an idea?

swallowedAFly I have made piecemeal attempts at improving the quality of homework with some success but I want to have a radical improvement that everyone can be happy with. However I decided to see what the research said before I changed anything. What I found was quite a surprise and led me off in a totally different direction.

"it seems to me that if your staff are doing a shit job of homework you should focus on improving their standards rather than scrapping the whole idea."

I wholeheartedly agree. that's precisely why my DSDs' school shouldn't attempt a no-homework thing.

re: parental involvement - I'm not sure sAf was meaning the parents taking over the HW - obviously they shouldn't. IMHO it's more about parental attitude

Thanks for your links RA66. Why do you think that research on American elementary schools is relevent to British secondary schools?
Alfie Kohn seems a joke. His argument seems to be that he distrusts all research and statistics and so therefore any evidence that you throw at him can be discounted. If he is so distrustful of others' findings, then why doesn't he do some original research himself?

"it seems to me that if your staff are doing a shit job of homework you should focus on improving their standards rather than scrapping the whole idea."
I totally agree. Perhaps teachers should go back a generation to when meaningful homework was set, as opposed to the current trend for worksheets and 'colouring in'.

senua There is very little research done in British schools about homework. Harris Cooper (being American, and writing for an American market) has looked at all research done in America and the UK and translated the UK research into American terms. Educational research done between the two countries usually applies in either.

Alfie Khon is very anti-establishment, mainly because he has seen how educational research has been abused to push particular (political - with a small 'p') agendas. It doesn't make what he is saying any less valid. What he tries to do is show how the research can be used to justify other positions, which often it can. What I do like about Kohn is that way he argues that too often homework debates have centred around 'How Much?' or 'What Type?' rather than the more fundamental question of 'Should schools give homework at all?' This posed me to ask the question, 'What if my staff are not doing a "shit job of homework" (as you all so eloquently put it) but that the concept of homework as we currently perceive it is wrong?' If this is the case then "improving their standards" is not the answer but will further compound the problem.

swallowedAFly What I intend o do is to ask each subject what they believe is the most effective homework policy for them from "none at all ever" via "as and when neccesary" through "once a fortnight" to "after every lesson". I will ask them to think about how that might differ according to age and to justify their decision.

So if Maths wants to continue with regular homework then so be it but if Geography (for example) says that in Year 7 they would prefer there to be no homework then I will consider that proposal seriously.

This will mean a modification to the whole school policy on homework but that is where I started on this.

My belief is that homework is going to be set (in any form) then it should promote learning and be engaging for the students.

I'm sure I can coe up with a whole-school policy that incorporates the different views pn homework. Once it is set then I also intend to make sure all staff stick to it.

A lot of homework is set because teachers get told off if they don't. It is pontless stuff that teaches little and is a waste of time. The teacher then has to spend time chasing it up, running detentionjs for those who don't do it and creating conflict. A music teacher I worked with had to set written homework once a fortnight for every class he taught. Hige nubers to mark therefore it had to be straightforward. Did they get anything out of it? Very little. Much better to encouage them to do something musical for 15 minutes a week but this wasn't allowed.
Lots of parents want homework and complain when it isn't set.
I am a Maths teacher and I get fed up with 2 homeworks a week for every class. Yes there is a need for homework to practise skills but twice a week can be difficult. I prefered it working in a school with Extended learning tasks. They were given a list of 6 tasks and had to do at least 2. This was one of their homeworks a week and the other one was traditional homework. The ELT were about researching a topic and presenting the information in a form of their liking. They could use their interests and skills. We then spend a lesson reviewing it as a class. They marked each others work and decided who got detention for poor effort and who deserved recognition for work above and beyond. They gave praise and constuctive criticism and by doing this learnt how to improve their own work.

I am on the whole against homework. I also disagree with some of the arguments on here that if children don't get homework/time for self study they won't do it for themselves in later life.

As a child I used to do any homework on the hours bus journey to/from school (not to any decent standard). I didn't do very well at school, because I couldn't see any advantage of learning xyz, particularly if it didn't interest me. I also didn't know how to revise, take notes properly etc, which impacted on my revision.

Five years ago I went back into education because I wanted to, I knew what my aim was and how I needed to get there. I worked hard and got my degree. I finished Uni last year; I have only read academic books since, even though I don't have to.

One book I have just finished reading is Alfie Kohn, What does it mean to be well educated? He may not have done much primary research but a lot of what he had to say chimes with my thinking, though he states it so much better.

(This isn't teacher bashing by the way)

For example, getting slightly back on track, two years ago I was given copies of ds's teacher assessed work,the majority of which was homework with parental help ie work he couldn't have completed in class and couldn't/wouldn't have completed at home without some support. If he had been given the work in school,the grades would have been significantly lower. But they would have represented his true ability. This leads me to ask is some homework sent home because teachers know the child may get the support at home that they won't get at school, if so, who gains the most by this the child or the school?

Last year I took various approaches with homework which I thought would be used for assessment. No help, usual help, completed h/w myself, grades were 4,5, 7 respectively. End of year grades for those subjects were 4,5,6. In the subject where I gained him a 7 the results were 'averaged' probably because other work in the subject was not above a 4, in the other subjects the top scoring grades were given as attainment.

Why are top grades given in the majority of subjects yet averaging applied in one?

Homework whether it's given because teachers 'have to' give it, which wastes everybodies time, or as a means of boosting a childs grades is demoralising, demeaning and counter-productive.

Minx179 you have correctly identified one of the problems of homework. Teacher's often try to use it to gauge how a student performs 'on their own'. However it might not be done that way. This is one of the reasons that GCSE coursework now has to be done in school in exam conditions!

I would never use homework to grade/assess any of my students for this reason, it is too open to (I was going to say abuse but decided against it) external influence.

It is also one of the main objections by parents who feel that they have to 'help' with homework or their child may be at a disadvantage but after working all day in a job, then sorting out meals etc, it puts a lot of pressure on some families to do this.

RA66

No doubt it's heavily influenced by the politicisation of education but course work, or any work for that matter, even when it is done in school still leaves significant room for external pressures to encroach. The question is who gains the greater benefit? I doubt (if it could be answered simply) that the answer would include the teachers or the children.

For example
End of KS1 maths results level 2, approached teacher to ask how ds2 had achieved a level 2 when he couldn't do no bonds to 10, couldn't count to 20 accurately let alone 100, do times tables, didn't always recognise difference between functions - reply 'tests are externally marked'.

Informed by one teacher (KS1)that her head tried on a number of occasions to force her to sign off that a child could do work he couldn't. It was only because she had the support of her head of KS that she could refuse.

Moving to KS2 I was informed by the head that his maths results were downgraded to N. 5 months after KS1 SAT's, a specialist teacher noted the same concerns as I listed above. The same has occurred with ds2's maths,english and science throughout his education.

One KS3 teacher informed me one year that their intake consisted of 10 children who couldn't read, yet they had all obtained levels 3/4 for english/maths! What is the impact of this on the subsequent teachers, who are expected to show attainment?

At a meeting with current head, he stated they get a number of children entering KS3 who could not have attained the results they come up to secondary with (despite different marking). He also stated, that when KS3 tests were externally marked if a childs results were a level lower than the school had predicted they would apply for remarking, if the childs results were a level higer than the school predicted they would just accept them!

At same meeting with head I asked why ds2's KS3 maths/science results had been increased from actual level to a higher level; motivation apparently! But it also allows the school to show 1 level of progress/attainment over the KS. Which I believe will also have a knock on effect on FFT predictions for GCSE's, esp if as head stated, they base their predictions on the higher levels again for 'motivational' purposes. Effectively making the GCSE predictions meaningless.

Informed by another teacher of a head (private school) who invigilated one of her ds's A level exams in her office. The boy achieved a B, his teacher had expeted him to fail. The two other boys who sat the exam in her office also passed with better than expected marks.

Talking to one of ds1's friends recently, who is in final year of A level's, asked how he was getting on etc, 'fine my xxx teacher is really good, she will go over my essays with me before they are handed in'. Turned out all his essays were being reviewed and revised (by teacher) up to 5 times before they were finalised. Whose essay/work is being handed in?

Ds1 GSCE maths - received phone call fm HOD stating that DS1 coursework incomplete, 3 days to deadline. Ds1 adament that he'd done work and had handed it in! Stair-totals; I clarified with HOD that principle was the same as T-Totals and nth term would be fm bottom right corner. It was clear that I would be helping him with the work. 15 pages handed in and accepted on 3rd day. Ds1 found his original cse wk during hols!

Thread on TES earlier this year asked something along the lines of how many teachers would admit to cheating (GCSE's) - it gained a number of positive responses.

I could go on, but finding it too depressing.

RA66

No doubt it's heavily influenced by the politicisation of education but course work, or any work for that matter, even when it is done in school still leaves significant room for external pressures to encroach. The question is who gains the greater benefit? I doubt (if it could be answered simply) that the answer would include the teachers or the children.

For example
End of KS1 maths results level 2, approached teacher to ask how ds2 had achieved a level 2 when he couldn't do no bonds to 10, couldn't count to 20 accurately let alone 100, do times tables, didn't always recognise difference between functions - reply 'tests are externally marked'.

Informed by one teacher (KS1)that her head tried on a number of occasions to force her to sign off that children could do work they couldn't. It was only because she had the support of her head of KS that she could refuse.

Moving to KS2 I was informed by the head that his maths results were downgraded to N. 5 months after KS1 SAT's, a specialist teacher noted the same concerns as I listed above. The same has occurred with ds2's maths,english and science throughout his education.

One KS3 teacher informed me one year that their intake consisted of 10 children who couldn't read, yet they had all obtained levels 3/4 for english/maths! What is the impact of this on the subsequent teachers, who are expected to show attainment?

At a meeting with current head, he stated they get a number of children entering KS3 who could not have attained the results they come up to secondary with (despite different marking). He also stated, that when KS3 tests were externally marked if a childs results were a level lower than the school had predicted they would apply for remarking, if the childs results were a level higer than the school predicted they would just accept them!

At same meeting with head I asked why ds2's KS3 maths/science results had been increased from actual level to a higher level; motivation apparently! But it also allows the school to show 1 level of progress/attainment over the KS. Which I believe will also have a knock on effect on FFT predictions for GCSE's, esp if as head stated, they base their predictions on the higher levels again for 'motivational' purposes. Effectively making the GCSE predictions meaningless.

Informed by another teacher of a head (private school) who invigilated one of her ds's A level exams in her office. The boy achieved a B, his teacher had expeted him to fail. The two other boys who sat the exam in her office also passed with better than expected marks.

Talking to one of ds1's friends recently, who is in final year of A level's, asked how he was getting on etc, 'fine my xxx teacher is really good, she will go over my essays with me before they are handed in'. Turned out all his essays were being reviewed and revised (by teacher) up to 5 times before they were finalised. Whose essay/work is being handed in?

Ds1 GSCE maths - received phone call fm HOD stating that DS1 coursework incomplete, 3 days to deadline. Ds1 adament that he'd done work and had handed it in! Stair-totals; I clarified with HOD that principle was the same as T-Totals and nth term would be fm bottom right corner. It was clear that I would be helping him with the work. 15 pages handed in and accepted on 3rd day. Ds1 found his original cse wk during hols!

Thread on TES earlier this year asked something along the lines of how many teachers would admit to cheating (GCSE's) - it gained a number of positive responses.

I could go on, but finding it too depressing.