By: Brooklynn Then, age 10
Imagine you are a student, excited to leave school, and you hear your teacher exclaim, “Do pages 41 through 44 for homework!” You groan, realizing you have to walk back to get your math book. This time, hopefully, you won’t spend hours at the table doing it. Homework that is just busy work and uses little to none of the materials taught during the day is the worst.
For students who may not understand the homework when at home, pressure to do it correctly may lead to feelings of frustration. Not all caregivers can provide the support that the student needs. This creates stress. Amy Vaughan-Roland, writing for the American College of Education, suggests that teachers “maybe set aside some time in the morning for ‘Homework Club’ and invite students to work on the packet as their morning warm up activity.”
There are times when homework isn’t a battle. When students come back from school, homework can be a way for caregivers to see what the student is working on in class. Furthermore, doing something repeatedly can help with automaticity. For example, practicing words in a foreign language can help to learn it better.
Harris Cooper, a professor emeritus of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University and author of The Battle Over Homework, has examined more than 60 research studies on homework between 1987 and 2003. He found that when designed properly, homework can lead to greater student success. Too much homework, however, can cause stress and frustration.
The 10-minute rule, recommended by the National Parent Teacher Association and the National Education Association, suggests that students work on homework for 10 minutes for each grade they are in (fourth grade, for instance, would be 40 minutes). And generally, homework has been found to have a greater positive effect on students in grades 7 through 12, because they have a longer attention span and are more independent than those in primary school.
In conclusion, homework that is useful, and not simply time consuming, is ideal.
Automaticity: the ability to perform an action or task without having to think about it
