Alright folks… weigh in with your opinions over on
the left side of my blog. The question:
Is homework necessary for our students? Quick! Vote before you read my post! I
don’t want to sway your mind in any way!
Okay. Are you done voting? Great. How do I feel
about it? Well, as a math teacher, I would shout it from the rooftops, YES! I
really believe that homework is the best way for students to practice concepts
they learn and commit those concepts to their memories. Experience is the best way for the
brain to learn, so when students are doing problems on their own, without the
help of a teacher, they are having little experiences with each question and
are slowly binding things to memory.
It’s no secret that doing something multiple times helps someone master
a task. This notion goes
hand-in-hand with those ideas of behavior theorists like Skinner, Pavlov,
Watson and Thorndike. For those of
you who don’t know the basic concepts of behaviorism,
operant conditioning, and
positive/negative reinforcement, you might wish to take about two minutes and
watch a fun example… click HERE!!
Now, while I agree that homework is a great tool to
use for practice, I don’t believe it should be the main focus of every
class. Behaviorism (if your still
a little fuzzy on what ‘Behaviorism’ is all about, check out this great article by George Graham of Stanford) is one of several learning theories in education;
the main argument is that learning can happen best through repetition,
practice, and conditioning. When
students are practicing concepts, they are creating a sort of ‘muscle memory’
for the brain. Practice makes
perfect because the more someone practices, the less likely that person is to
make the same mistake twice. In
math, most students learn by making mistakes. Once that mistake is corrected, the student is much less
likely to make the same one again.
Using feedback and recognition was the second part
of the resource we were to link to behaviorist theories. This one, to me, is a no-brainer. Not only do students perform better
when they are given recognition, but they also learn better. Going back to the short video at the
beginning of my post, by recognizing good behavior, Sheldon was able to
reinforce Penny’s efforts to be respectful. Now, of course we’ve all seen negative reinforcements, but
it’s obvious that students will respond better to positive reinforcement.
Having students brag up their talents on a website will push them to give more
effort. Here’s a great example of
high school students collaborating with teachers for a math video and then
setting it up on their YouTube channel. CLICK ME!
Recognition and
reinforcements bring a lot of students a long way, and as for homework and
practice, we have to remember that there are other alternatives to homework that also
stay consistent with the behaviorist theory; group work is a great way to get
students collaborating while using practice to reinforce the information they
are learning. Homework should be
used to help the students, not punish them… so if we as teachers keep that in
mind, then the practice will be beneficial. If we abuse this power of conditioning and practice, the
benefits go right out the window.
-Kate
“The way positive reinforcement is carried out is
more important than the amount.”
-B. F. Skinner
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using technology with classroom instruction
that works (2nd ed.). Alexandria, Virginia: ASCD.
"Homework should be used to help the students, not punish them..." How true!!! I have seen teachers give extra homework as a consequence to negative behavior. This is a sure-fire way to get students to dislike anything!
ReplyDeleteI think it is also important to be mindful of the amount of certain practice that we are having the students do. We have our son do daily spelling practice at home, but if we have him do it the same way every day he gets bored with it and the effectiveness is severely minimized! We need to change up strategies regularly and keep the students interested in their learning!
Vicki, I completely agree! I like to switch up my homework assignments so my students don't fall into a dragging routine. Sometimes they get worksheets (which they like the best), sometimes it's bookwork, and other times they have an assignment/review that they can complete in class with groups. I found that if I give the same type of homework for several nights in a row, as the week progresses, fewer and fewer students turn in completed assignments.
DeleteThanks for your reply!
Katie,
ReplyDeleteI understand how homework is essential in a math class! What do you do when students fail to do the homework? Also, I have to note that some classes do not lend themselves easily to homework. My students need access to studio equipment to complete assignments. Outside of filming items outside of class, all work is completed in class. Just a thought.
A.J.-
DeleteUsually, when students come in with a failed attempt at homework, they are given the opportunity to make it up. I also hold daily study tables in my room from 6:30-7:30am for students who need help on assignments. I found that the majority of my students have no difficulty completing the homework, and those who do, usually come to see me in the mornings. (Just a side note, I work with all upper-level kids right now in Algebra II and Calculus so I don't see a lot of unmotivated students) When I taught some of the lower-level classes, I had a tendency to send a lot LESS homework home with my kids because they didn't have the time, energy, or motivation to do it outside of school. In those classes, I gave a bit of time to work on it in class and I graded it on quite a curve. It really depends on each class.
Thanks for your post!
Katie,
ReplyDeleteThe use of homework is essential. The use of homework outside the core classes can be a challenge at best. In order for homework to completed without the feeling of punishment, non traditional classes have to be strategic and creative to make homework meaningful for our students. The reinforcement is needed however in non traditional curriculums it is not always that simple because of the software we may use in class or the specialized equipment that is used and not available outside the class room. I believe how it is used can be just as important as in its use itself.
Greg
Greg-
DeleteI am quite lucky to have one of those "core-classes" because when it comes down to it, students just expect to have math homework. That being said, I don't like to make the homework a punishment, rather an attempt at trying the concepts by themselves. I know a lot of non-traditional curriculums use the flipped classroom style where a lot of the 'homework' is completed IN class rather than at home. More power to you guys! I'm hoping to incorporate more of that style myself...
Thanks for your reply!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDisclaimer: This is not a review of this blog. With that said, I must say, “WELL DONE!” Now lest you think I am using the wrong type of behaviorism to affirm you generally, let me be specific. I see that you have exerted much effort (or maybe not) toward creativity here. The background of the blog is appealing, the language is familiar and functional yet effective, and the YouTube link was absolutely hilarious, yet it gives a clear, simple example of behaviorism. Coming from a fifty-one year old lady, your hook worked. I want to know the results of your creative survey at the left of the screen. It made me want to know more! Your choice to insert click-able links worked effectively for your sources. Additionally, your final quote from Skinner was important. However, I think the Wiki on behaviorism was a bit lengthy and did not clear up the fuzziness for me on behaviorism. Now my “WELL DONE!” is clearly focused on effort and specifics. I cannot address growth until your next post. No pressure.
ReplyDeleteI also have to add that I was not enthused with our assignments, as they appeared to me to be very close in purpose. I wanted to cut and paste my discussion board which I spent a good bit of time on, into my blog, which I did at 12:30 a.m. on a school night. The blog post shows my lack of enthusiasm. But your blog really perked me up! Truly! Oops. That last comment was not an example of focused behaviorism. The EFFORT and creativity you displayed on the blog provided information in such an interesting way that it caused me to enjoy learning. There.
I agree with your summation of homework as necessary for math. It should not be overused or misused. How can technology be integrated into your homework assignments for math? What if the students do not have access to computers or the Internet at home? What forms of technology connected to behaviorism do you use in the classroom?
On another note, a way to implement the theory of behaviorist learning along with technology is educational gaming. In the past, I was not a fan, thought it was a fluffy idea, and all this due to a lack of knowledge. Not that I am fully educated on the topic, but I am coming around to the positive possibilities of encouraging higher level thinking using gaming. It is a sad fact that the students are highly stimulated at home as they play their video games, yet fill out worksheets at school and see no connection or purpose to these tools of learning. I am not saying that we all use worksheets all the time! But when we do, we need to show the associations and reasons. Back to the gaming and learning, I stumbled upon a crazy thorough link: http://wowinschool.pbworks.com/w/page/5268741/Supporting%20Research which is an open source Wiki, with sources backing up the use of gaming as a tool for learning. I hope you have time to check it out.
Debra Davis
Learning, Technology, Gifted, and More!
Debra-
DeleteFirst of all, thanks for the high praise! I'm so glad you found my blog fun. :) I was also a little disappointed with how close our blog and discussion topics were, so I wanted this post to be a lot more laid-back and entertaining... hence, the video and survey. When I started this blog (for my last Walden course) I knew I wanted to keep it going, so that meant I had to make it something I would've done, regardless of my courses.
Technology in my classroom is hard to come by. I teach in a rural district and I don't have a lot of technology at my fingertips, so I have to rely on my students' access at home. Most of my students have smart phones or another source for the Internet so I feel comfortable sending them home with tech-based homework assignments.
Thanks for the wiki site! I bookmarked it and hopefully will have a chance to peruse the contents sometime this week. :) Again, thanks for the praise and comments! You sound like a terrific lady!
-Kate