Problem of Practice:
How do I get high school math students to do their homework when it doesn't "count"?
- students being less prepared to move forward in class
- students retaining less material
- students being less prepared for their summative exams
- teachers being able to get through less and less curriculum
I am looking for ways to increase their participation in homework so they see it as a valuable part of their education. I welcome any and all feedback and ideas!
Yikes!
ReplyDeleteHi Terin!
That sounds very challenging. Last year the high school I was working at had a big debate about that same issue. In the end they ended up deciding to continue grading homework for fear of that same outcome- but I heard it might happen this year because it is a district initiative.
Maybe one component could be increasing motivation to complete daily practice at home in a different way. You could start each semester with a presentation or activity that demonstrates how students who do the work succeed in the summative tests, and how those who do not tend to fall behind aand recieve poorer summative outcomes. The key would be using actual numerical data from past class outcomes. You could also use data from research studies. Those who care about their grades might be more motivated. Those outliers who don't care may not be influenced- but they may not have done the homework even for a grade. There will also always be those few brilliant students who are able to ace tests without study or homework- but they are probably not holding the class back or slowing it down anyways.
Just an idea- this is a tough one and I will keep thinking about it!
Thanks Terin- take care!
Erin
My school has had similar conversations as well, and each teacher now has the ability to choose if they want to give homework or not. Until the students see the benefit of homework it will always be a challenge. I do not have any experience with this topic because we don't have homework in PE. Maybe you could show them test scores (without names) of students who completed homework compared to those who didn't. I don't know if that's even a possibility or not for you, but just an idea.
ReplyDeleteHi Terin,
ReplyDeleteNow this is a challenge! Although I am not in a classroom, my son is in 9th grade and math has always been his biggest challenge and trying to get him to complete his math homework is even more of a challenge. Currently, his school does count a small percentage of homework toward their grade.
I work at a community college and there is one math professor (basic math, algebra, statistics) who has his students watch videos that go along with each homework assignment. His homework is usually about 10 questions, sometimes shorter depending on difficulty, and the videos walk you through examples of similar problems on the homework. When they go to class the next time, students get into groups and discuss what challenges they faced and work out the problems together. I see the students come back into the veterans center (a place for our veterans to do homework, meet other veterans, eat lunch, etc.) still discussing math, fully engaged and motivated to learn. They also group together out of the classroom and continue to work on difficult problems, the way they do in the classroom.
Even though many of our veterans are older than high school students (some are only out of high school a few years), I believe the same concept could help your students do their homework. To implement this would take a lot of planning, but once the planning stage was complete it could be used going forward. If you did do something like this, maybe you could find videos online to start while you create your own videos. You could also take 10-15 mins at the beginning of class and have the students review the homework in groups. During this time, you could walk around seeing who does or does not understand by their interaction in the group and/or questions students may be asking.
Since homework doesn't count, videos and group work can improve students’ understanding of difficult concepts. I believe having the homework short would engage them more to complete their homework. If they must complete 50 math questions for homework, I think after number 10 or 15 they have lost interest and start looking for the answers online, without understanding the problem. Just like Craig said, “until the students see the benefit of homework it will always be a challenge.”
I’m just throwing out ideas to see if anything will stick. I look forward to seeing how you develop your problem of practice.
Annmarie