https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMJ-vEl4WB8 by Rick Wormeli on the topic of: How much should homework count? After watching the video he wanted us to ask ourselves whether the grades for our classes reflect compliance or what a student learned/mastered.
The video took me a little by surprise to be honest. I had never really thought about homework in the way Mr. Wormeli discusses. His thoughts that homework should count little to nothing in the scheme of actual grades due to the fact that grades are supposed to detail what students know against the standards and outcomes for the class goes against how most of us have been raised in school. Most teachers would say if you do not give them a grade for the homework the students will just not do it. Those that struggle with the material and do not do the homework will then not do well on tests and their grade will accurately reflect what they know/don't know against the standards for the class. Mr. Wormeli's thoughts actually started making sense to me but some concerns popped into my head-
*What about the student whose does all the homework and understand all the material but doesn't test well?
*What can be said to parents when their son/daughter bombs one test horribly but does great on the other tests. Doing well on homework and receiving grades for homework might help even out their grade to the grade the parents feel they "deserve"?
*How do you get students to see the importance of doing practice/homework if they are not receiving a grade for it?
Good post. Howework is one those things we assume should be done but teachers rarely ask why and to what end.
ReplyDeleteI attended several presentations by Rick Wormeli at the DI conference, and he focused on homework during a few of them. I definitely agree that homework is a tough subject- some parents complain about too much, and some complain about not enough. The problem elementary students face is the polarizing effect of homework- there are the kids who sit with their parents and complete each problem, then parents check it and have students correct it as necessary. Then there are the kids who never have any guidance and get the problems right anyway. Finally, there are the kids that don't have guidance and struggle through it or fail to complete it. I think homework should serve as a preliminary activity to the next days' lesson. That way students will do it, but don't necessarily need a grade for it. The peer pressure of not being prepared for class may be enough for some. Also, if you're doing really engaging in class activities, perhaps they will want to do some pre-work in the form of homework.
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