I thought the findings from the study were illuminating, and agree -- I think the dynamic they discuss is quite real. It made me wonder both about practical considerations for how to assign homework but also about educator PD and learning. i.e. what conditions would need to exist for a teacher team to have a real conversation about how something like this might be playing out in their classrooms and what they might do about it.
Thanks! The pen tracking study is interesting, and I really find Trautwein's methodological issues with prior research to be compelling. I do think earlier research is truly a mess, but like Cooper I think it's a mess in the direction of homework having an impact.
I'll take a closer look at all the above and reply to your email. Thank you!
I go around the classroom to check homework completion, and if a student doesn't have it I just acknowledge it and (depending on the particulars of my tracking system) record that. If they aren't handing it in regularly, I'll make sure to mention it to them when I walk around checking. I was going to call this "light shaming" but it's more like noticing.
Regardless of what we call it, that's probably how a student interprets it (depending on what's normal for the class), and I'm okay with that. I wouldn't want them to feel good about not meeting expectations, practicing, reviewing, etc. Of course, you wouldn't want them to feel like a horrible person, either.
In my experience just noticing is huge. I've made the mistake of assigning homework without checking it, and, no surprise, it's rarely completed.
This is based on that but I'm trying to think more broadly about what the deal is with homework and not just what research says. I tried to summarize the Q&A in that middle section and sandwich it in between other stuff.
Yeah! I don't personally know Calarco but Lani Horn and Grace Chen are terrific. Anyway, yeah, I think the dynamic identified in their study is real -- I don't have a sense of how widespread it is, but it's really thought-provoking. Did you have thoughts about that study?
I thought the findings from the study were illuminating, and agree -- I think the dynamic they discuss is quite real. It made me wonder both about practical considerations for how to assign homework but also about educator PD and learning. i.e. what conditions would need to exist for a teacher team to have a real conversation about how something like this might be playing out in their classrooms and what they might do about it.
I need to reread it and think a bit about this one.
I emailed you. See further:
1. https://3starlearningexperiences.wordpress.com/2016/04/19/make-sense-not-war-suggestions-on-how-to-make-homework-more-effective/
2. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303779377_Homework_and_Achievement_Using_Smartpen_Technology_to_Find_the_Connection -
I wrote a blog about this (in Dutch) but translating it should be simple in Chrome (right click, present in English) or Deep-L: https://onderzoekonderwijs.net/2016/07/06/onderzoek-naar-huiswerk-toont-belangrijke-beperkingen-vorige-onderzoeken/
Paul
Thanks! The pen tracking study is interesting, and I really find Trautwein's methodological issues with prior research to be compelling. I do think earlier research is truly a mess, but like Cooper I think it's a mess in the direction of homework having an impact.
I'll take a closer look at all the above and reply to your email. Thank you!
Great summary, and fascinating history, too. How do you respond when students don't complete homework?
I go around the classroom to check homework completion, and if a student doesn't have it I just acknowledge it and (depending on the particulars of my tracking system) record that. If they aren't handing it in regularly, I'll make sure to mention it to them when I walk around checking. I was going to call this "light shaming" but it's more like noticing.
Regardless of what we call it, that's probably how a student interprets it (depending on what's normal for the class), and I'm okay with that. I wouldn't want them to feel good about not meeting expectations, practicing, reviewing, etc. Of course, you wouldn't want them to feel like a horrible person, either.
In my experience just noticing is huge. I've made the mistake of assigning homework without checking it, and, no surprise, it's rarely completed.
I"m not complaining, but didn't you do a big writeup on homework research already? Or is this a reprint?
Yeah totally, I did a big writeup on just the research last summer -- it was this Q&A: https://michaelpershan.com/research/homework.html
This is based on that but I'm trying to think more broadly about what the deal is with homework and not just what research says. I tried to summarize the Q&A in that middle section and sandwich it in between other stuff.
Interesting piece! The historical context was especially fascinating.
I wondered if you’d also seen the study from Calarco et al from last year. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0013189X221111337?journalCode=edra
Yeah! I don't personally know Calarco but Lani Horn and Grace Chen are terrific. Anyway, yeah, I think the dynamic identified in their study is real -- I don't have a sense of how widespread it is, but it's really thought-provoking. Did you have thoughts about that study?