Is Homework an Important Tool for Learning in the Classroom?

Ask any seven-year-old if he/she likes homework. You are most likely to witness a vigorously shaking head and hear a squealing and strongly emoted: NO! When the novelty of school wears off after kindergarten, most of the students become disenchanted with this time-honored, but sometimes distraught mainstay of education.

While there is no surprise that many kids would rather spend their time riding bikes or playing Roblox. What do experts have to say about the significance of homework for learning in the classroom? You might be surprised to find out that the answers are somewhat complicated. Find out more from online homework help experts available at My Assignment Services.

The educational system has been rocked by school districts, teachers, parents, and educational researchers who have been voicing their relevant concerns over the efficacy of homework. Today, on one hand, many institutions around the nation have been moving towards eliminating it at the elementary level. On the contrary, educational researchers have stated that the right kind of homework can aid students learning in the classroom, and students can succeed academically and on standardized tests.

Types of Homework

Workbook-based tasks

Most published course material includes a workbook or practice book, mainly comprising consolidation exercises, short reading texts along with an answer key. Most workbooks claim to be suitable for classes and self-study purposes but are better used at home to achieve a separation of what is done in class and at home.

Preparation tasks

Ever wondered, why some of us were told to read the next unit before the lesson actually started the day after? Teachers know what advantages it holds. This little exercise helped us in involving with the lesson plan and having us known what’s coming. But today, teachers rarely do that. Teachers can ask students to bring photographs or pictures, magazine articles related to the next topic, to motivate them to get involved in the process.

Extensive tasks

Extensive reading and listening may be accompanied by dictionary work along with a thematic or personalized vocabulary notebook, whereby students can collect language which they feel is useful. Learners should be encouraged to read, listen, and watch for pleasure.

Guided discovery tasks

Teachers incorporate eliciting language patterns and rules from learners but there is another option of asking learners to notice language and make a deduction for themselves at home. This aids to share knowledge and even peer teaching in the classroom.

Real-world tasks

This incorporates seeing, hearing, and putting language to use in a realistic context. Obvious examples of which are reading magazines, going to the theatre, watching TV, listening to music, etc. Teachers can offer the option of summarizing the experience in their words and reviews as follow-up activities. With extensive tasks, it is significant for learners to share their experience, and perhaps perceive them in a formal or informal portfolio.

Project work

We all got holiday project work at some point in time. Ever wondered, why? It is a good idea to have a class or individual projects running over some time. These tasks can be based on a topic from the coursebook, interests, locality, and hobbies or selected individually. Students get the idea of collecting information from various resources and develop essential skills. 

Today, due to the unprecedented times (Covid- 19) schools might be shut, but in just a couple of months when the institutions will begin to open, the debate will be heating all over again as the students head back to the classroom. Do not get worried about the current time and visit My Assignment Services to get any online homework help without any hassle from top experts in the field.

The Great Debate

In recent times, homework has gotten a bad reputation as there has been quite a bit of negative talk, especially following the publishing of multiple books critiquing its efficacy for example Alfie Kohn’s The Homework Myth: Why Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing. Kohn in his book states his belief about no evidence being available that helps elementary students succeed. The main arguments revolve around the following ideas:

Homework encroaches on family time at home

Parents and educational researchers have noted that homework cuts down on the time parents want to spend with their children. In the U.S many women stayed at home in the past but time has changed and today, both parents work to meet the family’s requirements. With various non-traditional one-parent households, and nuclear families homework is a big issue.

Quantity but no quality

Teachers are often time-strapped and burdened with a load of work, this means that they are unable to keep up with a workload that comprises individualized feedback on differentiated homework. In turn, they simply check whether the homework has been completed and not the quality of it.

Merely “busy work”

Some parents might have noticed that their kids’ homework does not closely relate to the topic being reviewed in the class, and has been assigned by the teachers as merely “busy work” because the campus or the district says that a certain number of tasks have to be provided per week.

Causes sleep deprivation and stress.

For higher grades, when students start earning GPA and work to get on a certain rank, school becomes very competitive. Similar cases can be found in elementary years when there is a mold of homework on students’ shoulders to earn a particular grade.

Some argue it lowers motivation and intrinsic interest in academic subjects.

At this point, you might be wondering that is homework even important or not? Well, a debate has two sides, and let’s ponder over the other because many educators and researchers do believe in the concept of homework.

Why is Homework Important for Learning in the Classroom?

Builds responsibility

Homework helps students take accountability and ownership and they learn to take responsibility for their actions. When they complete their homework, they earn good grades but face consequences the other way around.

Work ethic development

Homework helps students understand the value of hard work and form obligation and self-regulation to commit and see them through. It can help them form a hard work ethic at an early age.

Time management

Homework helps students to prioritize what’s important for them. These tasks guide kids to develop important skills.

Boosts confidence

Students need to attempt complex issues on their own to realize that failure is an important aspect of the learning process. They gain confidence, creative problems solving skills, and many more while working through maths problems or constructing essays, etc.

Enhances self-esteem

Once students gain confidence then they can complete an assignment independently, they build a healthy self-esteem.

Self-study

Students don’t need to enter kindergarten to know how to study. In fact, many students still struggle with their study habits even when they enter high school. A consistent homework can solve this issue.

There are numerous benefits to providing assignments to students. All teachers have to do is to find a more balanced approach. Assignments when provided in moderation can help kids learn and grow. The old adage “quality over quantity” applies to any model, and timely feedback is important to assist students to learn the desired concepts of skills. Students must know the purpose and realize an assignment’s relevance whether done in the classroom or at home.

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