Summary of session

Have students keep an Assignment Notebook with the following information for each out of class assignment.

Assignment:

Due Date:

Learning Goal: As a result of doing this assignment, I should

Know more about….

Understand better….

Be more skilled at….

1. Homework should be designed to enhance essential learning goals

2. Homework should be appropriate to learning goal

3. Feedback should be timely and specific

Debra Pickering suggests that homework should not be a part of academic grade because you cannot determine how much of the work was done by the student. It should be apart of the non-academic grade (or work ethic grade) . If it is going to be counted as part of the academic grade, she suggests no more than 15% so that it doesn’t drastically impact the grade one way or the other. Homework should be used as a tool to determine readiness for assessment, check to see if it is complete, give feedback on errors either by checking together or having the teacher check and provide written or verbal feedback on errors. Other measures to determine mastery include observed performance, tests, quizzes, class work, or some other form of alternative assessment.

Pickering suggest that students should not be deprived of recess or be assigned detention for NOT doing homework. They need the scheduled breaks in the day. We need to communicate to students that homework is a way for us to help them become better students by improving their skills. Homework is a practice for preparation for learning. The exception to this is reading.

Homework should be used to track progress, provide feedback on what has been done, and to determine readiness for assessment. If the assessment shows that a student does not have mastery then that student might need to consider that the reason is that they are not prepared because they have not practiced the material nor sought help when needed. There are plenty of opportunities in the classroom setting to determine mastery, so don’t let homework be the nightmare it has been when grading.

What if students are not good test takers? Teach test taking skills, provide differentiated forms of assessment, build a classroom environment that provides more 1-1 instruction through interest and skill groups. Will this be a difficult thing when parents are used to 50% homework/50% test in the middle school? Probably, until we are all on the same page about alternate ways to assess besides pen and paper and a better understanding of standards based grading.

Suggestions for Homework:

Give students the choice to complete as many as they need to feel comfortable with the concept

(ie. Do several of the level 1 questions if you understand them, move to the level 2 questions, if you are doing ok on those, then attempt the level 3 higher level thinking questions. We will go over any questions next class period.)

Limit time required to complete homework.

This does not mean that there won’t be homework, however, studies show that more than 1.5 to 2 hours per night TOTAL on the 9th-12th grade level actually has a negative impact on performance. This means we are going to have to communicate with other teachers outside our discipline to see when major test or projects are going to take up large amounts of preparation time outside the classroom. She also suggest that homework only be assigned when it is determined that students need more practice, this might mean that due to the nature of a course there will be frequent homework, but it has to meet the guidelines mentioned above.

Suggestions for allowing students to continue to improve on previously measured standards.

To allow students to continue to improve on a standard, provide Internet resources, book resources, practice in class, peer mentors, grouping based on skills and or interest, and tutoring. When the student feels that they are ready to demonstrate mastery, they should come and request that opportunity. It is not up to you to prod them to do so, just provide the resources and opportunity so that they can. This does not mean that you have to keep looking for things. Identify the resources as the beginning of a unit, make them available either on your web page or post it to a bulletin board in your room. Make it clear to students that these resources are there for them at any time. Build more 1-1 time into the classroom to address lack of understanding.

How can we justify allowing students to revisit standards through out the year?

The reason we can continue to go back and allow them to re-attempt and improve learning is simple. The state standards state that by the end of the grade they will master these skills. If that is the case then October is not the end of the year. Do we need a cut off during the year to have a snapshot of student progress? Yes, and will continue to do so. Will this snapshot continue to impact eligibility for UIL and progression to the next grade level? Yes, as long as the state says it will. So how do we justify going back to prior learning objectives or powerstandards? Again the state says by the end of the year the student will…….

session 211oT Saturday, June 27, 2009 8 a.m.-10:00 a.m. Houston, Texas

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