麻豆传媒入口

Homework: effective learning tool or waste of time?

Since the average high school student spends almost doing homework, it鈥檚 surprising that there鈥檚 no clear answer. Homework is generally recognized as an effective way to reinforce what students learn in class, but claims that it may cause more harm than good, especially for younger students, are common.

Here鈥檚 what the research says:

• In general, homework has substantial benefits at the high school level, with decreased benefits for middle school students and few benefits for elementary students (Cooper, 1989; Cooper et al., 2006).
• While assigning homework may have academic benefits, it can also cut into important personal and family time (Cooper et al., 2006).
• Assigning too much homework can result in poor performance (Fern谩ndez-Alonso et al., 2015).
• A student鈥檚 ability to complete homework may depend on factors that are outside their control (Cooper et al., 2006; OECD, 2014; Eren & Henderson, 2011).
• The goal shouldn鈥檛 be to eliminate homework, but to make it authentic, meaningful, and engaging (Darling-Hammond & Ifill-Lynch, 2006).

Why Homework Should Be Balanced

Homework can boost learning, but doing too much can be detrimental. The National PTA and National Education Association support the 鈥�10-minute homework rule,鈥澛爓hich recommends 10聽minutes of homework per grade level, per night (10 minutes for first grade, 20 minutes for second grade, and so on,聽up to two hours for 12th grade) (Cooper, 2010). A recent study found that when middle school students were assigned more than 90鈥�100 minutes of homework per day, their math and science scores began to decline (Fern谩ndez-Alonso, Su谩rez-脕lvarez, & Mu帽iz, 2015). Giving students too much homework can lead to fatigue, stress, and a loss of interest in academics鈥攕omething that we all want to avoid.

Homework Pros and Cons

Homework has many benefits, ranging from higher academic performance to improved study skills and stronger school-parent connections. However, it can also result in a loss of interest in academics, fatigue, and a loss of important personal and family time.

Grade Level Makes a Difference

Although the debate about homework generally falls in the 鈥渋t works鈥澛爒s. 鈥渋t doesn鈥檛 work鈥澛燾amps, research shows that grade level makes a difference. High school students generally get the biggest benefits from homework, with middle school students getting about half the benefits, and elementary school students getting few benefits (Cooper et al., 2006). Since young students are still developing study habits like concentration and self-regulation, assigning a lot of homework isn鈥檛 all that helpful.

Parents Should Be Supportive,聽Not Intrusive

Well-designed homework not only strengthens student learning, it also provides ways to create connections between a student鈥檚 family and school. Homework offers parents insight into what their children are learning, provides opportunities to talk with children about their learning, and helps create conversations with school communities about ways to support student learning (Walker et al., 2004).

However, parent involvement can also hurt student learning. Patall, Cooper, and Robinson (2008) found that students did worse when their parents were perceived as intrusive or controlling. Motivation plays a key role in learning, and parents can cause unintentional harm by not giving their children enough space and autonomy to do their homework.

Homework Across the Globe

, the developers of the international PISA test, published a 2014 report looking at homework around the world. They found that 15-year-olds worldwide spend an average of five hours per week doing homework (the U.S. average is about six hours). Surprisingly, countries like Finland and Singapore spend less time on homework (two to three hours per week) but still have high PISA rankings. These countries, the report explains, have support systems in place that allow聽students to rely less on homework to succeed. If a country like the U.S. were to decrease the amount of homework assigned to high school students, test scores would likely decrease unless additional supports were added.

Homework Is About Quality, Not Quantity

Whether you鈥檙e pro- or anti-homework, keep in mind that research gives a big-picture idea of what works and what doesn鈥檛, and a capable teacher can make almost anything work. The question isn鈥檛聽homework vs. no homework; instead, we should be asking ourselves, 鈥淗ow can we transform homework so that it鈥檚 engaging and聽relevant聽and supports learning?鈥�

References

Cooper, H. (1989). . Educational leadership, 47(3), 85-91.

Cooper, H. (2010). . The New York Times.

Cooper, H., Robinson, J. C., & Patall, E. A. (2006). . Review of Educational Research, 76(1), 1-62.

Darling-Hammond, L., & Ifill-Lynch, O. (2006). Educational Leadership, 63(5), 8-13.

Eren, O., & Henderson, D. J. (2011). Economics of Education Review, 30(5), 950-961.

Fern谩ndez-Alonso, R., Su谩rez-脕lvarez, J., & Mu帽iz, J. (2015, March 16). . Journal of Educational Psychology. Advance online publication.

OECD (2014). PISA in Focus, No. 46, OECD Publishing, Paris.

Patall, E. A., Cooper, H., & Robinson, J. C. (2008). . Review of Educational Research, 78(4), 1039-1101.

Van Voorhis, F. L. (2003). . The Journal of Educational Research, 96(6), 323-338.

Walker, J. M., Hoover-Dempsey, K. V., Whetsel, D. R., & Green, C. L. (2004). . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Family Research Project.