CURRICULUM/TEACHING AND LEARNING

HOMEWORK FOR IMPACT

As Generation Z and Alpha enter their secondary years in the post-Remote Learning era, it can be difficult to keep up with the changing trends in best educational practice. For those of us who completed our schooling on typewriters or on desktop PCs, it is a challenge to navigate how different the learning experience for today’s children is from our own.

A prime example of this is the nature of homework today. In recent years, homework has come into the spotlight of educational researchers who have questioned its merit and effectiveness in the 21^st Century. John Hattie’s Visible Learning synthesis suggested a limited positive effect size on learning for homework (Hattie, 2009), and further research has suggested that benefits increase only moderately with student age (Horsley & Walker, 2013).

As educators have continued to investigate what is best for student learning, there has been a growing body of evidence that indicates that the “how” of homework is much more important than the “how much”(Ferandez-Alonso & Muniz, 2021).

The recent book ‘Homework with Impact’ (Jones, 2021) outlines key findings in the past five years, which suggest the type of homework that is most effective are tasks that promote skill practice. This kind of work supports building and consolidation of key skills that are needed in the classroom, rather than introducing new knowledge or extended projects.

Research has also been conducted into the role that technology can play in homework in 21^st Century learning. The capability of online programs to provide instant feedback and an opportunity to recognise and learn from mistakes immediately (Heffernan, 2019) support the widely established idea that assessment and feedback are crucial to making any task meaningful to students.

THE GREENVALE SECONDARY COLLEGE APPROACH TO IMPACTFUL HOMEWORK

This research, together with the homework policy guidelines outlined by the Department of Education, has led our College to develop a homework program that is assists students at their point of need, emphasising key literacy and numeracy skills. Students will participate in online activities on a weekly basis targeting their own level and areas for improvement and extension. This low-stakes independent practice, assessment and feedback aims to promote work ethic, self-discipline and responsibility.

HOW FAMILIES CAN SUPPORT STUDENTS

In a recent article in ‘The Conversation’, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at University of Oklahoma Daniel Hamlin addressed the complex issue of parent involvement with homework for secondary schoolers. The research cited promotes parent engagement with homework as a way of fostering independent learning behaviours and asserts that direct parental assistance with homework should cease in the secondary years. Hamlin suggests that ‘when helping with homework, parents should avoid trying to control the process and should also resist the temptation to complete assignments for their kids’ and instead encourage persistence through positive encouragement and feedback (Hamlin, 2021).

Fernández-Alonso, R., Muñiz, J. (2021). Homework: Facts and Fiction. In: Nilsen, T., Stancel-Piątak, A., Gustafsson, JE. (eds) International Handbook of Comparative Large-Scale Studies in Education. Denmark: Springer.

Hamlin D. (2022, April 21). Should parents help their kids with homework? The Conversation. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://theconversation.com/should-parents-help-their-kids-with-homework-121973

Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. London; New York: Routledge.

Heffernan, N.T. (2019). Backtalk: Don’t eliminate homework. Make it more effective. Phi Delta Kappan, 100, 80 – 80.

Horsley, M., & Walker, R. (2013). Reforming homework: practices, learning and policy. South Yarra, Vic: Palgrave Macmillan.

Jones, A.B. (2021). Homework with Impact: Why What You Set and How You Set It Matters (1st ed.). London: Routledge.