Homework
Ditch That Homework.
How do we define “homework”? Is it worksheets, and “busy work” that keeps students chained to the material even while they’re trying to watch The Bachelor at home? Is it a masterfully designed project that will stimulate students to delve into their passions, and exploit their creativity to potentially change the future of the world? Is it something in between? Is it necessary, unnecessary? Are we doing a disservice to our students if we assign homework? How about if we don’t?
There are a few questions that I have learned to ask myself before I assign homework for a lesson:
- “Does it increase a student’s love of learning?
- Does it significantly increase learning?
- Does it stimulate students’ interest in the subject and make them want to delve deeper?
- Are students able to complete the assignment without help?
- Is it differentiated for ability or interest?
- If the students didn’t have to do it, would they want to do it anyway?
- Is it fair to all students, especially those from poorer families and less-educated households?
- Does it avoid causing fights, parent/child division, and a lack of harmony in the home?
If you answer ‘no’ to these questions, maybe it’s time to ditch that homework and try something else instead” (Miller xvii).
I recommend the book Ditch That Homework by Matt Miller and Alice Keeler. They’ve also written Ditch That Textbook, which is also a thought-provoking read.
After reading this book (a few times, it’s a quick read), I have definitely come to the conclusion that worksheets and “busy” work are not effective for my class. With worksheets, many students either forget to do the assignment, they didn’t understand it, or simply weren’t motivated to do it (how can they be, The Bachelor???) so they copy their peer’s worksheet to get credit. Unless there is a ridiculously “off” answer, I don’t really have much of a way of knowing whether the student understood the material, or if the assignment is plagiarized. This assignment serves no purpose for me. I’ll admit, I assigned worksheets in the past. I KNOW, I KNOW, MEA CULPA.
I’m not judging anybody who assigns worksheets, they just don’t work for me anymore. I have switched to assigning other types of homework. Sometimes, I assign students to write sentences using the structure that we learned in class. This is not an extremely challenging assignment and most students can get it done in under 10 minutes. It reinforces the material so they at least had a chance to practice it the night before so we can work on it in class again. It’s a memory refresher and it’s a gauge to see if students can fly solo on the material that was taught in class. They can also get creative with sentences, and they can be funny too.
Other nights, I assign weekly video diaries where students are given a prompt and they have to spontaneously respond in spoken Spanish in a 1-5 minute video. Initially, students dread this assignment however, as time goes by, students become more comfortable with speaking and I get a glimpse into their thoughts, their life, sometimes their families, and it’s a different way to interact with students that isn’t just the classroom. The quiet students in class have a way to express themselves and practice their Spanish in a more comfortable environment.
I also assign video tutorials on Schoology, where students watch a video explaining a grammar or cultural lesson, and they take notes or write down any questions they have so that we can review it the next day in class. Students don’t mind watching the videos, they are usually pretty short and palatable. They also have the option to not watch the video if they feel they understand the material, or if they don’t have access to the internet (lol, yeah right).
I’ve also decided that if the students can show mastery in the classroom, then the homework isn’t as necessary. I implemented a “negotiation” that I made with my students in class. I have a cylinder full of 100 colored rocks per class. Each class has a different set of rocks. Historically, I have struggled with students being willing to actually speak in SPANISH in class. I ask a question and students ask “en inglés?” and I say “no, en español” and they become indignant and say “ugh. Nevermind”. Then students would proceed to speak in English, with no consequence. This is tragic. And so began the PIEDRAS (rocks).
SOOOOO I cut them a deal. Every time I heard English spoken in class, students would lose 10 rocks out of the 100. If they were left with 30 rocks by the end of the week, (which means as a class they spoke 7 times in English) they wouldn’t receive homework over the weekend. Students were very eager, and I have to say, I haven’t assigned homework over the weekend in over 2 months. I haven’t even come close. Students are holding one another accountable and demanding that they speak in Spanish. One student asked “en inglés?” and I said “tienes que sacrificar 10 piedras” (you have to sacrifice 10 rocks) and sometimes they take the sacrifice, but most of the time, they struggle through the Spanish because they don’t want to lose rocks. These students are practicing the language so much in class, that I don’t find the need to assign practice assignments for homework. It’s become ingrained in their brains because they are using the language, which is significantly more effective than simply writing it.
These are just some things that I have taken away from reading this book. It’s a great read, and I recommend it to anyone who has struggled with homework. I have a copy of both books if you would like to borrow.
