homework helps students develop good study habits

Does Homework Really Help Students Learn?

A conversation with a Wheelock researcher, a BU student, and a fourth-grade teacher

“Quality homework is engaging and relevant to kids’ lives,” says Wheelock’s Janine Bempechat. “It gives them autonomy and engages them in the community and with their families. In some subjects, like math, worksheets can be very helpful. It has to do with the value of practicing over and over.” Photo by iStock/Glenn Cook Photography

Do your homework.

If only it were that simple.

Educators have debated the merits of homework since the late 19th century. In recent years, amid concerns of some parents and teachers that children are being stressed out by too much homework, things have only gotten more fraught.

“Homework is complicated,” says developmental psychologist Janine Bempechat, a Wheelock College of Education & Human Development clinical professor. The author of the essay “ The Case for (Quality) Homework—Why It Improves Learning and How Parents Can Help ” in the winter 2019 issue of Education Next , Bempechat has studied how the debate about homework is influencing teacher preparation, parent and student beliefs about learning, and school policies.

She worries especially about socioeconomically disadvantaged students from low-performing schools who, according to research by Bempechat and others, get little or no homework.

BU Today  sat down with Bempechat and Erin Bruce (Wheelock’17,’18), a new fourth-grade teacher at a suburban Boston school, and future teacher freshman Emma Ardizzone (Wheelock) to talk about what quality homework looks like, how it can help children learn, and how schools can equip teachers to design it, evaluate it, and facilitate parents’ role in it.

BU Today: Parents and educators who are against homework in elementary school say there is no research definitively linking it to academic performance for kids in the early grades. You’ve said that they’re missing the point.

Bempechat : I think teachers assign homework in elementary school as a way to help kids develop skills they’ll need when they’re older—to begin to instill a sense of responsibility and to learn planning and organizational skills. That’s what I think is the greatest value of homework—in cultivating beliefs about learning and skills associated with academic success. If we greatly reduce or eliminate homework in elementary school, we deprive kids and parents of opportunities to instill these important learning habits and skills.

We do know that beginning in late middle school, and continuing through high school, there is a strong and positive correlation between homework completion and academic success.

That’s what I think is the greatest value of homework—in cultivating beliefs about learning and skills associated with academic success.

You talk about the importance of quality homework. What is that?

Quality homework is engaging and relevant to kids’ lives. It gives them autonomy and engages them in the community and with their families. In some subjects, like math, worksheets can be very helpful. It has to do with the value of practicing over and over.

What are your concerns about homework and low-income children?

The argument that some people make—that homework “punishes the poor” because lower-income parents may not be as well-equipped as affluent parents to help their children with homework—is very troubling to me. There are no parents who don’t care about their children’s learning. Parents don’t actually have to help with homework completion in order for kids to do well. They can help in other ways—by helping children organize a study space, providing snacks, being there as a support, helping children work in groups with siblings or friends.

Isn’t the discussion about getting rid of homework happening mostly in affluent communities?

Yes, and the stories we hear of kids being stressed out from too much homework—four or five hours of homework a night—are real. That’s problematic for physical and mental health and overall well-being. But the research shows that higher-income students get a lot more homework than lower-income kids.

Teachers may not have as high expectations for lower-income children. Schools should bear responsibility for providing supports for kids to be able to get their homework done—after-school clubs, community support, peer group support. It does kids a disservice when our expectations are lower for them.

The conversation around homework is to some extent a social class and social justice issue. If we eliminate homework for all children because affluent children have too much, we’re really doing a disservice to low-income children. They need the challenge, and every student can rise to the challenge with enough supports in place.

What did you learn by studying how education schools are preparing future teachers to handle homework?

My colleague, Margarita Jimenez-Silva, at the University of California, Davis, School of Education, and I interviewed faculty members at education schools, as well as supervising teachers, to find out how students are being prepared. And it seemed that they weren’t. There didn’t seem to be any readings on the research, or conversations on what high-quality homework is and how to design it.

Erin, what kind of training did you get in handling homework?

Bruce : I had phenomenal professors at Wheelock, but homework just didn’t come up. I did lots of student teaching. I’ve been in classrooms where the teachers didn’t assign any homework, and I’ve been in rooms where they assigned hours of homework a night. But I never even considered homework as something that was my decision. I just thought it was something I’d pull out of a book and it’d be done.

I started giving homework on the first night of school this year. My first assignment was to go home and draw a picture of the room where you do your homework. I want to know if it’s at a table and if there are chairs around it and if mom’s cooking dinner while you’re doing homework.

The second night I asked them to talk to a grown-up about how are you going to be able to get your homework done during the week. The kids really enjoyed it. There’s a running joke that I’m teaching life skills.

Friday nights, I read all my kids’ responses to me on their homework from the week and it’s wonderful. They pour their hearts out. It’s like we’re having a conversation on my couch Friday night.

It matters to know that the teacher cares about you and that what you think matters to the teacher. Homework is a vehicle to connect home and school…for parents to know teachers are welcoming to them and their families.

Bempechat : I can’t imagine that most new teachers would have the intuition Erin had in designing homework the way she did.

Ardizzone : Conversations with kids about homework, feeling you’re being listened to—that’s such a big part of wanting to do homework….I grew up in Westchester County. It was a pretty demanding school district. My junior year English teacher—I loved her—she would give us feedback, have meetings with all of us. She’d say, “If you have any questions, if you have anything you want to talk about, you can talk to me, here are my office hours.” It felt like she actually cared.

Bempechat : It matters to know that the teacher cares about you and that what you think matters to the teacher. Homework is a vehicle to connect home and school…for parents to know teachers are welcoming to them and their families.

Ardizzone : But can’t it lead to parents being overbearing and too involved in their children’s lives as students?

Bempechat : There’s good help and there’s bad help. The bad help is what you’re describing—when parents hover inappropriately, when they micromanage, when they see their children confused and struggling and tell them what to do.

Good help is when parents recognize there’s a struggle going on and instead ask informative questions: “Where do you think you went wrong?” They give hints, or pointers, rather than saying, “You missed this,” or “You didn’t read that.”

Bruce : I hope something comes of this. I hope BU or Wheelock can think of some way to make this a more pressing issue. As a first-year teacher, it was not something I even thought about on the first day of school—until a kid raised his hand and said, “Do we have homework?” It would have been wonderful if I’d had a plan from day one.

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There are 81 comments on Does Homework Really Help Students Learn?

Insightful! The values about homework in elementary schools are well aligned with my intuition as a parent.

when i finish my work i do my homework and i sometimes forget what to do because i did not get enough sleep

same omg it does not help me it is stressful and if I have it in more than one class I hate it.

Same I think my parent wants to help me but, she doesn’t care if I get bad grades so I just try my best and my grades are great.

I think that last question about Good help from parents is not know to all parents, we do as our parents did or how we best think it can be done, so maybe coaching parents or giving them resources on how to help with homework would be very beneficial for the parent on how to help and for the teacher to have consistency and improve homework results, and of course for the child. I do see how homework helps reaffirm the knowledge obtained in the classroom, I also have the ability to see progress and it is a time I share with my kids

The answer to the headline question is a no-brainer – a more pressing problem is why there is a difference in how students from different cultures succeed. Perfect example is the student population at BU – why is there a majority population of Asian students and only about 3% black students at BU? In fact at some universities there are law suits by Asians to stop discrimination and quotas against admitting Asian students because the real truth is that as a group they are demonstrating better qualifications for admittance, while at the same time there are quotas and reduced requirements for black students to boost their portion of the student population because as a group they do more poorly in meeting admissions standards – and it is not about the Benjamins. The real problem is that in our PC society no one has the gazuntas to explore this issue as it may reveal that all people are not created equal after all. Or is it just environmental cultural differences??????

I get you have a concern about the issue but that is not even what the point of this article is about. If you have an issue please take this to the site we have and only post your opinion about the actual topic

This is not at all what the article is talking about.

This literally has nothing to do with the article brought up. You should really take your opinions somewhere else before you speak about something that doesn’t make sense.

we have the same name

so they have the same name what of it?

lol you tell her

totally agree

What does that have to do with homework, that is not what the article talks about AT ALL.

Yes, I think homework plays an important role in the development of student life. Through homework, students have to face challenges on a daily basis and they try to solve them quickly.I am an intense online tutor at 24x7homeworkhelp and I give homework to my students at that level in which they handle it easily.

More than two-thirds of students said they used alcohol and drugs, primarily marijuana, to cope with stress.

You know what’s funny? I got this assignment to write an argument for homework about homework and this article was really helpful and understandable, and I also agree with this article’s point of view.

I also got the same task as you! I was looking for some good resources and I found this! I really found this article useful and easy to understand, just like you! ^^

i think that homework is the best thing that a child can have on the school because it help them with their thinking and memory.

I am a child myself and i think homework is a terrific pass time because i can’t play video games during the week. It also helps me set goals.

Homework is not harmful ,but it will if there is too much

I feel like, from a minors point of view that we shouldn’t get homework. Not only is the homework stressful, but it takes us away from relaxing and being social. For example, me and my friends was supposed to hang at the mall last week but we had to postpone it since we all had some sort of work to do. Our minds shouldn’t be focused on finishing an assignment that in realty, doesn’t matter. I completely understand that we should have homework. I have to write a paper on the unimportance of homework so thanks.

homework isn’t that bad

Are you a student? if not then i don’t really think you know how much and how severe todays homework really is

i am a student and i do not enjoy homework because i practice my sport 4 out of the five days we have school for 4 hours and that’s not even counting the commute time or the fact i still have to shower and eat dinner when i get home. its draining!

i totally agree with you. these people are such boomers

why just why

they do make a really good point, i think that there should be a limit though. hours and hours of homework can be really stressful, and the extra work isn’t making a difference to our learning, but i do believe homework should be optional and extra credit. that would make it for students to not have the leaning stress of a assignment and if you have a low grade you you can catch up.

Studies show that homework improves student achievement in terms of improved grades, test results, and the likelihood to attend college. Research published in the High School Journal indicates that students who spent between 31 and 90 minutes each day on homework “scored about 40 points higher on the SAT-Mathematics subtest than their peers, who reported spending no time on homework each day, on average.” On both standardized tests and grades, students in classes that were assigned homework outperformed 69% of students who didn’t have homework. A majority of studies on homework’s impact – 64% in one meta-study and 72% in another – showed that take home assignments were effective at improving academic achievement. Research by the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) concluded that increased homework led to better GPAs and higher probability of college attendance for high school boys. In fact, boys who attended college did more than three hours of additional homework per week in high school.

So how are your measuring student achievement? That’s the real question. The argument that doing homework is simply a tool for teaching responsibility isn’t enough for me. We can teach responsibility in a number of ways. Also the poor argument that parents don’t need to help with homework, and that students can do it on their own, is wishful thinking at best. It completely ignores neurodiverse students. Students in poverty aren’t magically going to find a space to do homework, a friend’s or siblings to help them do it, and snacks to eat. I feel like the author of this piece has never set foot in a classroom of students.

THIS. This article is pathetic coming from a university. So intellectually dishonest, refusing to address the havoc of capitalism and poverty plays on academic success in life. How can they in one sentence use poor kids in an argument and never once address that poor children have access to damn near 0 of the resources affluent kids have? Draw me a picture and let’s talk about feelings lmao what a joke is that gonna put food in their belly so they can have the calories to burn in order to use their brain to study? What about quiet their 7 other siblings that they share a single bedroom with for hours? Is it gonna force the single mom to magically be at home and at work at the same time to cook food while you study and be there to throw an encouraging word?

Also the “parents don’t need to be a parent and be able to guide their kid at all academically they just need to exist in the next room” is wild. Its one thing if a parent straight up is not equipped but to say kids can just figured it out is…. wow coming from an educator What’s next the teacher doesn’t need to teach cause the kid can just follow the packet and figure it out?

Well then get a tutor right? Oh wait you are poor only affluent kids can afford a tutor for their hours of homework a day were they on average have none of the worries a poor child does. Does this address that poor children are more likely to also suffer abuse and mental illness? Like mentioned what about kids that can’t learn or comprehend the forced standardized way? Just let em fail? These children regularly are not in “special education”(some of those are a joke in their own and full of neglect and abuse) programs cause most aren’t even acknowledged as having disabilities or disorders.

But yes all and all those pesky poor kids just aren’t being worked hard enough lol pretty sure poor children’s existence just in childhood is more work, stress, and responsibility alone than an affluent child’s entire life cycle. Love they never once talked about the quality of education in the classroom being so bad between the poor and affluent it can qualify as segregation, just basically blamed poor people for being lazy, good job capitalism for failing us once again!

why the hell?

you should feel bad for saying this, this article can be helpful for people who has to write a essay about it

This is more of a political rant than it is about homework

I know a teacher who has told his students their homework is to find something they are interested in, pursue it and then come share what they learn. The student responses are quite compelling. One girl taught herself German so she could talk to her grandfather. One boy did a research project on Nelson Mandela because the teacher had mentioned him in class. Another boy, a both on the autism spectrum, fixed his family’s computer. The list goes on. This is fourth grade. I think students are highly motivated to learn, when we step aside and encourage them.

The whole point of homework is to give the students a chance to use the material that they have been presented with in class. If they never have the opportunity to use that information, and discover that it is actually useful, it will be in one ear and out the other. As a science teacher, it is critical that the students are challenged to use the material they have been presented with, which gives them the opportunity to actually think about it rather than regurgitate “facts”. Well designed homework forces the student to think conceptually, as opposed to regurgitation, which is never a pretty sight

Wonderful discussion. and yes, homework helps in learning and building skills in students.

not true it just causes kids to stress

Homework can be both beneficial and unuseful, if you will. There are students who are gifted in all subjects in school and ones with disabilities. Why should the students who are gifted get the lucky break, whereas the people who have disabilities suffer? The people who were born with this “gift” go through school with ease whereas people with disabilities struggle with the work given to them. I speak from experience because I am one of those students: the ones with disabilities. Homework doesn’t benefit “us”, it only tears us down and put us in an abyss of confusion and stress and hopelessness because we can’t learn as fast as others. Or we can’t handle the amount of work given whereas the gifted students go through it with ease. It just brings us down and makes us feel lost; because no mater what, it feels like we are destined to fail. It feels like we weren’t “cut out” for success.

homework does help

here is the thing though, if a child is shoved in the face with a whole ton of homework that isn’t really even considered homework it is assignments, it’s not helpful. the teacher should make homework more of a fun learning experience rather than something that is dreaded

This article was wonderful, I am going to ask my teachers about extra, or at all giving homework.

I agree. Especially when you have homework before an exam. Which is distasteful as you’ll need that time to study. It doesn’t make any sense, nor does us doing homework really matters as It’s just facts thrown at us.

Homework is too severe and is just too much for students, schools need to decrease the amount of homework. When teachers assign homework they forget that the students have other classes that give them the same amount of homework each day. Students need to work on social skills and life skills.

I disagree.

Beyond achievement, proponents of homework argue that it can have many other beneficial effects. They claim it can help students develop good study habits so they are ready to grow as their cognitive capacities mature. It can help students recognize that learning can occur at home as well as at school. Homework can foster independent learning and responsible character traits. And it can give parents an opportunity to see what’s going on at school and let them express positive attitudes toward achievement.

Homework is helpful because homework helps us by teaching us how to learn a specific topic.

As a student myself, I can say that I have almost never gotten the full 9 hours of recommended sleep time, because of homework. (Now I’m writing an essay on it in the middle of the night D=)

I am a 10 year old kid doing a report about “Is homework good or bad” for homework before i was going to do homework is bad but the sources from this site changed my mind!

Homeowkr is god for stusenrs

I agree with hunter because homework can be so stressful especially with this whole covid thing no one has time for homework and every one just wants to get back to there normal lives it is especially stressful when you go on a 2 week vaca 3 weeks into the new school year and and then less then a week after you come back from the vaca you are out for over a month because of covid and you have no way to get the assignment done and turned in

As great as homework is said to be in the is article, I feel like the viewpoint of the students was left out. Every where I go on the internet researching about this topic it almost always has interviews from teachers, professors, and the like. However isn’t that a little biased? Of course teachers are going to be for homework, they’re not the ones that have to stay up past midnight completing the homework from not just one class, but all of them. I just feel like this site is one-sided and you should include what the students of today think of spending four hours every night completing 6-8 classes worth of work.

Are we talking about homework or practice? Those are two very different things and can result in different outcomes.

Homework is a graded assignment. I do not know of research showing the benefits of graded assignments going home.

Practice; however, can be extremely beneficial, especially if there is some sort of feedback (not a grade but feedback). That feedback can come from the teacher, another student or even an automated grading program.

As a former band director, I assigned daily practice. I never once thought it would be appropriate for me to require the students to turn in a recording of their practice for me to grade. Instead, I had in-class assignments/assessments that were graded and directly related to the practice assigned.

I would really like to read articles on “homework” that truly distinguish between the two.

oof i feel bad good luck!

thank you guys for the artical because I have to finish an assingment. yes i did cite it but just thanks

thx for the article guys.

Homework is good

I think homework is helpful AND harmful. Sometimes u can’t get sleep bc of homework but it helps u practice for school too so idk.

I agree with this Article. And does anyone know when this was published. I would like to know.

It was published FEb 19, 2019.

Studies have shown that homework improved student achievement in terms of improved grades, test results, and the likelihood to attend college.

i think homework can help kids but at the same time not help kids

This article is so out of touch with majority of homes it would be laughable if it wasn’t so incredibly sad.

There is no value to homework all it does is add stress to already stressed homes. Parents or adults magically having the time or energy to shepherd kids through homework is dome sort of 1950’s fantasy.

What lala land do these teachers live in?

Homework gives noting to the kid

Homework is Bad

homework is bad.

why do kids even have homework?

Comments are closed.

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Does Homework Improve Academic Achievement?

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Educators should be thrilled by these numbers. Pleasing a majority of parents regarding homework and having equal numbers of dissenters shouting "too much!" and "too little!" is about as good as they can hope for.

But opinions cannot tell us whether homework works; only research can, which is why my colleagues and I have conducted a combined analysis of dozens of homework studies to examine whether homework is beneficial and what amount of homework is appropriate for our children.

The homework question is best answered by comparing students who are assigned homework with students assigned no homework but who are similar in other ways. The results of such studies suggest that homework can improve students' scores on the class tests that come at the end of a topic. Students assigned homework in 2nd grade did better on math, 3rd and 4th graders did better on English skills and vocabulary, 5th graders on social studies, 9th through 12th graders on American history, and 12th graders on Shakespeare.

Less authoritative are 12 studies that link the amount of homework to achievement, but control for lots of other factors that might influence this connection. These types of studies, often based on national samples of students, also find a positive link between time on homework and achievement.

Yet other studies simply correlate homework and achievement with no attempt to control for student differences. In 35 such studies, about 77 percent find the link between homework and achievement is positive. Most interesting, though, is these results suggest little or no relationship between homework and achievement for elementary school students.

Why might that be? Younger children have less developed study habits and are less able to tune out distractions at home. Studies also suggest that young students who are struggling in school take more time to complete homework assignments simply because these assignments are more difficult for them.

These recommendations are consistent with the conclusions reached by our analysis. Practice assignments do improve scores on class tests at all grade levels. A little amount of homework may help elementary school students build study habits. Homework for junior high students appears to reach the point of diminishing returns after about 90 minutes a night. For high school students, the positive line continues to climb until between 90 minutes and 2½ hours of homework a night, after which returns diminish.

Beyond achievement, proponents of homework argue that it can have many other beneficial effects. They claim it can help students develop good study habits so they are ready to grow as their cognitive capacities mature. It can help students recognize that learning can occur at home as well as at school. Homework can foster independent learning and responsible character traits. And it can give parents an opportunity to see what's going on at school and let them express positive attitudes toward achievement.

Opponents of homework counter that it can also have negative effects. They argue it can lead to boredom with schoolwork, since all activities remain interesting only for so long. Homework can deny students access to leisure activities that also teach important life skills. Parents can get too involved in homework -- pressuring their child and confusing him by using different instructional techniques than the teacher.

My feeling is that homework policies should prescribe amounts of homework consistent with the research evidence, but which also give individual schools and teachers some flexibility to take into account the unique needs and circumstances of their students and families. In general, teachers should avoid either extreme.

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Designing Effective Homework

Best practices for creating homework that raises student achievement

Homework. It can be challenging…and not just for students. For teachers, designing homework can be a daunting task with lots of unanswered questions: How much should I assign? What type of content should I cover? Why aren’t students doing the work I assign? Homework can be a powerful opportunity to reinforce the Shifts in your instruction and promote standards-aligned learning, but how do we avoid the pitfalls that make key learning opportunities sources of stress and antipathy?

The nonprofit Instruction Partners recently set out to answer some of these questions, looking at what research says about what works when it comes to homework. You can view their original presentation here , but I’ve summarized some of the key findings you can put to use with your students immediately.

Does homework help?

Consistent homework completion has been shown to increase student achievement rates—but frequency matters. Students who are given homework regularly show greater gains than those who only receive homework sporadically. Researchers hypothesize that this is due to improved study skills and routines practiced through homework that allow students to perform better academically.

Average gains on unit tests for students who completed homework were six percentile points in grades 4–6, 12 percentile points in grades 7–9, and an impressive 24 percentile points in grades 10–12; so yes, homework (done well) does work. [i]

What should homework cover?

While there is little research about exactly what types of homework content lead to the biggest achievement gains, there are some general rules of thumb about how homework should change gradually over time.

In grades 1–5, homework should:

• Reinforce and allow students to practice skills learned in the classroom
• Help students develop good study habits and routines
• Foster positive feelings about school

In grades 6–12, homework should:

• Prepare students for engagement and discussion during the next lesson
• Allow students to apply their skills in new and more challenging ways

The most often-heard criticism of homework assignments is that they simply take too long. So how much homework should you assign in order to see results for students? Not surprisingly, it varies by grade. Assign 10-20 minutes of homework per night total, starting in first grade, and then add 10 minutes for each additional grade. [ii] Doing more can result in student stress, frustration, and disengagement, particularly in the early grades.

Why are some students not doing the homework?

There are any number of reasons why students may not complete homework, from lack of motivation to lack of content knowledge, but one issue to watch out for as a teacher is the impact of economic disparities on the ability to complete homework.

Multiple studies [iii] have shown that low-income students complete homework less often than students who come from wealthier families. This can lead to increased achievement gaps between students. Students from low-income families may face additional challenges when it comes to completing homework such as lack of access to the internet, lack of access to outside tutors or assistance, and additional jobs or family responsibilities.

While you can’t erase these challenges for your students, you can design homework that takes those issues into account by creating homework that can be done offline, independently, and in a reasonable timeframe. With those design principles in mind, you increase the opportunity for all your students to complete and benefit from the homework you assign.

The Big Picture

Perhaps most importantly, students benefit from receiving feedback from you, their teacher, on their assignments. Praise or rewards simply for homework completion have little effect on student achievement, but feedback that helps them improve or reinforces strong performance does. Consider keeping this mini-table handy as you design homework:

The act of assigning homework doesn’t automatically raise student achievement, so be a critical consumer of the homework products that come as part of your curriculum. If they assign too much (or too little!) work or reflect some of these common pitfalls, take action to make assignments that better serve your students.

[i] Cooper, H. (2007). The battle over homework (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

[ii] Cooper, H. (1989a). Homework .White Plains, NY: Longman.

[iii] Horrigan, T. (2015). The numbers behind the broadband ‘homework gap’ http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/04/20/the-numbers-behind-the-broadband-homework-gap/ and Miami Dade Public Schools. (2009). Literature Review: Homework. http://drs.dadeschools.net/LiteratureReviews/Homework.pdf

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About the Author: Claire Rivero is the Digital Strategy Manager for Student Achievement Partners. Claire leads the organization’s communications and digital promotion work across various channels including email, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, always seeking new ways to reach educators. She also manages Achieve the Core’s blog, Aligned. Prior to joining Student Achievement Partners, Claire worked in the Communications department for the American Red Cross and as a literacy instructor in a London pilot program. Claire holds bachelor’s degrees in English and Public Policy from Duke University and a master’s degree in Social Policy (with a concentration on Education Policy) from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

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Evidence Based Living

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What we know about homework

I went looking for evidence and found lots of it: there are at least a half dozen systematic reviews about the importance and effectiveness of homework, and all of its nuances.  The Center for Public Education and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development both provide comprehensive essays that summarize the evidence on homework.

One 2007 analysis published by Duke University researchers in particular caught my attention . It included 50 separate studies on homework research that asked the specific question, “Does homework improve academic achievement?”  This study followed an earlier meta-analysis of approximately 100 studies published by the same researchers in 1989. Both reviews conclude that homework does help to improve academic achievement, primarily in the middle and high school.  For children in elementary school, the review concludes that while homework can help children develop good study habits, it does not help to improve students’ grades or standardized test scores.

Here are some other interesting take-home messages about homework:

• Students are more likely to complete and learn from homework assignments that have a purpose, for example, reviewing important concepts, improving students’ independence or providing opportunities to explore topics students are interested in.
• Homework assignments are most successful when they are easy enough for students to complete independently, but challenging enough to be interesting.
• Finding appropriate ways to involve parents with their children’s homework leads to improved academic performance.
• Homework provides more academic benefits for older students. For younger students, some homework can help them to establish study habits and routines, but too much homework detracts from family and play activities after school.
• There is strong evidence that homework improves learning for students with learning disabilities, most likely because these students benefit from additional time to practice new skills.

On a personal note, the evidence makes me wonder if my son receives a little too much homework for his age. In first grade, he receives a reading and a math assignment every day, and he often groans about completing them. I certainly plan to discuss the evidence about homework with his teacher at our first conference.

Homework word looks very easy, but for students they know more about it means. From a tutor point of view, Here are some other interesting take-home messages about homework like If a student will take homework help from experts, they will feel free to complete their own homework before deadline. They can feel stress free and can study well. Thanks

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Rethinking Homework for This Year—and Beyond

A schoolwide effort to reduce homework has led to a renewed focus on ensuring that all work assigned really aids students’ learning.

I used to pride myself on my high expectations, including my firm commitment to accountability for regular homework completion among my students. But the trauma of Covid-19 has prompted me to both reflect and adapt. Now when I think about the purpose and practice of homework, two key concepts guide me: depth over breadth, and student well-being.

Homework has long been the subject of intense debate, and there’s no easy answer with respect to its value. Teachers assign homework for any number of reasons: It’s traditional to do so, it makes students practice their skills and solidify learning, it offers the opportunity for formative assessment, and it creates good study habits and discipline. Then there’s the issue of pace. Throughout my career, I’ve assigned homework largely because there just isn’t enough time to get everything done in class.

A Different Approach

Since classes have gone online, the school where I teach has made a conscious effort as a teaching community to reduce, refine, and distill our curriculum. We have applied guiding questions like: What is most important? What is most transferable? What is most relevant? Refocusing on what matters most has inevitably made us rethink homework.

We have approached both asking and answering these questions through a science of learning lens. In Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning , the authors maintain that deep learning is slow learning. Deep learning requires time for retrieval, practice, feedback, reflection, and revisiting content; ultimately it requires struggle, and there is no struggle without time.

As someone who has mastered the curriculum mapping style of “get it done to move on to get that next thing done,” using an approach of “slow down and reduce” has been quite a shift for me. However, the shift has been necessary: What matters most is what’s best for my students, as opposed to my own plans or mandates imposed by others.

Listening to Students

To implement this shift, my high school English department has reduced content and texts both in terms of the amount of units and the content within each unit. We’re more flexible with dates and deadlines. We spend our energy planning the current unit instead of the year’s units. In true partnership with my students, I’m constantly checking in with them via Google forms, Zoom chats, conferences, and Padlet activities. In these check-ins, I specifically ask students how they’re managing the workload for my class and their other classes. I ask them how much homework they’re doing. And I adjust what I do and expect based on what they tell me. For example, when I find out a week is heavy with work in other classes, I make sure to allot more time during class for my tasks. At times I have even delayed or altered one of my assignments.

To be completely transparent, the “old” me is sheepish in admitting that I’ve so dramatically changed my thinking with respect to homework. However, both my students and I have reaped numerous benefits. I’m now laser-focused when designing every minute of my lessons to maximize teaching and learning. Every decision I make is now scrutinized through the lens of absolute worth for my students’ growth: If it doesn’t make the cut, it’s cut. I also take into account what is most relevant to my students.

For example, our 10th-grade English team has redesigned a unit that explores current manifestations of systemic oppression. This unit is new in approach and longer in duration than it was pre-Covid, and it has resulted in some of the deepest and hardest learning, as well as the richest conversations, that I have seen among students in my career. Part of this improved quality comes from the frequent and intentional pauses that I instruct students to take in order to reflect on the content and on the arc of their own learning. The reduction in content that we need to get through in online learning has given me more time to assign reflective prompts, and to let students process their thoughts, whether that’s at the end of a lesson as an exit slip or as an assignment.

Joining Forces to Be Consistent

There’s no doubt this reduction in homework has been a team effort. Within the English department, we have all agreed to allot reading time during class; across each grade level, we’re monitoring the amount of homework our students have collectively; and across the whole high school, we have adopted a framework to help us think through assigning homework.

Within that framework, teachers at the school agree that the best option is for students to complete all work during class. The next best option is for students to finish uncompleted class work at home as a homework assignment of less than 30 minutes. The last option—the one we try to avoid as much as possible—is for students to be assigned and complete new work at home (still less than 30 minutes). I set a maximum time limit for students’ homework tasks (e.g., 30 minutes) and make that clear at the top of every assignment.

This schoolwide approach has increased my humility as a teacher. In the past, I tended to think my subject was more important than everyone else’s, which gave me license to assign more homework. But now I view my students’ experience more holistically: All of their classes and the associated work must be considered, and respected.

As always, I ground this new pedagogical approach not just in what’s best for students’ academic learning, but also what’s best for them socially and emotionally. 2020 has been traumatic for educators, parents, and students. There is no doubt the level of trauma varies greatly ; however, one can’t argue with the fact that homework typically means more screen time when students are already spending most of the day on their devices. They need to rest their eyes. They need to not be sitting at their desks. They need physical activity. They need time to do nothing at all.

Eliminating or reducing homework is a social and emotional intervention, which brings me to the greatest benefit of reducing the homework load: Students are more invested in their relationship with me now that they have less homework. When students trust me to take their time seriously, when they trust me to listen to them and adjust accordingly, when they trust me to care for them... they trust more in general.

And what a beautiful world of learning can be built on trust.

How to Use Homework to Support Student Success

Covid has brought many changes in education. what does it mean for homework.

Posted January 12, 2022 | Reviewed by Ekua Hagan

• Generally, homework should include about 10 minutes per night per grade level.
• The value of homework is debated, with questions about the right amount and potential for inequity.
• Families should view homework as a communication tool, strive to be good helpers, and monitor balance.

School assignments that a student is expected to do outside of the regular school day—that’s homework. The general guideline is 10 minutes of nightly homework per grade level beginning after kindergarten. This amounts to just a few minutes for younger elementary students to up to 2 hours for high school students.

The guidance seems straightforward enough, so why is homework such a controversial topic? School disruptions, including extended periods of remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, have magnified the controversies yet also have provided an opportunity to rethink the purpose and value of homework.

Debates about the value of homework center around two primary issues: amount and inequity.

First, the amount of assigned homework may be much more than the recommended guidelines. Families report their children are stressed out over the time spent doing homework. Too much homework can challenge well-being given the restricted time available for sleep, exercise, and social connection. In a 2015 study , for example, parents reported their early elementary children received almost three times the recommended guidelines. In high school, researchers found an average of three hours of homework per night for students living in economically privileged communities.

Second, homework can perpetuate inequities. Students attending school in less economically privileged communities may receive little to no homework, or have difficulty completing it due to limited access to needed technology. This can translate into fewer opportunities to learn and may contribute to gaps in achievement.

There isn’t a ton of research on the effects of homework, and available studies certainly do not provide a simple answer. For example, a 2006 synthesis of studies suggested a positive influence between homework completion and academic achievement for middle and high school students. Supporters also point out that homework offers additional opportunities to engage in learning and that it can foster independent learning habits such as planning and a sense of responsibility. A more recent study involving 13-year-old students in Spain found higher test scores for those who were regularly assigned homework in math and science, with an optimal time around one hour—which is roughly aligned with recommendations. However, the researchers noted that ability to independently do the work, student effort, and prior achievement were more important contributors than time spent.

Opponents of homework maintain that the academic benefit does not outweigh the toll on well-being. Researchers have observed student stress, physical health problems, and lack of life balance, especially when the time spent goes over the recommended guidelines. In a survey of adolescents , over half reported the amount and type of homework they received to be a primary source of stress in their lives. In addition, vast differences exist in access and availability of supports, such as internet connection, adult assistance, or even a place to call home, as 1.5 million children experience homelessness in the United States.

The COVID-19 pandemic has re-energized discussion about homework practices, with the goal to advance recommendations about how, when, and with whom it can be best used. Here’s a summary of key strategies:

Strategies for Educators

Make sure the tasks are meaningful and matched. First, the motto “ quality over quantity ” can guide decisions about homework. Homework is not busy-work, and instead should get students excited about learning. Emphasize activities that facilitate choice and interest to extend learning, like choose your own reading adventure or math games. Second, each student should be able to complete homework independently with success. Think about Goldilocks: To be effective, assignments should be just right for each learner. One example of how do this efficiently is through online learning platforms that can efficiently adjust to skill level and can be completed in a reasonable amount of time.

Ensure access to resources for task completion. One step toward equity is to ensure access to necessary resources such as time, space, and materials. Teach students about preparing for homework success, allocating classroom time to model and practice good study habits such as setting up their physical environment, time management , and chunking tasks. Engage in conversations with students and families to problem-solve challenges When needed, connect students with homework supports available through after-school clubs, other community supports, or even within a dedicated block during the school day.

Be open to revisiting homework policies and practices. The days of penalizing students for not completing homework should be long gone. Homework is a tool for practicing content and learning self- management . With that in mind, provide opportunities for students to communicate needs, and respond by revising assignments or allowing them to turn in on alternative dates. Engage in adult professional learning about high-quality homework , from value (Should I assign this task?) to evaluation (How should this be graded? Did that homework assignment result in expected outcomes?). Monitor how things are going by looking at completion rates and by asking students for their feedback. Be willing to adapt the homework schedule or expectations based on what is learned.

Strategies for Families

Understand how to be a good helper. When designed appropriately, students should be able to complete homework with independence. Limit homework wars by working to be a good helper. Hovering, micromanaging, or doing homework for them may be easiest in the moment but does not help build their independence. Be a good helper by asking guiding questions, providing hints, or checking for understanding. Focus your assistance on setting up structures for homework success, like space and time.

Use homework as a tool for communication. Use homework as a vehicle to foster family-school communication. Families can use homework as an opportunity to open conversations about specific assignments or classes, peer relationships, or even sleep quality that may be impacting student success. For younger students, using a daily or weekly home-school notebook or planner can be one way to share information. For older students, help them practice communicating their needs and provide support as needed.

Make sure to balance wellness. Like adults, children need a healthy work-life balance. Positive social connection and engagement in pleasurable activities are important core principles to foster well-being . Monitor the load of homework and other structured activities to make sure there is time in the daily routine for play. Play can mean different things to different children: getting outside, reading for pleasure, and yes, even gaming. Just try to ensure that activities include a mix of health-focused activities such as physical movement or mindfulness downtime.

Sandra M. Chafouleas, Ph.D., is a Distinguished Professor in the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut.

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Science of mind

Why is homework good for your brain?

Did you know that homework has a profound impact on brain development? It’s not just about completing assignments; homework can actually improve brain function and enhance cognitive abilities.

Homework is designed to help students prepare for the future and develop skills that are essential for success in life. It offers several cognitive benefits, including the development of memory and critical thinking skills. By practicing and repeating new skills through homework, students can enhance their memory and retain knowledge for exams and future tests.

But that’s not all. Homework also helps students build suitable study habits, learn time management, realize personal responsibility, work independently, and improve their ability to use resources and conduct research.

Key Takeaways:

• Homework improves brain function and enhances cognitive abilities.
• By practicing and repeating new skills through homework, students can enhance their memory and retain knowledge.
• Homework helps students build suitable study habits, learn time management, and realize personal responsibility.
• Homework fosters independence and the ability to use resources effectively.
• Research shows that designing and assigning homework correctly can optimize its effectiveness as a learning tool.

The Cognitive Benefits of Homework

Homework is not just a task assigned by teachers to keep students occupied after school; it has far-reaching cognitive benefits and contributes to brain growth and development. Through various homework assignments, students have the opportunity to enhance critical thinking skills, memory retention, and problem-solving abilities.

One essential cognitive benefit of homework is its ability to challenge and develop critical thinking skills. By applying the concepts they’ve learned in class to real-life situations, students can deepen their understanding and improve their analytical thinking abilities. This practice fosters a deeper level of comprehension and encourages students to actively engage with the material.

Another cognitive benefit of homework is its positive impact on memory retention. Through practice and repetition of new skills and knowledge, students reinforce the neural connections in their brains, making the information more accessible and easier to recall. This improved memory retention helps students perform better on exams and enhances their overall academic performance.

Homework also plays a crucial role in developing problem-solving abilities. Assignments that require students to think critically and find innovative solutions to complex problems help cultivate their analytical and logical thinking skills. These problem-solving abilities are essential for success in various aspects of life, from academic pursuits to professional careers.

Overall, homework has a profound impact on cognitive development, providing students with opportunities to enhance critical thinking, memory retention, and problem-solving abilities. By engaging in regular homework assignments, students can nurture these essential cognitive skills and lay a solid foundation for their future academic and professional success.

Building Essential Skills Through Homework

Homework plays a vital role in building essential skills that are crucial for academic success and beyond. It provides students with the opportunity to develop effective study habits, learn time management, cultivate personal responsibility, and engage in independent work.

One of the key benefits of homework is the development of study habits. Through regular homework assignments, students learn how to plan their study sessions, set realistic goals, and effectively organize their time. By following consistent study routines, students can maximize their learning potential and improve their overall academic performance.

Time management is another vital skill that homework helps students develop. By juggling multiple assignments and deadlines, students learn to prioritize tasks, allocate their time effectively, and meet their academic obligations. These skills are essential not only for academic success but also for managing responsibilities in other areas of life.

Homework also fosters a sense of personal responsibility. Being accountable for completing assignments on time and to the best of their ability teaches students the importance of taking ownership of their education. It instills a work ethic that can significantly impact their future success, both inside and outside the classroom.

Furthermore, homework promotes independent work and critical thinking skills. Through assignments that require students to apply concepts learned in class, they develop their problem-solving abilities and deepen their understanding of the subject matter. This type of independent work encourages students to think creatively, analyze information critically, and develop their own perspectives.

By engaging in homework, students are actively building these essential skills that will benefit them throughout their education and beyond. The combination of effective study habits, time management, personal responsibility, and independent work fosters self-discipline, resilience, and a lifelong love of learning.

Testimonial:

“Homework has been instrumental in developing my study habits and time management skills. It has taught me the importance of setting goals and staying organized. Through homework, I’ve become more accountable and independent in my learning.” – Jane Smith, High School Student

Homework and Research Skills

When it comes to homework, research skills are essential for academic success. Homework assignments often require students to explore various resources, such as research papers, books, websites, and videos. By delving into these resources, students develop the ability to effectively use different information sources and enhance their understanding of the subject matter.

Research skills acquired through homework not only improve students’ academic performance but also prepare them to navigate the vast amount of information available in the digital age. By honing their research skills, students become adept at finding relevant and reliable information, analyzing different sources, and critically evaluating the credibility and validity of the information they come across.

Research skills acquired through homework contribute to academic success and prepare students for future challenges.

Through homework, students develop the persistence and resilience necessary to delve deep into a topic, locate relevant information, and synthesize their findings in a coherent manner. These skills are not only valuable during their academic journey but will also benefit them throughout their lives as they continue to learn and grow.

Moreover, conducting research for homework assignments instills a sense of curiosity and a thirst for knowledge in students. It encourages them to explore beyond the textbook and develop a broader perspective on the topics they are studying. They learn to ask questions, seek answers, and develop a lifelong love for learning.

Overall, homework assignments that require research skills play a vital role in shaping students’ intellectual growth, fostering critical thinking, and preparing them for the challenges they will face in their future academic and professional endeavors.

The Science of Homework Efficiency

When it comes to homework, there is a science behind ensuring its maximum effectiveness as a learning tool. Research has shown that the way homework is designed and assigned can have a significant impact on student performance. To optimize learning outcomes, homework should provide independent learning opportunities and present challenges that facilitate deliberate practice of essential content and skills.

One factor that can greatly affect the efficiency of homework is task switching. Constantly switching between homework and distractions like social media can significantly prolong the time spent on assignments. To overcome this, it is crucial to encourage students to delay gratification by using social media as a reward after completing their assignments. By eliminating distractions and focusing on the task at hand, students can deepen their learning and complete their homework more efficiently.

Adopting a scientific approach to tackling homework can lead to improved academic performance. By implementing strategies that optimize learning, such as organizing study sessions, setting goals, and utilizing resources effectively, students can enhance their understanding of the subject matter and improve their overall learning outcomes. By prioritizing uninterrupted focus and disciplined work, students can transform homework into a valuable learning experience that prepares them for success in their academic endeavors.

Source Links

• https://www.crispebooks.org/
• http://www.math.usf.edu/~mccolm/pedagogy/HWgood.html
• https://www.edutopia.org/blog/homework-sleep-and-student-brain-glenn-whitman

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Article Contents

Introduction, data analysis, results and discussion, appendix 1 homework activity questionnaire.

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Qualities of good homework activities: teachers’ perceptions

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Benjamin Luke Moorhouse, Qualities of good homework activities: teachers’ perceptions, ELT Journal , Volume 75, Issue 3, July 2021, Pages 300–310, https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccaa069

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Assigning homework is a common practice of teachers internationally. However, we know little about teachers’ perceptions of the qualities of good homework. This article reports on the findings of a study that investigated teachers’ perceptions of good homework activities and their beliefs about homework’s effectiveness as a teaching and learning tool. Data were collected in two stages: a survey of 279 primary-school teachers; and follow-up interviews with 11 of the participants who completed the survey, including collecting samples of homework they assign. The first data source focused on teachers’ practices and beliefs about homework, while the second source provided more in-depth understanding of teachers’ beliefs in relation to their practices. The article presents the salient findings related to teachers’ perceptions of the qualities of good homework activities, as well as contextual factors that limit teachers’ ability to assign good homework. It includes practical implications for English-language teachers.

Homework is an almost universal practice of teachers around the world ( Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2014 ). Yet, ELT research and teacher education have given it little attention ( North and Pillay 2002 ; Moorhouse 2018 ), and have focused primarily on the effective conditions for teaching and learning in school, rather than outside of the classroom ( Nunan and Richards 2015 ). In 2002, North and Pillay raised this lack of attention to the practice of assigning homework in their article in ELT Journal , calling for an explicit discussion of teachers’ homework practices. However, their call has gone largely unanswered, leaving teachers, educators, and researchers with little awareness of the qualities of good English-language homework.

Despite that limited research, educators tend to see homework as beneficial to students’ English-language learning. They argue that with insufficient class time for learners to become capable English-language users, they must continue learning outside the classroom ( Thornbury 2011 ); and that homework provides learners with an incentive to practise and use English outside of the classroom and keeps English learning ‘in their minds’ ( Painter 2004 : 6). Homework also provides teachers with feedback on their teaching and helps them monitor their students’ learning progress (Painter ibid.).

These benefits may indeed be possible; however, it is important to consider the kinds of practices and activities that produce such benefits. In the wider literature around homework, scholars have argued that poorly designed or poorly executed homework can substantially affect its usefulness as a teaching and learning tool ( Vatterott 2009 ). Teachers’ homework practices have been linked to students’ motivation and the effort they put into homework activity, as well as their interest in the school subject ( Czerniawski and Kidd 2013 ). The limited research, the potential benefits of homework and the connection between homework and learners’ motivation, effort and interest provide a clear rationale for this study.

This article reports on one part of a larger study that investigates English-language teachers’ homework practices, beliefs about homework as a teaching and learning tool and influences on these practices and beliefs, focusing on the qualities that teachers believe make a good homework activity. By concentrating on the primary ELT context (in Hong Kong), the study contributes to the understanding of this common but under-researched practice. Knowing what kinds of homework activities teachers perceive to be good in helping their learners develop their English competencies will help professionals to start answering the question, ‘What homework should teachers assign in primary ELT?’.

Data for this study were collected in two stages: a survey of 279 primary-school teachers; and follow-up interviews with 11 of the participants who completed the survey, which included collecting samples of the homework they assign their learners. The first data source focused on teachers’ practices and beliefs about homework, while the second source provided more in-depth understanding of teachers’ beliefs in relation to their practices, and examples of actual homework activities the teachers assign their learners. Although convenience sampling was adopted, teachers from 48 different schools, representing about nine per cent of all primary schools in Hong Kong ( Information Services Department 2017 ), participated in the survey. The 11 interviewees came from schools that are diverse in size and location. The survey included 12 items about teachers’ general views on homework’s effectiveness as a teaching and learning tool. Participants responded using a four-point Likert scale and answered two open-ended questions seeking their general comments on their practices and beliefs. The survey was piloted in three stages, while the interviews included questions regarding the teachers’ practices and beliefs and the effectiveness of the different homework activities they assign, and were piloted in two stages. Nine of the 11 interviewees provided samples of the homework they assign, which became artefacts for discussion during the interviews, and examples of practice. The study sought to address the following research questions:

What are teachers’ perceptions of homework effectiveness?

What qualities do teachers relate with good homework?

It is important to note that the study explored teachers’ perceptions of homework effectiveness; measuring the actual effectiveness of a specific practice or activity would require an exploration of student learning outcomes.

The questionnaire data were subjected to statistical analysis generating percentages. The interviews were analysed using the thematic analysis qualitative analytic method proposed by Braun and Clarke (2006) . The method includes six phases: familiarization with the data, generation of initial codes, search for themes, review of themes, definition and naming of themes, and production of the report. The homework samples were analysed by activity type and compared with teachers’ opinions collected during the interviews about the efficacy of the homework activity as a teaching and learning tool, following content analysis procedures ( Cohen, Manion, and Morrison 2011 ).

This section starts by summarizing the general findings regarding teachers’ perceptions of homework’s effectiveness as a teaching and learning tool. It then presents four qualities of good homework activities (see Table 1 ), before presenting contextual factors that teachers perceive constrain their ability to assign good homework activities. The findings are supported by data from the questionnaire survey, follow-up interviews, and/or homework samples.

General perceptions of English-language homework

The survey results show that teachers perceive homework positively as a teaching and learning tool (see Table 2 ), with 90 per cent of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing that homework is necessary for learners to become effective English users. Furthermore, 78 per cent of respondents believe homework to be as important as classwork. Most respondents (96 per cent) believe homework positively influences English learning, and 85 per cent disagreed with the statement, ‘English homework negatively affects students’ English learning’. Respondents see homework as serving several different functions, including:

Teachers’ general perceptions of English language homework

helping students build self-confidence in using English

helping students perform better on examinations and tests

helping students develop good study habits

helping to inform students of their English learning progress

providing teachers with more information about their learners’ abilities.

Similar positive views toward homework have been found in other contexts and with respect to other academic subjects (Vatterott op.cit.). While respondents were overwhelmingly positive about homework, two items demonstrate that teachers do limit their belief in its benefits. The majority (69 per cent) of respondents disagreed with the statement, ‘The more time students spend on homework, the more they will learn’; while 86 per cent disagreed with the statement, ‘Homework is more important than other non-academic activities’. This suggests that respondents see a limit to the quantity of homework that it is appropriate to give, and value other non-academic activities. Furthermore, in both the questionnaire and the interviews, teachers raised the importance of quality homework, as is shown by this questionnaire response: ‘It’s not the quantity that counts but the quality’. In the open-ended questions and interviews, teachers described the qualities of effective homework activities and practices. The subsequent findings present the qualities they identified.

Qualities of good homework activities

Quality 1: provide for free language use.

Teachers’ comments on the questionnaire and in interviews suggest that they find open homework activities more effective than rote exercises. Teachers defined open homework activities as activities that provide learners with opportunities to use language freely, allow for creative language use, encourage personal responses and provide learners with choices regarding content and presentation. One teacher wrote:

Constructive . . . homework should be given—as it provides more chances to use English concepts in ways that are authentic and allow students to be in control of the quality of homework submitted . . . instead of gap fill / or cloze passage types of exercises.

In the interview, teachers mentioned the importance of providing choices and student ownership of the assigned homework. One teacher said, ‘If you let them have ownership in their homework . . . I think they would find it more meaningful’. The teacher contrasts this with rote activities such as copying words or passages of text. Providing students with a list of words or a passage to copy is a common activity in Hong Kong primary schools ( Carless and Lam 2014 ). She said, ‘[copying is] the worst task in the world . . . it wastes both the teachers’ and students’ time’. This preference for more open activities was largely due to the teachers’ belief that such activities are more fun and interesting and encourage learners to put more effort into their work. While talking about open activities, one teacher said, ‘even though they might not be good at doing the homework, they will try hard because it is kind of fun’. These kinds of activities can provide teachers with more information regarding students’ learning and their own teaching effectiveness. The study’s participants see this as an important purpose for assigning homework. As one teacher stated, ‘I think the purpose of homework is not only to evaluate students’ learning but to reflect on how well we taught’.

Teachers provided the following examples of effective open homework activities: writing stories in response to pictures, creating a poster about healthy eating, writing suggestions and advice for a fictitious character and writing a diary entry using a mind map. This preference for more open activities could show that task-based learning, commonly promoted inside language classrooms ( Carless 2002 ), is now considered important for homework activities as well.

Quality 2: Are enjoyable, interesting and relevant

Teachers report that homework activities that students enjoy, and find interesting and relevant to their lives, are more effective in helping them learn. The data showed that this was associated with students’ motivation to do the activity and overall interest in the subject. One teacher stated, ‘We want them to find learning English to be fun, and enjoyable, so we try our best to make English homework as interesting as possible’. One interviewee gave an example to illustrate the importance of relevance when assigning homework:

We have to set authentic tasks relating to their needs, their lives, their interests. Like if you ask them to write about their favourite movie star . . . If you ask them to write about Jackie Chan, I don’t think they would have interest because they have no idea who he is. So there should be something related to their lives.

A teacher provided an example of a homework activity her students enjoyed:

[Students] enjoyed a homework activity . . . where they had to give advice to a [fictional overweight] boy. . . . They could write comments or draw pictures. So, it was flexible. They shared [it] in class the next day.

The activity related to what the students had been learning in class, while the context and flexibility made it interesting and enjoyable.

Teachers mentioned the following homework activities as enjoyable: word puzzles, word jumbles, crosswords, and riddle writing. The findings suggest that teachers see assigning engaging homework activities as important. To get a better idea of students’ preferred homework activities, teachers can collect their views towards specific activities.

Quality 3: Take a variety of forms

Most survey respondents (93 per cent) reported that they assign a variety of different homework activities to their learners. This practice is deemed effective because it enables teachers to better achieve their learning outcomes. Different homework activities can better reflect what they are teaching in English lessons. As one teacher states, ‘a variety of “formats” of homework are necessary—speaking, writing, listening, and different text types’. Another mentioned, ‘homework should not only focus on written assignments, but also on reading aloud, doing projects, e-learning and so on’. A variety of homework activities were identified in the analysis of the samples provided (see Table 3 for a list of homework samples by activity type). It is widely acknowledged that learners need opportunities to speak and listen to English. However, teachers noted that it can be difficult to assign homework related to speaking and listening skills. Table 3 shows that none of the example homework activities focused on listening, while only two focused on speaking. This was attributed to the need to show evidence of homework completion and a dominance of writing in the curriculum and assessments.

List of homework samples by activity types

Teachers suggest that homework activities can include watching movies or YouTube clips, playing phonics games, writing songs and poems, writing reports, researching information for a project, making short videos, following a recipe or reading story books. The rapid development of technologies and their increasing uses in and out of the classroom provide greater potential for developing a larger variety of homework activities. The use of digital learning platforms specifically designed for young learners, such as Seesaw, has the potential to provide for different homework formats, such as providing oral responses to questions or prompts, reading aloud texts, commenting on classmates’ work, or entering into written or oral discussions. Parents can also be involved on such platforms ( Moorhouse and Beaumont 2020 ). Flipped classroom is seen as a potential alternative to traditional homework practices; however, its application is under-researched in primary ELT.

Quality 4: Are achievable

As homework is completed outside of school, students may do it without the support of others. Therefore, teachers feel it is important that the homework activities are achievable, and students can complete them independently. One teacher wrote:

Teachers need to take special care when assigning homework. If the homework assignment is too hard, it is perceived to be busy work, or it takes too long to complete, students might tune out and resist doing it. Never send home any assignments that students cannot do.

This point was echoed by another teacher in the interviews. ‘I think homework should be something they’ve seen, they’ve learnt. It should not be something new to them’. Teachers believe that homework that is achievable gives the students satisfaction and the feeling of success when they can complete it on their own. One teacher said, ‘homework should make [students] feel that they are successful . . . “oh, I really learned something in the lesson, I can complete the homework by myself”’.

To ensure the homework activities assigned are achievable, teachers believe it is important to provide learners with clear instructions on how to complete the homework, as well as with support in the classroom before the homework is assigned. As this teacher wrote, ‘sufficient guidance and instructions are crucial’. They feel that if there is insufficient guidance before students need to do it, they will feel insecure. To ensure students are prepared for the homework activities, teachers spend time in class explaining the homework requirements, discussing their expectations and giving time for students to start their homework with the teachers’ guidance. One teacher said, ‘We have to explain clearly what students are going to do and where they can get references . . . before we send homework home’. The amount and kind of support provided are determined by students’ familiarity with the type of homework activity and its complexity. This teacher describes how she supports students by doing some of the homework questions with them before they take it home, ‘I will teach the target language then we will do a few questions together then I will give them the rest to do at home’. Teachers have a keen awareness of their role in guiding and supporting students to feel success from their homework activities. They believe homework can only be effective if students can complete it. Providing written instructions to students and parents in their first language (L1), can also aid the completion of the homework activity.

In addition, teachers believe that good homework should cater to a diversity of needs, so as not to be too challenging for some learners and too easy for others. Teachers recommended achieving this through differentiated homework activities, as this teacher describes: ‘I provide homework worksheets at three different levels—required, enhance[ed] and challenge’ with students not required to complete the ‘challenge [level]’. Others suggested assigning books at different levels of difficulty, depending on students’ reading proficiency. This kind of differentiated homework can help address the achievability of homework for a diverse group of learners. As it can be hard to gauge the difficulty of an activity for certain learners, teachers can collect feedback from students on how difficult they found it and whether they needed help from others. Additionally, students can be given a choice of homework activities that match their abilities, interests and needs. This can increase students’ self-awareness and learner autonomy.

Analysis of a good homework activity

During the interviews, participants provided examples of homework activities matching their qualities of good homework (see Figure 1 for an example). This section provides an analysis of one such homework activity. The activity in Figure 1 requires students to ‘brainstorm’ and categorise food items within the context of a healthy life. They can write or draw their ideas in the table provided. Students are informed that they will share their ideas the next day. The activity satisfies Quality 1 . Students are free to choose which food items they wish to write down and how to categorise them based on their own conceptions of a healthy life. The responses are personal and individual. It also satisfies Quality 2 . The topic relates to what they are learning and will be doing in class. The knowledge that their ideas will be shared and compared adds to the intrigue. In addition, it satisfies Quality 4 . The option to write or draw means it does not limit students to right or wrong answers and neither does it limit them if they do not have enough relevant vocabulary (the teacher can use the students’ drawings as a catalyst for discussions and vocabulary teaching in the next lesson). The achievability can be improved with examples of answers, instructions in students’ L1 or some words to select from. However, this may reduce the openness of the activity. Regarding Quality 3 , this homework activity only takes one form; however, with the use of a digital learning platform, students could upload their ideas and then be invited to give oral or written comments to each other. Teachers can consider different homework formats for subsequent activities.

An example of a good homework activity

Despite providing examples of good homework, the teachers mentioned that they could not always assign such activities that meet their qualities. This, they believed, was mainly due to contextual factors.

Constraints on assigning good homework activities

Several teachers felt that school policies restricted their practices and activities with respect to the amount of homework to assign, standardised homework practices and activities (originating from the textbook) and rigid feedback policies. Regarding school policy, this teacher stated:

My homework practices are actually strongly restricted by the requirements given by the school. As there are already sets of homework activities that students need to compete, if I set other types of homework, they would become additional workload for both students and teachers.

Although this teacher would like to set a variety of homework tasks, she feels she cannot, as this would overburden her students. So even if teachers believe homework is effective, they may not find their actual practices to be effective, as the quote from this teacher illustrates: ‘Schools set homework requirements which may involve activities which are not useful i.e. rote memorization’. The textbook, the main source of homework activities (92 per cent of survey respondents stated that they regularly assign activities from the textbook or workbook for homework), teachers suggested contained mainly ‘mechanical’ practice activities. There was a belief that teacher-designed homework was more meaningful and effective than homework derived from the textbook. However, teachers believed that school management and parents preferred homework derived from the textbook as it is standardised and was therefore seen as fair to all students. This perceived mismatch between the teachers’ perceptions of the qualities of good homework and the practices imposed by the school could have an impact on the teachers’ ability to implement homework that meets the needs of their learners and could take away from their teaching autonomy (Moorhouse op.cit.). This is illustrated by this extract:

I think teachers should have free choice to decide what and how much homework to [assign] to their class according to the ability of the class. Due to the current [school] ‘rules’ or ‘practices’, teachers and students suffer.

Although teachers believe in the need to develop and implement good homework activities, a number suggested that doing so takes time. A teacher wrote, ‘teachers need more time to prepare interesting homework in such a hustle and bustle teaching life’. With all the demands of teaching, homework can often be an afterthought that does not get the same attention as classwork. This can be the case particularly in contexts that put great emphasis on homework, as is the case in Hong Kong (Moorhouse op.cit.). As this teacher wrote, ‘there is not much room for teachers to set homework freely due to the tight curriculum. On average, teachers in this study were required to assign two pieces of English-language homework per day. Teachers were spending just under an hour (54 minutes) per class per day on homework-related activities (planning, selecting, designing and marking homework). If teachers are required to assign specific homework activities by the school, this can take teachers time away from developing their own homework activities or risk, as one teacher wrote, ‘overloading’ students and teachers.

This study reveals the qualities of good English-language homework activities as perceived by teachers. These can guide English-language teachers to evaluate and reflect on their current practices and act as a framework to aid the development of homework. It has also presented contextual factors that can prevent teachers from implementing good homework. It is important for various stakeholders to evaluate whether teachers have the time and autonomy needed to implement homework that best meets the needs of learners (Moorhouse op.cit.). To get a better understanding of students’ opinions towards specific homework activities, teachers can provide a simple questionnaire with each homework activity (see   Appendix 1 for an example). This could provide valuable insights to aid teachers in developing their practices.

As this study shows, assigning homework is complex, due to the large number of variables that can impact on its effectiveness (Vatterott op.cit.; Czerniawski and Kidd op.cit.). It is therefore important for teacher educators to include discussions of homework in their programmes. This will ensure teachers are better equipped with the knowledge they need to implement homework successfully.

This article is intended to reignite interest in the topic of homework within the ELT community. However, further research in the area of homework is essential. This study presented teachers’ perceptions of the qualities of good homework activities; these are untested. Studies exploring the effectiveness of different activities on student learning would provide teachers with a better idea of how they can improve their activity design and practices. With the rapid development of new technologies and related methodologies, including flipped classroom, the potential impact of these on teachers’ homework practices are yet to be explored. In addition, homework is a practice experienced by teachers, students and parents alike. More research on different stakeholders’ perceptions of good homework activities and practices would provide a more complete picture of this common yet under-researched practice.

Benjamin Luke Moorhouse is an assistant professor in the Department of Education Studies at Hong Kong Baptist University where he teaches on initial English language teacher education programmes. He received his EdD in TESOL from the University of Exeter, UK. He has extensive experience teaching young English language learners and working with schoolteachers throughout Hong Kong and Asia. Benjamin’s publications have appeared in Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education , Journal of Education for Teaching , Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, RELC Journal and TESOL Journal.

Email: [email protected]

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Ages & Stages

Developing good homework habits.

Some children get right down to work without much encouragement. Others need help making the transition from playing to a homework frame of mind. Sometimes providing a ten-minute warning is all it takes to help a child get ready mentally as well as to move to the place she intends to work.

There is no universally right time to do homework. In some families, children do best if they tackle their homework shortly after returning home from school in the mid afternoon; other youngsters may do best if they devote the after-school hours to unwinding and playing, leaving their homework until the evening, when they may feel a renewed sense of vigor. Let your child have some say in the decision making. Homework can often become a source of conflict between parent and child—"Johnny, why can't you just do your homework with­out arguing about it?"—but if you agree on a regular time and place, you can eliminate two of the most frequent causes of homework-related dissension.

Some parents have found that their children respond poorly to a dictated study time (such as four o'clock every afternoon). Instead, youngsters are given guidelines ("No video games until your homework is done"). Find out what works best for both your child and the family as a whole. Once this is de­termined, stick with it.

Some youngsters prefer that a parent sit with them as they do their home­work. You may find this an acceptable request, particularly if you have your own reading or paperwork to complete. However, do not actually do the homework for your child. She may need some assistance getting focused and started and organizing her approach to the assignment. Occasionally, you may need to ex­plain a math problem; in those cases, let your child try a couple of problems first before offering to help. But if she routinely requires your active participation to get her everyday homework done, then talk to her teacher. Your child may need stronger direction in the classroom so that she is able to complete the assign­ments on her own or with less parental involvement. One area where children may need parental help is in organizing how much work will have to be done daily to finish a long assignment, such as a term paper or a science project.

If your child or her teacher asks you to review her homework, you may want to look it over before she takes it to school the next morning. Usually it is best if homework remains the exclusive domain of the child and the teacher. However, your input may vary depending on the teacher's philosophy and the purpose of homework. If the teacher is using homework to check your child's understand­ing of the material—thus giving the teacher an idea of what needs to be empha­sized in subsequent classroom teaching sessions—your suggestions for changes and improvements on your child's paper could prove misleading. On the other hand, if the teacher assigns homework to give your child practice in a particular subject area and to reinforce what has already been taught in class, then your participation can be valuable. Some teachers use homework to help children develop self-discipline and organizational and study skills. Be sure to praise your youngster for her efforts and success in doing her homework well.

In general, support your child in her homework, but do not act as a taskmas­ter. Provide her with a quiet place, supplies, encouragement, and occasional help—but it is her job to do the work. Homework is your youngster's respon­sibility, not yours.

As the weeks pass, keep in touch with your child's teacher regarding home­work assignments. If your youngster is having ongoing problems—difficulty understanding what the assignments are and how to complete them—or if she breezes through them as though they were no challenge at all, let the teacher know. The teacher may adjust the assignments so they are more in sync with your youngster's capabilities.

Whether or not your child has homework on a particular night, consider reading aloud with her after school or at night. This type of shared experience can help interest your child in reading, as well as give you some personal time with her. Also, on days when your child does not have any assigned home­work, this shared reading time will reinforce the habit of a work time each evening.

To further nurture your child's love of reading, set a good example by spend­ing time reading on your own, and by taking your youngster to the library and/or bookstore to select books she would like to read. Some families turn off the TV each night for at least thirty minutes, and everyone spends the time reading. As children get older, one to two hours may be a more desirable length of time each day to set aside for reading and other constructive activities.

As important as it is for your child to develop good study habits, play is also important for healthy social, emotional, and physical growth and develop­ment. While encouraging your child to complete her assignments or do some additional reading, keep in mind that she has already had a lengthy and per haps tiring day of learning at school and needs some free time. Help her find the play activities that best fit her temperament and personality—whether it is organized school sports or music lessons, free-play situations (riding her bike, playing with friends), or a combination of these.

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Help children form good study habits.

Erika A. Patall is an assistant professor of educational psychology in the College of Education at the University of Texas at Austin.

November 12, 2014

When it comes to helping with homework, education and psychology research suggests that it all depends on how parents become involved.

When kids feel like homework has value and doing it is their own choice, it will seem more interesting and lead to greater achievement.

What is essential is that parents focus on supporting students’ motivation . Parent help can backfire when it involves providing instruction on homework content. In contrast, parents will support their kids’ school success when they communicate clear expectations and help students develop a homework routine. Students who have a clearly defined routine around homework — a set time, a set place and a set way to complete homework — are more likely to believe they can overcome challenges while doing homework, take more responsibility for learning, and ultimately do better in school. Homework is an especially good opportunity for parents to help young kids develop self-regulatory skills, by modeling study strategies and helping students set goals and make plans for completing homework.

Parents should also give kids autonomy . When kids struggle with homework, parents sometimes have an instinct to take control by using commands, incentives, threats, surveillance, or just doing the work themselves. These tactics may work in the short term, but won’t benefit kids in the long run. A better strategy is to explain why even the most boring homework could help students accomplish personal goals (aside from just getting a good grade). Providing choices related to homework and emphasizing that students should work in their own way is also important. When kids feel like homework has value and doing it is their own choice, it will seem more interesting and lead to greater achievement. Finally, whatever parents say or do related to homework, it is critical to communicate that mistakes are a welcomed part of the learning process and effort is at the heart of kids’ success .

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Topics: Education , homework , parenting , schools , teaching

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Education Articles & More

How to help your students develop positive habits, small habits repeated regularly can help students cultivate character strengths like patience, gratitude, and kindness..

Most students likely connect the term “habits” to their study habits. In fact, for many students the term “study habits” probably gives the notion of habits a negative vibe.

But there is another type of habit that is important for the well-being and positive growth of students: habits that build their character strengths , such as patience, gratitude, and service to others. For example, the habit cue that helps students practice patience before spontaneously sending that angry tweet, or a daily habit of writing down what they are grateful for. I call these “positive habits.”

As a researcher and president of Character.org, I want to make the case that every child and teen, before graduating from elementary school, middle school, or high school, should be able to demonstrate and explain how they have formed and consistently practice a positive habit—especially one they intrinsically want to develop.

Positive habits help students achieve the “character goals” they have set for themselves, such as being a person of integrity or someone who strives to be kind and helpful to others. It is difficult for me to imagine any student becoming their best possible self without developing a wide range of positive habits.

As a starting point, here are five concepts to teach students about habits that will help them build productive skills and meaningful practices into their lives.

1. You are your habits

The research is clear: 40-50% of all our actions are done out of habit. Each of us has our morning habits, as well as our eating and bedtime habits. Simply put, our lives run on habits.

Our challenge as educators is to encourage students to understand that their habits shape who they are and the sort of person they want to become. For example, for many years one of my children handed in assignments that were filled with errors because he had not yet developed the positive habit of checking his homework before handing it in. Only later in life did he learn the wisdom of practicing the character strength of carefulness.

James Clear, author of Atomic Habits , hit the mark when he suggested that the best way to change who you are is to change what you do.

2. How we form habits

Most students learn about Newton’s three laws of motion in eighth grade. But I can’t seem to find any curriculum in the United States where eighth graders learn about the science of habit formation. But they should.

Every student should learn about the “ habit loop .” Whether it’s a good or bad habit, the mechanics of a habit are the same:

Cue > Craving > Response > Reward

Cues spark our habits, and our cravings are the motivating forces behind every habit. Finally, the response delivers the reward (the desired thought or action that gives us relief from the craving). In short, we are still captives to our “lizard brain.” We remain creatures who crave instant gratification.

This process is fairly straightforward for everyday habits: For example, when a student comes home from school (cue), they might experience a spike in dopamine as they start looking for a snack (craving), and then indulge (response) in the salty, crunchy reward of a bag of Fritos. Here’s what the habit loop might look like for a positive habit: Every day when a student comes home from school, she calls her grandmother to find out how she is feeling. Hearing the cheerfulness in her grandmother’s voice is the student’s positive reward. 

Researchers are also beginning to discover that habits persist even when we don’t value the reward as much as we once did (or even when the reward is no longer available). That’s good news for those of us who believe in the power of positive habits. After consistently practicing these habits, they become part of our identity.

3. Stable cues are the key to forming a positive habit

Here’s the one indispensable “habit principle” I’d want my students to learn and practice: Create cue X, for action Y . For example, imagine a student has decided they want to learn how to play the guitar (the action) right after they finish their homework (the cue). The key to creating this new habit or routine is for the student to repeat this activity every day —as soon as they finish studying.

Other stable cues might include waking up or going to bed, brushing teeth, or eating meals—any actions that happen regularly that students can attach a habit to.

Researchers are learning that stable habit cues are essential to organizing our mental space. Over time, repetition reorganizes our brain and becomes its own reward.

4. Four “habit hacks” that work

S. J. Scott recently wrote a book titled Habit Stacking . The idea is that we should link together a harder habit to an easier habit. For example, encouraging students to do their chores (a harder habit) while listening to music (an easier habit). 

Books About Habits

Atomic Habits : An amazing book by James Clear. Check out his awesome 3-2-1 newsletter .

Good Habits, Bad Habits : Professor Wendy Wood packs more research in her book than I thought possible. As Angela Duckworth writes, she truly is the world’s most foremost expert on habit formation.

The Power of Habit : Thank you Charles Duhigg for jumpstarting our contemporary study and practice of habits.

How to Change : Professor Katy Milkman co-directs the Behavior Change for Good Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania. I loved her chapter on how to overcome our “lazy” habits.

A second hack is leveraging the power of commitment . The reality is that all of us, at one time or another, have broken a promise we’ve made to ourselves. That’s why we may need to share our habit plan with someone who will hold us accountable, such as a friend, parent, or teacher. Making a commitment to someone we know and trust is often the fuel we need to develop a positive habit.

A third hack is discovering our habit tendency . Developed by author Gretchen Rubin, the core idea is that each of us needs to understand more acutely how well we respond to internal and external expectations. While some people absolutely need accountability for habits, other people must understand why the habit is important before they feel motivated to pursue it.

Finally, when it comes to habit formation, every student should learn about the power of positive affirmations . Refuting our negative self-talk with positive self-talk is a “habit hack” that simply works. For example, students can create the positive mental habit of repeating to themselves, “I got this…I can do this.”

5. Setting goals and sheer willpower aren’t enough

Emerging research is shattering our long-held myths that setting goals and exercising self-control are the twin peaks of habit formation. Intentions alone don’t change behaviors. Moreover, willpower is a muscle that depletes over time. No one can lead a life full of self-denial.

In addition to having long-term goals, students need to “plan” their habits. The research is clear: Preparation is the key . As the saying goes, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” Habit planning is far more important than motivation and willpower.

Creating a new positive habit is form of human engineering that requires students to discover their optimal cue/action pattern ( if X, then Y ), as well as the intellectual humility to anticipate a weakness or flaw in their habit design. For example, some schools encourage students to develop their own daily habit of gratitude. Students would have to identify a cue/action pattern that works best for them (in the morning or before bedtime), as well as to think critically on what could prevent them from developing their gratitude habit.

Habits are about getting 1% better every day. Aristotle got it right when he wrote that “we are what we repeatedly do.”

Yet recent research tells us that educators overlook the role of habits in student self-regulation. That’s why it’s time for parents and educators, especially during these stress-filled times, to work together to help all students harness the energy and power of positive habits.

Let’s imagine a future where 12th graders are talking to eighth graders about habits, with the older students sharing one positive habit they now consistently practice. Or where every student, at the beginning of the school year, is encouraged to share with their teachers and peers one habit they would like to strengthen by winter break. These are just a few ideas to inspire and equip young people to intrinsically form their own habits of mind, heart, and action.

I’d love to learn your ideas and suggestions to help our students form a habit mindset. Please reach out to me at [email protected].

About the Author

Arthur Schwartz

Arthur Schwartz, Ed.D. , is president of Character.org. He studies moral courage during adolescence.

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Is Homework Necessary? Education Inequity and Its Impact on Students

The Problem with Homework: It Highlights Inequalities

How much homework is too much homework, when does homework actually help, negative effects of homework for students, how teachers can help.

Schools are getting rid of homework from Essex, Mass., to Los Angeles, Calif. Although the no-homework trend may sound alarming, especially to parents dreaming of their child’s acceptance to Harvard, Stanford or Yale, there is mounting evidence that eliminating homework in grade school may actually have great benefits , especially with regard to educational equity.

In fact, while the push to eliminate homework may come as a surprise to many adults, the debate is not new . Parents and educators have been talking about this subject for the last century, so that the educational pendulum continues to swing back and forth between the need for homework and the need to eliminate homework.

One of the most pressing talking points around homework is how it disproportionately affects students from less affluent families. The American Psychological Association (APA) explained:

“Kids from wealthier homes are more likely to have resources such as computers, internet connections, dedicated areas to do schoolwork and parents who tend to be more educated and more available to help them with tricky assignments. Kids from disadvantaged homes are more likely to work at afterschool jobs, or to be home without supervision in the evenings while their parents work multiple jobs.”

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While students growing up in more affluent areas are likely playing sports, participating in other recreational activities after school, or receiving additional tutoring, children in disadvantaged areas are more likely headed to work after school, taking care of siblings while their parents work or dealing with an unstable home life. Adding homework into the mix is one more thing to deal with — and if the student is struggling, the task of completing homework can be too much to consider at the end of an already long school day.

While all students may groan at the mention of homework, it may be more than just a nuisance for poor and disadvantaged children, instead becoming another burden to carry and contend with.

Beyond the logistical issues, homework can negatively impact physical health and stress — and once again this may be a more significant problem among economically disadvantaged youth who typically already have a higher stress level than peers from more financially stable families .

Yet, today, it is not just the disadvantaged who suffer from the stressors that homework inflicts. A 2014 CNN article, “Is Homework Making Your Child Sick?” , covered the issue of extreme pressure placed on children of the affluent. The article looked at the results of a study surveying more than 4,300 students from 10 high-performing public and private high schools in upper-middle-class California communities.

“Their findings were troubling: Research showed that excessive homework is associated with high stress levels, physical health problems and lack of balance in children’s lives; 56% of the students in the study cited homework as a primary stressor in their lives,” according to the CNN story. “That children growing up in poverty are at-risk for a number of ailments is both intuitive and well-supported by research. More difficult to believe is the growing consensus that children on the other end of the spectrum, children raised in affluence, may also be at risk.”

When it comes to health and stress it is clear that excessive homework, for children at both ends of the spectrum, can be damaging. Which begs the question, how much homework is too much?

The National Education Association and the National Parent Teacher Association recommend that students spend 10 minutes per grade level per night on homework . That means that first graders should spend 10 minutes on homework, second graders 20 minutes and so on. But a study published by The American Journal of Family Therapy found that students are getting much more than that.

While 10 minutes per day doesn’t sound like much, that quickly adds up to an hour per night by sixth grade. The National Center for Education Statistics found that high school students get an average of 6.8 hours of homework per week, a figure that is much too high according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It is also to be noted that this figure does not take into consideration the needs of underprivileged student populations.

In a study conducted by the OECD it was found that “after around four hours of homework per week, the additional time invested in homework has a negligible impact on performance .” That means that by asking our children to put in an hour or more per day of dedicated homework time, we are not only not helping them, but — according to the aforementioned studies — we are hurting them, both physically and emotionally.

What’s more is that homework is, as the name implies, to be completed at home, after a full day of learning that is typically six to seven hours long with breaks and lunch included. However, a study by the APA on how people develop expertise found that elite musicians, scientists and athletes do their most productive work for about only four hours per day. Similarly, companies like Tower Paddle Boards are experimenting with a five-hour workday, under the assumption that people are not able to be truly productive for much longer than that. CEO Stephan Aarstol told CNBC that he believes most Americans only get about two to three hours of work done in an eight-hour day.

In the scope of world history, homework is a fairly new construct in the U.S. Students of all ages have been receiving work to complete at home for centuries, but it was educational reformer Horace Mann who first brought the concept to America from Prussia. 

Since then, homework’s popularity has ebbed and flowed in the court of public opinion. In the 1930s, it was considered child labor (as, ironically, it compromised children’s ability to do chores at home). Then, in the 1950s, implementing mandatory homework was hailed as a way to ensure America’s youth were always one step ahead of Soviet children during the Cold War. Homework was formally mandated as a tool for boosting educational quality in 1986 by the U.S. Department of Education, and has remained in common practice ever since.  

School work assigned and completed outside of school hours is not without its benefits. Numerous studies have shown that regular homework has a hand in improving student performance and connecting students to their learning. When reviewing these studies, take them with a grain of salt; there are strong arguments for both sides, and only you will know which solution is best for your students or school. 

Homework improves student achievement.

• Source: The High School Journal, “ When is Homework Worth the Time?: Evaluating the Association between Homework and Achievement in High School Science and Math ,” 2012. 
• Source: IZA.org, “ Does High School Homework Increase Academic Achievement? ,” 2014. **Note: Study sample comprised only high school boys. 

Homework helps reinforce classroom learning.

• Source: “ Debunk This: People Remember 10 Percent of What They Read ,” 2015.

Homework helps students develop good study habits and life skills.

• Sources: The Repository @ St. Cloud State, “ Types of Homework and Their Effect on Student Achievement ,” 2017; Journal of Advanced Academics, “ Developing Self-Regulation Skills: The Important Role of Homework ,” 2011.
• Source: Journal of Advanced Academics, “ Developing Self-Regulation Skills: The Important Role of Homework ,” 2011.

Homework allows parents to be involved with their children’s learning.

• Parents can see what their children are learning and working on in school every day. 
• Parents can participate in their children’s learning by guiding them through homework assignments and reinforcing positive study and research habits.
• Homework observation and participation can help parents understand their children’s academic strengths and weaknesses, and even identify possible learning difficulties.
• Source: Phys.org, “ Sociologist Upends Notions about Parental Help with Homework ,” 2018.

While some amount of homework may help students connect to their learning and enhance their in-class performance, too much homework can have damaging effects. 

Students with too much homework have elevated stress levels. 

• Source: USA Today, “ Is It Time to Get Rid of Homework? Mental Health Experts Weigh In ,” 2021.
• Source: Stanford University, “ Stanford Research Shows Pitfalls of Homework ,” 2014.

Students with too much homework may be tempted to cheat. 

• Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education, “ High-Tech Cheating Abounds, and Professors Bear Some Blame ,” 2010.
• Source: The American Journal of Family Therapy, “ Homework and Family Stress: With Consideration of Parents’ Self Confidence, Educational Level, and Cultural Background ,” 2015.

Homework highlights digital inequity. 

• Sources: NEAToday.org, “ The Homework Gap: The ‘Cruelest Part of the Digital Divide’ ,” 2016; CNET.com, “ The Digital Divide Has Left Millions of School Kids Behind ,” 2021.
• Source: Investopedia, “ Digital Divide ,” 2022; International Journal of Education and Social Science, “ Getting the Homework Done: Social Class and Parents’ Relationship to Homework ,” 2015.
• Source: World Economic Forum, “ COVID-19 exposed the digital divide. Here’s how we can close it ,” 2021.

Homework does not help younger students.

• Source: Review of Educational Research, “ Does Homework Improve Academic Achievement? A Synthesis of Researcher, 1987-2003 ,” 2006.

To help students find the right balance and succeed, teachers and educators must start the homework conversation, both internally at their school and with parents. But in order to successfully advocate on behalf of students, teachers must be well educated on the subject, fully understanding the research and the outcomes that can be achieved by eliminating or reducing the homework burden. There is a plethora of research and writing on the subject for those interested in self-study.

For teachers looking for a more in-depth approach or for educators with a keen interest in educational equity, formal education may be the best route. If this latter option sounds appealing, there are now many reputable schools offering online master of education degree programs to help educators balance the demands of work and family life while furthering their education in the quest to help others.

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First grade: good study habits and homework.

Every parent wants their child to do well in school and to learn as much as they possibly can. To be good students, children need to develop good study habits at home and at school. You can help develop good study habits at home by approaching homework with a positive attitude and by providing an atmosphere that encourages learning. Here are some ideas that can help.

Set a Homework Schedule

Set up a regular time for homework to be done each day and stick to it. Expect homework and plan it into the daily routine, just like meals, sleep, and play. Plan the time that best suits your child. Some children may work best in the afternoon when they get home from school, while others may need to unwind first.

Provide an Appropriate Place to Study

Choose a place that is quiet and free from distractions such as TV, radio, and other family activities, if possible. Make sure there is good lighting. Provide a desk or table with a comfortable chair for your child. The kitchen table will work if other family members agree to stay out of the room during study time.

Keep Basic Study Supplies Handy

Store needed items such as pencils, pencil sharpener, glue, erasers, markers, scissors, and paper near the study area. It is easier and faster to do an assignment when everything is at hand. A basket or shoe box can be decorated to store these items.

Help Your Child Keep Track of Assignments and Projects

At the first grade level, the teacher will usually send home some type of printed daily or weekly homework assignment sheet to let you know what work your child is to do. Be sure to find out from the teacher how and when this information will be provided to you. Be sure to check the backpack every day and read any messages or papers sent home by the teacher.

Other Ideas!

• Help your child with homework when needed, but do not do it for your child. Children only learn when they do the work themselves.
• Check over all homework and have your child correct any mistakes. Turn mistakes into positive learning opportunities!
• Encourage your child to always do their best. Praise all papers and projects brought home. Display them in a special place for all to see!

For more ideas about how to help your child develop strong study habits, as well as many other parenting topics and ideas, visit the University of Missouri's Extension resource: ExtensionInfoNet.org.

Keeping Minds and Hands Busy

As the weather gets cooler, gather ideas and supplies for inside activities that will keep your child's hands and mind busy so the "I'm bored" syndrome does not set in. The activity provided below will be fun for you and your child to do together and can be made from items that you already have around the house.

Homemade Bird Feeders

In the wintertime, birds like to eat fatty foods like peanut butter and suet (hard animal fat). These foods help make their bodies warm. Try these bird feeder ideas to attract some feathered friends to your backyard.

Bird feeders can also be made by cutting out a large opening in a plastic liter pop bottle or any size milk jug. Hang it from a tree branch with a strong string and keep a supply of bird seed in the bottom of the bottle or jug.

You and your child can watch the birds eat and chirp "thank you"! Help your child keep a record of the different types of birds that come to eat at the feeder. See how many you can identify together. Note the color of each. Make a trip to the library and check out a book to learn more about birds or to help you in identifying them.

Source:  Grawemeyer, B. (November 2003). Our Feathered Friends. Cloverbud Program Curriculum Instruction Materials . 710 GPM 5.2. Ohio State University Extension .

Staude, S. n.d. "Good Study Habits." University of Missouri Extension.

Edited by: Rose Fisher Merkowitz, Extension Educator—Family and Consumer Sciences, Highland County; Kathy L. Jelley, Extension Educator—Family and Consumer Sciences, Brown County; and Scott Scheer, Professor and Extension Specialist—Human and Community Resource Development and 4-H Youth Development, The Ohio State University.

Revised by: Betsy DeMatteo, Extension Program Coordinator—Family and Consumer Sciences, Hamilton County.

CFAES provides research and related educational programs to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis. For more information, visit cfaesdiversity.osu.edu. For an accessible format of this publication, visit cfaes.osu.edu/accessibility.

Copyright © 2010, The Ohio State University

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• March 18, 2019
• By Homework Help Global
• Tagged: exams Study habits Study Schedule studying

How to Develop Good Study Habits

If you are someone who was able to still do quite well in high school with comparatively little work, you are both lucky and unlucky. You are unlucky because that sort of approach to studying is usually not going to fly at the postsecondary level. You need to develop actual productive study habits that you use on a regular basis if you want to do well in university-level courses (for the most part). Below is a list of some of the good study habits of highly effective university students.

Make a study schedule

The best thing to do in order to maximize your chances of actually dedicating the amount of time you need to in order to really have a handle on the material is to make a schedule. Once you know, more or less, what your week looks like in terms of free and occupied time, pencil in some study time in between all of the other things you have to do.

There is actually quite robust neuroscientific evidence behind the claim that in order to achieve your goals, you need to write them down. In fact, people who vividly described their goals, short, medium, and long-term, were 1.2 to 1.4 times more likely to accomplish them. Being 20 to 40 percent more likely to actually follow through on something is no trivial number. If developing a viable study schedule you can stick to on a weekly basis is one of your goals at university (and it should be), then writing out your schedule (i.e. your plans to follow through) is a very good idea. You don’t have to go into vivid detail about what you are going to study, how you are going to do it, where, etc. but if you write down what you want to do, or what you aim to do, you are more likely to do it.

Put your phone on airplane mode

Airplane mode isn’t just to make sure you don’t accidentally crash the plane; it is also a self-discipline tool you can use to help you really focus and get down to business. Most people aren’t born with good study habits, they are cultivated over time and through repetition. You do, at the end of the day, have to want to develop and perfect these habits.

One of the best ways to ensure that you do, and that your scheduled study sessions become part of your routine, is to eliminate all potential distractions. That means, first and foremost, ensuring that your phone doesn’t get in the way of what you need to do. There are, of course, extenuating circumstances. If you are expecting a phone call about a job you have been interviewing for, or are awaiting test results from a doctor, you don’t want to screen either of those calls. But you can certainly put a hold on things like social media notifications, and push marketing from DoorDash while you get down to brass tax.

Don’t cram for a test

Cramming is tempting, and often even feels necessary. It is tempting because it is hard to resist the urge to leave future you twisting in the wind the night before an exam, so that present you can enjoy another couple of hours of Netflix or YouTube. It ends up feeling necessary because the only option you are left with when you haven’t been keeping up with the course material is to try and fit as much of it into your brain as possible before you write an exam.

There is ample psychological literature backing up the suggestion that spacing out your studying improves your retention of information . It is what is known as ‘spaced practice’ or ‘distributed practice.’ If you sit down and study for a couple of hours throughout the week, and do so every week leading up to your midterm or final exam, your ability to recall and deploy the information will likely be much better. If you do all of this and still feel that you don’t stand a chance on exam day, there are exam writing services out there that have got your back.

Getting adequate sleep is one of the best study habits

This sounds like the easiest one of the above tips to actually do, but depending on your schedule, it might be the hardest. Your brain needs regular, consistent intervals of sleep in order to function properly. If you sleep too much, or worse, too little, your circadian rhythm becomes disrupted and your body goes into survival mode, which is generally not conducive to high cognitive functioning.

If you really want to make the most of the time that you have set aside to develop your good study habits and absorb the course material, make sure that you are getting as many nights of adequate rest in a row as you can. If you know you have to get up for that 8:30 a.m. class, don’t go to bed at 3:30 a.m. because you wanted to binge watch something on Netflix. Also, adequate sleep the night before an exam is vital.

Becoming an effective studier, and an effective university student in turn, requires a certain amount of dedication and sacrifice. It requires controlling your impulses and exercising self-restraint, but it also requires you to really have the time to set aside. If you are serious about developing good study habits this year, then keep the above in mind, and for those times when there just isn’t enough time to study, get in touch with Homework Help Global.

References:

(2019). “Spaced Practice.” UC San Diego Department of Psychology. Retrieved from: https://psychology.ucsd.edu/undergraduate-program/academic-writing-resources/effective-studying/spaced-practice.html

Murphy, M. (2018). “Neuroscience explains why you need to write down your goals if you actually want to achieve them.” Forbes. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/markmurphy/2018/04/15/neuroscience-explains-why-you-need-to-write-down-your-goals-if-you-actually-want-to-achieve-them/#29d288477905

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