Designing Effective Homework

Nancy S. Self

For a kindergarten child, a homework assignment may be welcomed as a sign of growing up. In contrast, a 3rd grader may perceive a homework assignment as a boring struggle, a hindrance to afternoon freedom, or a source of dreaded punishment at home or school if it is not completed. At the high school level, homework may be perceived as a positive challenge, a means to goal attainment, or a burdensome task.

Teachers are faced with a dilemma when assigning homework because the beliefs of its positive influence conflict with frequently negative consequences. Homework assignments are intended to strengthen student skills, advance classroom instruction, and teach the students responsibility for their own learning. However, when homework is assigned, the teacher must create and enforce rules for completing it, design and administer the consequences of missed assignments, spend hours grading it, and deal with parents' perceptions about the amount of homework assigned. How can teachers create homework assignments that maximize positive outcomes? As educators, we must first ask, what is the purpose of homework?

Teachers should rethink the reasons for assigning homework. Rather than seeing homework as an obligatory task students must complete as part of the routine school process, teachers can use homework to enhance classroom lessons, reinforce skills, and engage students in meaningful learning exercises. 

The following are strategies for making homework more meaningful. 

Create homework assignments that apply skills taught in the classroom to real-life situations within the home and community. For example, teachers can reinforce math skills with elementary students by asking them to search for geometric shapes at home or to count the number of items such as windows, doors, eating utensils, chair or table legs, and then manipulate the numbers using addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. Teachers can ask middle or high schoolers to read newspaper, magazine, or internet articles to find new vocabulary words, uses of parts of speech, or examples of description and political persuasion. 

Assign homework that actively engages students with their families to enhance bonding, maximize positive time spent together, and demonstrate to family members that learning can occur in everyday life outside the classroom walls. A sample assignment for 3rd graders would be for students to find recipes for things they would like to eat. Recipes can come from the family recipe box, a cookbook, a Web site, or a magazine. Students can rewrite the recipe to halve or double ingredients. If possible, students might shop with the family for needed ingredients, make the recipe with adult supervision, and bring in a sample for the class. They would enjoy this project more than routine assignments, and it would also engage parents in their children's learning. 

Another example of a homework assignment that engages students can be done with middle or high schoolers. Students could interview an adult family member about a time he felt discouraged but overcame the problem. With ideas gained from the interview, students could write a story that demonstrates an understanding of adjectives, adverbs, similes, hyperbole, or metaphors. Sharing the stories in class can inform, bond, teach values, and motivate the students.

Give students the responsibility of choosing a homework assignment that is of interest to them or would fit with their culture, lifestyle, and experience. Teachers can create a selection of homework assignments that reinforce skills in focused categories. Students can read the various assignments and choose ones they would like to complete according to their interests. Assignments might include such things as planning a budget for a week of meals for the family; determining the best shops and prices in town for acquiring ethnic spices for a family meal; researching the best buys for the family to consider when purchasing a new computer or car; or applying physics to sports such as baseball or in-line skating.

Design homework to build students' self-esteem by providing an opportunity for experiencing success at home as well as demonstrating what they have learned to their peers in the classroom. When students complete an assignment at home, ask them to report their knowledge, successes, and difficulties to their peers in the classroom. Students can report in pairs or small groups, and they may earn points for completing and sharing assignments. Multiple groups of students may cooperatively share at one time, reducing class time spent on checking homework. Discussions allow students to bond while teaching one another. Students can also post completed homework assignments on a class bulletin board, on a class Web site, or in a class newsletter that can also be shared with peers or parents. This sharing method can provide recognition as well as motivation for other students to attempt a similar homework assignment or even to suggest one that they might like to try. 

Thinking of homework as something that can motivate and energize students, families, and teachers to learn together is challenging but also refreshing. Designing homework assignments that empower students to use their creativity and to relate learning in school to learning anywhere in the world enhances effectiveness and adds relevance to classroom lessons.

Nancy S. Self  is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Culture (TLAC) at Texas A&M University, College Station. She teaches multiple courses in the early childhood program for students seeking preK–6 certification.