What is your question
and how did it arise for you?
Question: Does the requirement and enforcement of homework
in math classrooms result in significant improvement of student understanding?
When I first began tutoring students, I repeatedly found
that when I helped students through concepts after they had already attempted
their homework assignment, they had a better overall understanding of what was
required and could grasp the concepts more quickly. Those students that wanted
to work through their homework assignments together would begin to understand
the topic, but would have a harder time working through word problems or
applying concepts to different situations. The role of homework to act as
practice was essential.
However, during my short term practicum, one of my sponsor
teacher’s had a firm policy of not requiring students to complete suggested
homework assignments. She passionately believes that students will accommodate
their study habits to their learning needs depending on the subject being
studied. While I understand her reasoning and evidence for incorporating this
approach in her classroom, it fundamentally contradicted what I have experienced
with my tutoring students. Yet, in a classroom, a different environment and
rapport between students and teachers is created. I would like to further learn
about different approaches to homework to better begin establishing my own
personal opinion when entering the long practicum.
Why is your question
significant (to you and/or others)?
Primarily, the question is significant for me as it is an
essential aspect of classroom expectations that reflect my personal teaching
philosophy. To best coach my students through understanding the material that I
will be presenting, I must be able to assess the effectiveness that homework
plays in aiding student understanding. As a result, this question influences
student of my future classes and can help me contribute to discussions with my
sponsor teachers concerning their positions. We are all working together with
the goal of helping students to understand and master skills. Determining the
importance of homework as a resource to ensure student comprehension is
therefore an important question to pursue.
What resources will
you draw on to explore your question? (e.g. journal, readings,
curriculum/policy, documents, etc.)
To explore this question, I will draw on the following
resources to gain a variety of perspectives and possible conclusions:
·
Interviews with three Sponsor Teachers
o
Interview teachers of other science faculties,
e.g. physics
·
Research Papers – Education and Pedagogy
·
Theories concerning the scaffolding of math
education
o
Theories concerning academic knowledge
development
·
Student learning diversities
o
Aids for different types of learners – how
homework is placed in these frameworks
What do you expect to
find out?
I expect to find opinions found at all points of the
spectrum. Homework policy may be a result of the teacher’s general philosophy,
or the homework philosophy may guide a teacher’s general approach to the math
classroom. The answer to the question may be to enforce a sort of consistency
not only within the classroom, but within he math department at a High School
so that students have clear expectations as they move to higher level grades.
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