Last year, after the publication of Alfie Kohn’s book, The Homework Myth:  Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing, I was asked to consider reducing or eliminating homework from our science classes at the senior level.  With some trepidation, I agreed to plan units with minimal homework.  My reading led me to re-evaluate the type and the purpose of the homework I had assigned in the past. Having designed units with the “end in mind,” I now found myself evaluating homework based on the same backward thinking.

Determining My Purpose  
 
I decided on four purposes for homework:

• to reinforce learning;  
• to prepare for assessment; 
• to transfer understanding; 
• to prepare for the next day’s learning. 

With these categories in mind, I considered activities that would be appropriate and purposeful, but would not involve lengthy homework sessions.

The New Design

Since each lesson was organized around an essential question as well as a guiding lesson question, most of the new homework involved reinforcing and transferring learning.  For homework, students were asked to spend ten minutes reviewing the lesson and considering how the lesson answered the lesson question and/or the essential question for the unit. In the first five minutes of the next class, students would answer one of those questions in their journals.  The following five minutes were used to discuss the question and to clarify misunderstandings that arose. 

Even the busiest students managed this ten-minute homework assignment, and it was helpful to start each class with a review of the previous lesson.  This enabled students to reflect and revise their understanding in a guided way.  It also allowed students to revisit the essential question, adding in new information as they began to understand the content more deeply.

Homework to prepare for assessment was used in the days leading up to a formal evaluation. In order to provide more opportunities for feedback, students received assignments in small chunks, with opportunities for peer review in between each chunk.  For example, before we completed a lab in class, students were asked to write the introduction and method to the lab for homework.   These pieces were peer reviewed in class just before the lab was conducted.  This gave students a formal opportunity to talk purposefully about what they were going to do in the lab. 

That night, students analyzed the data and wrote the discussion to the lab.  At the beginning of the next class, peers reviewed this work and we discussed any issues arising from the lab.  Finally, students had one more night of homework to revise the lab before it was due.  Spreading out the stages of writing and increasing the opportunities for purposeful discussion among partners provided students with additional time to recap and revise understanding and to gain specific feedback to improve their explanations. 

Preparing for Future Lessons

The homework I found the most difficult to revamp was homework that served as the hook or preparation for the next day’s learning. This was the type of homework I had previously given most often and the homework that students most struggled with and frequently skipped.  I was asking them to read sections from the textbook that had little meaning for them or to answer questions that we hadn’t yet addressed in class.  Sometimes, students were actually trying to teach themselves material prior to the class discussion. 

I spent considerable time rethinking this methodology.   I decided to stop asking students to read the textbook ahead of the classroom lesson.  Instead, when I wanted them to preview the next day’s lesson, I asked them to read the summary at the beginning and end of the chapter or to look at the main headings or pictures to get a sense of what the section was about. 

Sometimes I simply asked them to brainstorm what they already knew about the upcoming topic.  For example, before talking about the complexities of cellular respiration, I asked them to brainstorm what they remembered about that topic from the previous year.  This homework made more sense to students and it helped prime them for the next lesson without frustrating them. It made more sense to read the text reference after we had fully explored the idea in class together.

The Results

What has been the effect of this change in homework policy?  In the short term, it has relieved student anxiety and for most students has resulted in better assessments because of the built in checks.  Students have more time to ask questions as they do their homework, because the homework itself is shorter.  It does take more time to complete a unit, but I don’t think this is such a bad thing.  By slowing down, students have more time to think and reflect on their own.  This means they develop a better understanding of the important ideas.  It is actually easier to plan lessons since I am no longer relying on them to pre-read and pre-answer the major questions, and lessons run smoothly because I am making fewer assumptions.

I encourage other teachers to do this same reflection that I have done and continue to do on the homework they assign, considering its importance and its purpose.  I have found that doing less and better designed homework can actually result in greater understanding.