You are in the process of writing units for your students. How can you determine the "needs to know"?
What is the purpose of homework?
When is homework necessary? What strategy will you employ when a student chooses not to do it?
Now that I know my account works..... There are several ways to determine the "needs to know" in our units. First we can determine through pre-assessment what the students already know and what we need to teach more of. By setting clear objectives we can easily develop our units to follow what we need the students to know. Another way is to follow the currriculum. By following the curriculum you have a map of what needs to be learned. Without guides it will make it extremely difficult to touch on all the things the students need to learn. Homework to me is a repetition of learning and an informal assessment. Homework allows students to revisit the days lessons and practice them either on their own or with parents, tutors, and peers. Homework is necessary when determining if the class gets what has been taught, to help practice difficult concepts, and to encourage responsibility. When our students go into the "real world" they will be responsible for so many tasks, by giving homework we can teach the importance of responsible work practices. Another good thing about homework is it's encouragement for interactions between others. The social aspect of homework can be as important as what the student is learning. Good practice,creativity,and strategies can be explored through working with others. Of course not all students are afforded the oppourtunity of having someone to help them with the work. In these cases after school homework clubs are necessary for their success. Students who do not do their homework must receive consequences. I would have students come during their recess or lunch to make up work that was missed. I also like giving extra assignments to make up for work that is missing. I will remind students why we do homework, what the importance is, what consequences their are, and that it is a grade that is important. As annoying as homework may be I still believe that there is an important place for it in our classrooms.
A unit needs to address concepts that need to be learned to be successful at the next level. After we figure out what concepts need to be taught, we need to make sure that we pre-assess the students to see what they already know, and what needs to be addressed with more of an emphasis. There is the “need to know” and the “nice to know”. The need to know, are the concepts that have to be covered first (to mastery) because students need to understand this to be successful on the assessment and at the next level. The nice to know ideas are sometimes the lessons that are intriguing and catch the student’s interest. These lessons can be used as an initial engagement, filler at the end of the unit, an activity for students who have mastered a current concept being taught.
Homework should be used to review skills being taught in the classroom. This is a time to give practice with skills taught that day or in the same week so that students can obtain mastery. I found the quote from Robert Marzano’s book, The Art of Teaching incredibly interesting: ‘large amounts of poorly structured homework will not be beneficial and may in fact be detrimental. Small amounts of well-structured homework, on the other hand, may produce the desired effect’ (p. 69)”. At a certain point, students start noticing when homework is busy work, or a skill that needs to be practiced and mastered in order to be successful. Choosing homework and giving only the homework that student’s need, instead of things they should know, may be the best way to go about giving homework.
Homework needs to be treated as something that needs to be done to elevate a students learning and we need to show them how we use this homework. I may use homework as a means to see who understands when to add or subtract, or as a supplemental to our phonics lesson on final blends. These homework assignments matched with classwork serve as a form of observation to see who is still not mastering these skills and who needs more support.
If students choose not to do homework, they should be held accountable. This is yet, another type of “red flag”. There are many strategies that need to be employed if a student is not turning in their homework. We can talk with the students and be honest and explain that homework needs to be turned in, talk to parents (at the elementary level), keeping a student in during recess, or using the time they have when they have finished their assigned work during the day. We need to stress to our students the importance of homework and demand that they take hold of their education.
In the process of developing our unit, we are using a carousel pre-assessment tool to help us determine what the students already know about the states of matter. From there we will continue on teaching students the basics and details of the states of matter. We are creating our lesson plans on the end goal of students knowing the differences and changes in the phases of matter. In addition to this, as teachers we have standards that will help us stay on track to explore different things and themes to teach that students need to know.
I believe the purpose of homework is to reinforce and revisit the daily lessons that the students were exposed to previously. I remember when I was a student, teachers always said “practice makes perfect” and now that I am in their shoes I see a complete difference in students who practice what they learned that day and students who do not practice what they learned that day. Homework also allows students to become responsible for their own work; students realize there are consequences to those who do not complete their homework and this will further their readiness in the real world. People who do not do their “homework” or work are responsible for in the real world may get fired, or laid off, students will learn this if teachers make them responsible for their homework.
Homework should be given to help evaluate how effectively they are learning. In addition to this it can be used as a pre-assessment or to practice different strategies students are still learning how to use, such as thinking maps. There are many consequences that may be put in place for students who do not complete their homework. Students may stay in for recess, or have detention, and complete their homework there. Teachers may also choose to call home or send a note home where the parent needs to sign when the students have completed their homework. I have also seen teacher-parent journals where everyday the parent and teacher write to one another and discuss the occurrences in class and at home that stopped or helped the student complete their homework. Completing homework successfully is a life long skill that students must learn how to do in elementary school so it sets them up for a successful future.
“Need to know” work is basically considered what students need to understand in order to move forward with in the curriculum . Pre-assessments are tools teachers use in order to determine what their students already know about a particular topic, then, we can see where the student is, and where he/she needs to be in order to continue successfully.
Homework should be given to reinforce what was learned in class; however, homework doesn’t need to be overwhelming. According to Jackson, Vigor has nothing to do with volume. It’s the quality of the homework students receive. Figure out what students “need to know” to master the current chapter. There is no need for fluffy homework, reinforce what the students need to understand to mastery…. period.
Incorporating students passions into your students homework may be an effective tool to use when a student(s) loose interest in a particular topic. This will allow them to place ownership into their work… not just to do it because it needs to be done.
There are many ways to assess what our students need to know before we can successfully teach a unit. By far, however, the first way for me is to conduct some type of informal assessment. A quick survey, writing prompts, or journals are all ways to assess what your students need to know. Especially in today’s climate of differentiated instruction pre-assessing students is a great vehicle to use to get a better understanding of what your students know and what they and are able to do. Without pre-assessment, you have no clue of what students needs for learning “this skill” are completing “that unit”.
As a student in high school I hated getting homework. I thought it to be boring and useless. Often we did homework and never got it back. In undergrad I vowed that I would never give my students homework. In practicum of course, I had to re-think my premise and implement a homework procedure that would be enriching, rewarding, and helpful to my students academic growth. Homework in my classroom is assigned usually unit by unit. I don’t assign a daily homework activity but expect my students to do some work for my class daily. From completing projects, working on reviews, journals or readings students are expected to work on a pending assignment nightly. I agree with you Kelly in that it should not overwhelm the students but keep a spark of interest lit to enhance what is to be accomplished in class.
Homework should be an ongoing extension of what is going on in the classroom. Teachers should keep in mind that students have other obligations to other teachers as well as family and community responsibilities. When assigning homework we should also keep in mind that homework should be a way to give students success that they might not achieve in daily class activities.
I feel that it is so important to meet the academic and emotional needs of every student in a class because of the growing population of diversity in students and differentiated instruction in curriculum. I do feel though, that it can become really difficult for teachers to decipher the "need-to-knows" and "nice-to-knows" of their curricula (quality vs. quantity). There is so much to cover in a year, in a unit, in even a lesson. To determine the "need-to-knows" in your unit you have to ask yourself, "what do my students need to understand out of the subject content in this unit that will help them move forward to the next unit and so forth in class; what do my students need to know to ensure for success when taking state-mandated or end-of-the-year exams; and what skills are needed for my students to transition present success to future success in the next grade levels and hopefully into adulthood? As in Jackson's book, you need to specify what students must know, subtract what they know already and teach students the rest. I really agree with everyone about a major "need to know" strategy being the pre-assessment. The pre-assessment will enable the teacher to know what students already know and what they do not know, will allow you to figure out what you want the students to focus on knowing, and what can be done to ensure for continuous progress in their education. Other than pre-assessment, as a teacher one can, include planning the right instructional objectives, doing daily Do-Now's that narrow down the important highlights of your unit each day, and activities that focus on quality rather than quantity that portray the content. For example, when I did a unit on, "Why the Caged Bird Sings," by Maya Angelou, I did not worry about completing the entire book with the classes and jamming the entirety of the content into six weeks because I knew the students would miss the quality of the book and I simply could not complete that task. Before I even started the book I assessed the class to see if they have previously read the book or have any background knowledge of it or of the author. As a teacher, you need to focus on what is absolutely necessary for your students to understand in order to succeed in your subject.
I always dreaded homework and will most likely always dread it, but I do feel it is a necessary component to not only a student's success academically in their education but also as a life skill in their life. Homework plays an essential role because it gives students the responsibility of completing their work at home on their own time, not losing it or getting it destroyed, and being capable enough of handing it in on time. It not only preps students for new knowledge but also with the life skills of responsibility, organization, and punctuality as well. I love everyone's points about homework and what to do if a student fails to do their homework. I also feel students need to be held accountable, but the teacher needs to understand that a student goes through many other factors in their life and school is not the only factor of importance. Students need to be treated with fairness and compassion when it comes to homework yet with authority so they do not treat homework as a joke. If they are not doing their homework maybe they are too overwhelmed at home so they cannot complete it, or know the material but feel they are getting too much of it. And then you will always have those kids who no matter what you do as a teacher they will always hate homework. So as a teacher, I feel you have to pick and choose your battles. You need to keep tabs of who in the class is doing the homework, who isn't, why they are not doing it, and solutions to solve the dilemma to ensure for productivity in every student's homework success rate.
“Need to knows” are components of any unit or lesson that must be understood in order to move to a higher level of thinking. But before you can effectively teach any lesson, you as the teacher “need to know” what prior knowledge and experiences your students are entering the classroom with. A great way to assess this knowledge is through pre assessment activities such as interest inventories, carousel, dry erase boards etc. We need to know what students already know in to prevent from re-teaching information that is already mastered and essentially wasting precious instructional time.
The purpose of homework is to re enforce what students have already practiced or learned in class. As we know, practice is necessary to become good at almost everything we do, and homework should re enforce that. Homework should not teach new material and should not be work that is at a student’s frustration level. Homework should be challenging and engaging, but should not leave students anxiety ridden. Giving homework consisting of material that has not been practiced in class can lead students to become frustrated and give up.
If a student is not completing their homework, you may want to go back and take a look at what you have assigned. Has the material been discussed in class? Did you perform ongoing assessments to ensure your students grasped the material? You may need to go back and make a few changes to your teaching strategy. However, this may not always be the case. Problems at home and many other obstacles may prevent a student from completing homework. Possible solutions could be to allow these particular students additional time during the school day to complete homework, volunteer to tutor these students, and offer time management strategies. If further problems persist, it may be necessary to speak to a parent or guardian.
The "needs to know" are the things the students must know in order to learn the material and to successfully understand what is being taught. Students need to know certain things in order to move to a higher level of thinking. Sometimes in lessons you will teach just what the needs are because the subject could get a little more confusing and in depth. Other times, when you see understanding is very high, you can go beyond the needs to know and challenge students more. I know for sure, I like challenging students when I see the lesson goes smoothly and the class is on board with you. We have to go beyond the needs in order to reach that higher level of thinking however, you need to be observant of the understanding going on. As mentioned before, if the class is not on board, then you teach to the needs. For me, math, is FILLED with so much "needs to know" that it leave little time to challenge further. However, math is a subject that students will get or not get and unfortunately get discouraged very fast. Playing to the needs is how I've seen most math classes go because there is just so much information and it is so scattered. You need to know your students and know where they might struggle, and make your best judgement.
Th purpose of homework, I feel, is to check for further understanding. However, I do not agree with teachers spending so much time on homework that it takes over the time in class. Homework is a tool for teachers to assess not to drown students with so much extra work. I am not a fan of giving a million things for homework, simply because I would not do it so why would I do that to them. That is how you get students to HATE homework. Overloading is a huge issue that I've witnessed and I totally disagree. Homework is an assessment and should be used just as that.
I do feel homework is necessary because, as mentioned already, it is a way for teachers to check for understanding. It is important for students to understand material and be able to do the work on their own. When students choose not to do the homework, it hurts them in the long run. It implies laziness. I never give that much homework because then I know they won't do it. I do enough so that I know they understand the material and so they get a little extra practice. Not doing it hurts them come test time. They did not give them selves the chance to make the mistake and correct it on homework, and therefore their test score on the material will show just that. It is important students do their homework, but teachers need to stop drowning them in it. That stirs up a vicious cycle.
I think the main purpose of homework is to ensure students have reinforcement after the lesson. This is a way to help refresh what was taught in class, and a way for the teacher to make sure the students have a clear understanding if they know the material or not. However, as a teacher and even as a student I have never been a fan of giving or receiving busy work. Homework, just for the sake of giving it. Students know when they are given busy work and most of them say “I’m not going to do this, it has no point to what we are doing” and sometimes how can you disagree. That’s why as a student teacher I made sure I gave meaningful homework, that they can relate to and most of my students really enjoyed it. I had them write messages to Napoleon through facebook, and write tweets to an Enlightened Philosopher. They really enjoyed these homework’s and I had some really interesting stories and comments. If a student does not wish to do their homework I would smack them with a ruler… joking! I would ask them why they did not complete the assignment, ask if they need help, if they didn’t understand, offer to stay after school with them during extra help and do the assignment together. I want my students to complete their homework, I would never give them a zero, I would not let them have the option of not doing it and taking the easy way out. However on that note, I would not give them full credit if they were late.
What is the purpose of homework? When is homework necessary? What strategy will you employ when a student chooses not to do it?
The main purpose of homework is to reinforce the lesson(s) that have been taught during the school day. I strongly believe that homework does not need to be long or too much for the student. I also believe that homework is necessary because it checks for understanding. When I look at my students homework, it gives me a good sense of what they are able to do on their own. Especially if they are struggling with a particular area. If a student is not choosing to do it, it may be too difficult for them or their home life may be a contribution why they can't finish it. I would have to figure out why the homework is not happening. I would talk to the student and remind them they need to be accountable for their work. It may be a good time to review classroom goals and provide that effective feedback.
You are in the process of writing units for your students. How can you determine the "needs to know"?
"Need to know" is what students have to learn and understand about the unit that students have yet to encounter. In order to determine the needs to know, preassessment or informal activities should be given and are important in helping decide what needs to be taught. For example, and just to name a few,activities can be used such as effective questioning or brainstorming ideas can give a teacher a sense of what their students already know.
I am glad that only Pasquale is interested in corporal punishment =) Sometimes I think that kids would take it over the endless amount of work that is required by some teachers. From your writings, I can see that you get the meaning of when homework is necessary. And when it is a need to do. The need to know comes with time, but the strategies suggested by Jackson and you are ways to begin the process. Using tiered lessons also helps in this process. See you tonight!
The need to know is what is authentic. What students will need to know in order to succeed in life. To succeed at work. Isn't that our goal, o educate the minds of children in order to make a productive and enlightened future. By associating the material you are teaching to real-life situations allows the students to understand to a greater degree and to retain the information longer. It also helps students reach higher levels in Blooms Taxomony, to question, relate, take apart, and put back together information. When a student asks why or how, do not disreagrd that inquiry but rather embrace it. If you don't have the answer, work with the student to find it. By doing this makes it more meaningful to the student and closes the gap between the teacher and the student. As for homework, that should also be authentic and also be appropriate to learning styles and abilities in addition to developmentally appropriate. The idea of homework is to both assess a students ability in addition to reinforcing classroom learned information. However, in many cases homework cannot be used as either of these things when parents, siblings, peers, or guardians are doing it for them. That is why it is important to make it engaging and authentic. More of a project than "work". Something that students will be excited to go home and do, that they can teach their parents, for the best way to learn something is to teach it. But what if a student doesn't complete their entriguing and engaging assignment you work so hard on creating for them? Well, give that student options. Find out why they could not complete it. Have a homework pass system, that every student gets a total of 5 passes when they begin the school year. Explain how it is like a job, you get x amount of sick days a year, and if you go over those days you suffer consequences of lack of pay, being written up, and possible termination of employment. By making all that you do authentic, brings the real world into the classroom and more greatly enhances your students rate of success outside of the classroom.
Regarding “need to knows”: It can be truly difficult to sift through all that can be known about a subject to get to the need to knows. We, as teachers, are masters in our subject areas so we place importance on all aspects of the subject at hand. We need to look at things from the viewpoint of our students. Where are they, what do they know already, and what will help them reach the objective of the unit? As Kasey said, we need to distinguish the need to knows from the nice to knows. Preassessment of the students is a good start. But it also might be helpful to go through our lesson plans and list all the things that we would like the students to learn. Then cross things off the list that are superfluous to what the students must learn. Homework is tricky. I remember when I was in 5th grade, our teacher would assign homework in each subject every night. That included, English, Science, Social Studies, Math, Religion, and Reading. Every night. Looking back, it was her first year teaching and I’m sure she thought that was what she was supposed to do. But I just remember being up until 10-11pm every night trying to get all the work done and then was exhausted the next day and could hardly pay attention during class. That’s pretty heavy for a 10 year old. Pile on to that all the extracurricular activities I was involved in and it is surprising I didn’t have a breakdown. Meanwhile, I can only imagine how long it took her to grade these assignments every night. We need to remember that our students are kids who have lives outside of our classroom. In this day and age kids’ schedules are completely booked with sports, music classes, clubs, (not to mention social lives). Our homework assignments should reinforce what was learned in the class. They should be concise and meaningful. Students spend 6-7 hours a day in school until they are age 18. We don’t need to take unnecessary time away from their lives just because we think we need to assign homework.
After reading Jackson’s book, I recognize that there are many ways for me to begin implementing these techniques within the classroom. STEP 1: Get a job (just kidding…not really) There are many techniques in this book that can be very useful; however, one aspect of the book that I feel is the most important is the overlapping nature of the techniques. For example, each technique or philosophy for teaching interacts or overlaps with other ideas in the book, making any one technique useless without the other. For instance, without proper assessments, a teacher cannot determine what his or her students know, and what they need to know. If the teacher doesn’t know this, they cannot structure their units and instructional strategies appropriately. This in turn, prevents teachers from collecting useful feedback, and without useful feedback adjustments cannot be made and student needs are not addressed. Inevitably, students fall through the cracks and fail. I believe that the techniques in the book are formulated around a system, which needs to be implemented in full. Some classmates disagree with this idea and believe that the implementation needs to be gradual, but I feel that because these techniques are so interconnected, teachers must implement the system as a whole over any singular technique. This does not mean you have to utilize every technique in the book, but rather one technique from each stage of this system. For example, utilizing a pre-assessment technique will tell you what you students need to learn. Effective informal assessments allow you to track progress and effectiveness of the lessons, as well as identify red flags within your student population. Make changes based on this valuable feedback and start the process again. As Jackson mentions, this transformation to a “master teacher” will not occur in one fell swoop, but I feel that this statement reflects the on-going process that characterizes Jackson’s system. Table 7.1 provides excellent criteria for the roles and responsibilities of the Teacher and Student. This list would be good to keep in mind when developing any unit or plan of study because it clearly defines the roles of the participants. If I had to sum up the Teacher section of table 7.1 in one word, it would be guidance. The role of the teacher is to set up the environment, provide materials (and info), motivate students, and make sure that these elements are continuously apportioned to their needs and progress. As teachers, we must show them the door and give them the keys; however, it is up to the students to use that key, and walk through the door. Differentiation and technology definitely come into play when teaching in the modern classroom. If we follow Jackson’s approach, and know the different learning styles of our students, we can differentiate or tier the lessons to meet the needs/learning styles of the students that we have. Technology represents an integral part of differentiation because it allows for so many modes of information to be accessed quickly. To differentiate, we can use technology to offer a plethora of different learning sources that will appeal to every student in the class in one way or another. Take it one step further, we can allow students to use differentiation to research or present material that they have learned. SUBMITTED BY CHRIS FOSTER
There are many ways to determine the needs of students. Firstly, you can look to the school curriculum for a basis of what content they are supposed to know, and what they should know by the end of the school year. However, this is obvious and often not reflective of where the students actually are. The use of pre-assessments is probably one of the most important aspects to determining what students need to know because it tells us what the students know already, so we can adjust our units accordingly. When developing any unit, it is very important to reduce the concepts down to clear and concise objectives that can be assessed and referred to throughout a given unit. Students should always have these main ideas running through their heads as they divulge in more complex tasks relating to the overall concepts of a unit. Homework is an interesting topic because it is very tricky to actually get students to do it. Homework as a tool is very important because it drives home the material covered and gives allotted practice time for material that may not be possible in class. The problem with homework is that kids hate it. So how do teachers overcome this? I agree with Mark in the idea that there should be consequences for students who do not do their homework. However, the consistent absence of homework should raise a “red flag” to us as educators about what we are assigning. Obviously, the students who care about their grades are going to do the homework regardless of what is assigned. It is the students who don’t do the homework that teachers need to address. Firstly, make homework less boring by orienting it towards an overlapping project, or assigning choice homework assignments that allow students to choose something that appeals to them. Also, find a currency other than grades that appeals to students so that you get the students who don’t care about their grades to do their homework because they want that sticker, or whatever. I agree with Christie’s statement about the structure of homework. Because students hate it, teachers need to optimize the effectiveness in the smallest package possible. Overly rigorous homework will only detour students from doing it. SUBMITTED BY CHRIS FOSTER
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ReplyDeleteNow that I know my account works..... There are several ways to determine the "needs to know" in our units. First we can determine through pre-assessment what the students already know and what we need to teach more of. By setting clear objectives we can easily develop our units to follow what we need the students to know. Another way is to follow the currriculum. By following the curriculum you have a map of what needs to be learned. Without guides it will make it extremely difficult to touch on all the things the students need to learn.
ReplyDeleteHomework to me is a repetition of learning and an informal assessment. Homework allows students to revisit the days lessons and practice them either on their own or with parents, tutors, and peers. Homework is necessary when determining if the class gets what has been taught, to help practice difficult concepts, and to encourage responsibility. When our students go into the "real world" they will be responsible for so many tasks, by giving homework we can teach the importance of responsible work practices. Another good thing about homework is it's encouragement for interactions between others. The social aspect of homework can be as important as what the student is learning. Good practice,creativity,and strategies can be explored through working with others.
Of course not all students are afforded the oppourtunity of having someone to help them with the work. In these cases after school homework clubs are necessary for their success. Students who do not do their homework must receive consequences. I would have students come during their recess or lunch to make up work that was missed. I also like giving extra assignments to make up for work that is missing. I will remind students why we do homework, what the importance is, what consequences their are, and that it is a grade that is important. As annoying as homework may be I still believe that there is an important place for it in our classrooms.
A unit needs to address concepts that need to be learned to be successful at the next level. After we figure out what concepts need to be taught, we need to make sure that we pre-assess the students to see what they already know, and what needs to be addressed with more of an emphasis. There is the “need to know” and the “nice to know”. The need to know, are the concepts that have to be covered first (to mastery) because students need to understand this to be successful on the assessment and at the next level. The nice to know ideas are sometimes the lessons that are intriguing and catch the student’s interest. These lessons can be used as an initial engagement, filler at the end of the unit, an activity for students who have mastered a current concept being taught.
ReplyDeleteHomework should be used to review skills being taught in the classroom. This is a time to give practice with skills taught that day or in the same week so that students can obtain mastery. I found the quote from Robert Marzano’s book, The Art of Teaching incredibly interesting: ‘large amounts of poorly structured homework will not be beneficial and may in fact be detrimental. Small amounts of well-structured homework, on the other hand, may produce the desired effect’ (p. 69)”. At a certain point, students start noticing when homework is busy work, or a skill that needs to be practiced and mastered in order to be successful. Choosing homework and giving only the homework that student’s need, instead of things they should know, may be the best way to go about giving homework.
Homework needs to be treated as something that needs to be done to elevate a students learning and we need to show them how we use this homework. I may use homework as a means to see who understands when to add or subtract, or as a supplemental to our phonics lesson on final blends. These homework assignments matched with classwork serve as a form of observation to see who is still not mastering these skills and who needs more support.
If students choose not to do homework, they should be held accountable. This is yet, another type of “red flag”. There are many strategies that need to be employed if a student is not turning in their homework. We can talk with the students and be honest and explain that homework needs to be turned in, talk to parents (at the elementary level), keeping a student in during recess, or using the time they have when they have finished their assigned work during the day. We need to stress to our students the importance of homework and demand that they take hold of their education.
In the process of developing our unit, we are using a carousel pre-assessment tool to help us determine what the students already know about the states of matter. From there we will continue on teaching students the basics and details of the states of matter. We are creating our lesson plans on the end goal of students knowing the differences and changes in the phases of matter. In addition to this, as teachers we have standards that will help us stay on track to explore different things and themes to teach that students need to know.
ReplyDeleteI believe the purpose of homework is to reinforce and revisit the daily lessons that the students were exposed to previously. I remember when I was a student, teachers always said “practice makes perfect” and now that I am in their shoes I see a complete difference in students who practice what they learned that day and students who do not practice what they learned that day. Homework also allows students to become responsible for their own work; students realize there are consequences to those who do not complete their homework and this will further their readiness in the real world. People who do not do their “homework” or work are responsible for in the real world may get fired, or laid off, students will learn this if teachers make them responsible for their homework.
Homework should be given to help evaluate how effectively they are learning. In addition to this it can be used as a pre-assessment or to practice different strategies students are still learning how to use, such as thinking maps. There are many consequences that may be put in place for students who do not complete their homework. Students may stay in for recess, or have detention, and complete their homework there. Teachers may also choose to call home or send a note home where the parent needs to sign when the students have completed their homework. I have also seen teacher-parent journals where everyday the parent and teacher write to one another and discuss the occurrences in class and at home that stopped or helped the student complete their homework. Completing homework successfully is a life long skill that students must learn how to do in elementary school so it sets them up for a successful future.
“Need to know” work is basically considered what students need to understand in order to move forward with in the curriculum . Pre-assessments are tools teachers use in order to determine what their students already know about a particular topic, then, we can see where the student is, and where he/she needs to be in order to continue successfully.
ReplyDeleteHomework should be given to reinforce what was learned in class; however, homework doesn’t need to be overwhelming. According to Jackson, Vigor has nothing to do with volume. It’s the quality of the homework students receive. Figure out what students “need to know” to master the current chapter. There is no need for fluffy homework, reinforce what the students need to understand to mastery…. period.
Incorporating students passions into your students homework may be an effective tool to use when a student(s) loose interest in a particular topic. This will allow them to place ownership into their work… not just to do it because it needs to be done.
There are many ways to assess what our students need to know before we can successfully teach a unit. By far, however, the first way for me is to conduct some type of informal assessment. A quick survey, writing prompts, or journals are all ways to assess what your students need to know. Especially in today’s climate of differentiated instruction pre-assessing students is a great vehicle to use to get a better understanding of what your students know and what they and are able to do. Without pre-assessment, you have no clue of what students needs for learning “this skill” are completing “that unit”.
ReplyDeleteAs a student in high school I hated getting homework. I thought it to be boring and useless. Often we did homework and never got it back. In undergrad I vowed that I would never give my students homework. In practicum of course, I had to re-think my premise and implement a homework procedure that would be enriching, rewarding, and helpful to my students academic growth. Homework in my classroom is assigned usually unit by unit. I don’t assign a daily homework activity but expect my students to do some work for my class daily. From completing projects, working on reviews, journals or readings students are expected to work on a pending assignment nightly. I agree with you Kelly in that it should not overwhelm the students but keep a spark of interest lit to enhance what is to be accomplished in class.
Homework should be an ongoing extension of what is going on in the classroom. Teachers should keep in mind that students have other obligations to other teachers as well as family and community responsibilities. When assigning homework we should also keep in mind that homework should be a way to give students success that they might not achieve in daily class activities.
I feel that it is so important to meet the academic and emotional needs of every student in a class because of the growing population of diversity in students and differentiated instruction in curriculum. I do feel though, that it can become really difficult for teachers to decipher the "need-to-knows" and "nice-to-knows" of their curricula (quality vs. quantity). There is so much to cover in a year, in a unit, in even a lesson. To determine the "need-to-knows" in your unit you have to ask yourself, "what do my students need to understand out of the subject content in this unit that will help them move forward to the next unit and so forth in class; what do my students need to know to ensure for success when taking state-mandated or end-of-the-year exams; and what skills are needed for my students to transition present success to future success in the next grade levels and hopefully into adulthood? As in Jackson's book, you need to specify what students must know, subtract what they know already and teach students the rest. I really agree with everyone about a major "need to know" strategy being the pre-assessment. The pre-assessment will enable the teacher to know what students already know and what they do not know, will allow you to figure out what you want the students to focus on knowing, and what can be done to ensure for continuous progress in their education. Other than pre-assessment, as a teacher one can, include planning the right instructional objectives, doing daily Do-Now's that narrow down the important highlights of your unit each day, and activities that focus on quality rather than quantity that portray the content. For example, when I did a unit on, "Why the Caged Bird Sings," by Maya Angelou, I did not worry about completing the entire book with the classes and jamming the entirety of the content into six weeks because I knew the students would miss the quality of the book and I simply could not complete that task. Before I even started the book I assessed the class to see if they have previously read the book or have any background knowledge of it or of the author. As a teacher, you need to focus on what is absolutely necessary for your students to understand in order to succeed in your subject.
ReplyDeleteI always dreaded homework and will most likely always dread it, but I do feel it is a necessary component to not only a student's success academically in their education but also as a life skill in their life. Homework plays an essential role because it gives students the responsibility of completing their work at home on their own time, not losing it or getting it destroyed, and being capable enough of handing it in on time. It not only preps students for new knowledge but also with the life skills of responsibility, organization, and punctuality as well. I love everyone's points about homework and what to do if a student fails to do their homework. I also feel students need to be held accountable, but the teacher needs to understand that a student goes through many other factors in their life and school is not the only factor of importance. Students need to be treated with fairness and compassion when it comes to homework yet with authority so they do not treat homework as a joke. If they are not doing their homework maybe they are too overwhelmed at home so they cannot complete it, or know the material but feel they are getting too much of it. And then you will always have those kids who no matter what you do as a teacher they will always hate homework. So as a teacher, I feel you have to pick and choose your battles. You need to keep tabs of who in the class is doing the homework, who isn't, why they are not doing it, and solutions to solve the dilemma to ensure for productivity in every student's homework success rate.
“Need to knows” are components of any unit or lesson that must be understood in order to move to a higher level of thinking. But before you can effectively teach any lesson, you as the teacher “need to know” what prior knowledge and experiences your students are entering the classroom with. A great way to assess this knowledge is through pre assessment activities such as interest inventories, carousel, dry erase boards etc. We need to know what students already know in to prevent from re-teaching information that is already mastered and essentially wasting precious instructional time.
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of homework is to re enforce what students have already practiced or learned in class. As we know, practice is necessary to become good at almost everything we do, and homework should re enforce that. Homework should not teach new material and should not be work that is at a student’s frustration level. Homework should be challenging and engaging, but should not leave students anxiety ridden. Giving homework consisting of material that has not been practiced in class can lead students to become frustrated and give up.
If a student is not completing their homework, you may want to go back and take a look at what you have assigned. Has the material been discussed in class? Did you perform ongoing assessments to ensure your students grasped the material? You may need to go back and make a few changes to your teaching strategy. However, this may not always be the case. Problems at home and many other obstacles may prevent a student from completing homework. Possible solutions could be to allow these particular students additional time during the school day to complete homework, volunteer to tutor these students, and offer time management strategies. If further problems persist, it may be necessary to speak to a parent or guardian.
The "needs to know" are the things the students must know in order to learn the material and to successfully understand what is being taught. Students need to know certain things in order to move to a higher level of thinking. Sometimes in lessons you will teach just what the needs are because the subject could get a little more confusing and in depth. Other times, when you see understanding is very high, you can go beyond the needs to know and challenge students more. I know for sure, I like challenging students when I see the lesson goes smoothly and the class is on board with you. We have to go beyond the needs in order to reach that higher level of thinking however, you need to be observant of the understanding going on. As mentioned before, if the class is not on board, then you teach to the needs. For me, math, is FILLED with so much "needs to know" that it leave little time to challenge further. However, math is a subject that students will get or not get and unfortunately get discouraged very fast. Playing to the needs is how I've seen most math classes go because there is just so much information and it is so scattered. You need to know your students and know where they might struggle, and make your best judgement.
ReplyDeleteTh purpose of homework, I feel, is to check for further understanding. However, I do not agree with teachers spending so much time on homework that it takes over the time in class. Homework is a tool for teachers to assess not to drown students with so much extra work. I am not a fan of giving a million things for homework, simply because I would not do it so why would I do that to them. That is how you get students to HATE homework. Overloading is a huge issue that I've witnessed and I totally disagree. Homework is an assessment and should be used just as that.
I do feel homework is necessary because, as mentioned already, it is a way for teachers to check for understanding. It is important for students to understand material and be able to do the work on their own. When students choose not to do the homework, it hurts them in the long run. It implies laziness. I never give that much homework because then I know they won't do it. I do enough so that I know they understand the material and so they get a little extra practice. Not doing it hurts them come test time. They did not give them selves the chance to make the mistake and correct it on homework, and therefore their test score on the material will show just that. It is important students do their homework, but teachers need to stop drowning them in it. That stirs up a vicious cycle.
I think the main purpose of homework is to ensure students have reinforcement after the lesson. This is a way to help refresh what was taught in class, and a way for the teacher to make sure the students have a clear understanding if they know the material or not. However, as a teacher and even as a student I have never been a fan of giving or receiving busy work. Homework, just for the sake of giving it. Students know when they are given busy work and most of them say “I’m not going to do this, it has no point to what we are doing” and sometimes how can you disagree. That’s why as a student teacher I made sure I gave meaningful homework, that they can relate to and most of my students really enjoyed it. I had them write messages to Napoleon through facebook, and write tweets to an Enlightened Philosopher. They really enjoyed these homework’s and I had some really interesting stories and comments. If a student does not wish to do their homework I would smack them with a ruler… joking! I would ask them why they did not complete the assignment, ask if they need help, if they didn’t understand, offer to stay after school with them during extra help and do the assignment together. I want my students to complete their homework, I would never give them a zero, I would not let them have the option of not doing it and taking the easy way out. However on that note, I would not give them full credit if they were late.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the purpose of homework?
ReplyDeleteWhen is homework necessary? What strategy will you employ when a student chooses not to do it?
The main purpose of homework is to reinforce the lesson(s) that have been taught during the school day. I strongly believe that homework does not need to be long or too much for the student. I also believe that homework is necessary because it checks for understanding. When I look at my students homework, it gives me a good sense of what they are able to do on their own. Especially if they are struggling with a particular area. If a student is not choosing to do it, it may be too difficult for them or their home life may be a contribution why they can't finish it. I would have to figure out why the homework is not happening. I would talk to the student and remind them they need to be accountable for their work. It may be a good time to review classroom goals and provide that effective feedback.
You are in the process of writing units for your students. How can you determine the "needs to know"?
ReplyDelete"Need to know" is what students have to learn and understand about the unit that students have yet to encounter. In order to determine the needs to know, preassessment or informal activities should be given and are important in helping decide what needs to be taught. For example, and just to name a few,activities can be used such as effective questioning or brainstorming ideas can give a teacher a sense of what their students already know.
I am glad that only Pasquale is interested in corporal punishment =)
ReplyDeleteSometimes I think that kids would take it over the endless amount of work that is required by some teachers.
From your writings, I can see that you get the meaning of when homework is necessary. And when it is a need to do.
The need to know comes with time, but the strategies suggested by Jackson and you are ways to begin the process. Using tiered lessons also helps in this process.
See you tonight!
The need to know is what is authentic. What students will need to know in order to succeed in life. To succeed at work. Isn't that our goal, o educate the minds of children in order to make a productive and enlightened future. By associating the material you are teaching to real-life situations allows the students to understand to a greater degree and to retain the information longer. It also helps students reach higher levels in Blooms Taxomony, to question, relate, take apart, and put back together information. When a student asks why or how, do not disreagrd that inquiry but rather embrace it. If you don't have the answer, work with the student to find it. By doing this makes it more meaningful to the student and closes the gap between the teacher and the student.
ReplyDeleteAs for homework, that should also be authentic and also be appropriate to learning styles and abilities in addition to developmentally appropriate. The idea of homework is to both assess a students ability in addition to reinforcing classroom learned information. However, in many cases homework cannot be used as either of these things when parents, siblings, peers, or guardians are doing it for them. That is why it is important to make it engaging and authentic. More of a project than "work". Something that students will be excited to go home and do, that they can teach their parents, for the best way to learn something is to teach it.
But what if a student doesn't complete their entriguing and engaging assignment you work so hard on creating for them? Well, give that student options. Find out why they could not complete it. Have a homework pass system, that every student gets a total of 5 passes when they begin the school year. Explain how it is like a job, you get x amount of sick days a year, and if you go over those days you suffer consequences of lack of pay, being written up, and possible termination of employment.
By making all that you do authentic, brings the real world into the classroom and more greatly enhances your students rate of success outside of the classroom.
Regarding “need to knows”: It can be truly difficult to sift through all that can be known about a subject to get to the need to knows. We, as teachers, are masters in our subject areas so we place importance on all aspects of the subject at hand. We need to look at things from the viewpoint of our students. Where are they, what do they know already, and what will help them reach the objective of the unit? As Kasey said, we need to distinguish the need to knows from the nice to knows. Preassessment of the students is a good start. But it also might be helpful to go through our lesson plans and list all the things that we would like the students to learn. Then cross things off the list that are superfluous to what the students must learn.
ReplyDeleteHomework is tricky. I remember when I was in 5th grade, our teacher would assign homework in each subject every night. That included, English, Science, Social Studies, Math, Religion, and Reading. Every night. Looking back, it was her first year teaching and I’m sure she thought that was what she was supposed to do. But I just remember being up until 10-11pm every night trying to get all the work done and then was exhausted the next day and could hardly pay attention during class. That’s pretty heavy for a 10 year old. Pile on to that all the extracurricular activities I was involved in and it is surprising I didn’t have a breakdown. Meanwhile, I can only imagine how long it took her to grade these assignments every night.
We need to remember that our students are kids who have lives outside of our classroom. In this day and age kids’ schedules are completely booked with sports, music classes, clubs, (not to mention social lives). Our homework assignments should reinforce what was learned in the class. They should be concise and meaningful. Students spend 6-7 hours a day in school until they are age 18. We don’t need to take unnecessary time away from their lives just because we think we need to assign homework.
After reading Jackson’s book, I recognize that there are many ways for me to begin implementing these techniques within the classroom.
ReplyDeleteSTEP 1: Get a job (just kidding…not really)
There are many techniques in this book that can be very useful; however, one aspect of the book that I feel is the most important is the overlapping nature of the techniques. For example, each technique or philosophy for teaching interacts or overlaps with other ideas in the book, making any one technique useless without the other. For instance, without proper assessments, a teacher cannot determine what his or her students know, and what they need to know. If the teacher doesn’t know this, they cannot structure their units and instructional strategies appropriately. This in turn, prevents teachers from collecting useful feedback, and without useful feedback adjustments cannot be made and student needs are not addressed. Inevitably, students fall through the cracks and fail. I believe that the techniques in the book are formulated around a system, which needs to be implemented in full. Some classmates disagree with this idea and believe that the implementation needs to be gradual, but I feel that because these techniques are so interconnected, teachers must implement the system as a whole over any singular technique. This does not mean you have to utilize every technique in the book, but rather one technique from each stage of this system. For example, utilizing a pre-assessment technique will tell you what you students need to learn. Effective informal assessments allow you to track progress and effectiveness of the lessons, as well as identify red flags within your student population. Make changes based on this valuable feedback and start the process again. As Jackson mentions, this transformation to a “master teacher” will not occur in one fell swoop, but I feel that this statement reflects the on-going process that characterizes Jackson’s system.
Table 7.1 provides excellent criteria for the roles and responsibilities of the Teacher and Student. This list would be good to keep in mind when developing any unit or plan of study because it clearly defines the roles of the participants. If I had to sum up the Teacher section of table 7.1 in one word, it would be guidance. The role of the teacher is to set up the environment, provide materials (and info), motivate students, and make sure that these elements are continuously apportioned to their needs and progress. As teachers, we must show them the door and give them the keys; however, it is up to the students to use that key, and walk through the door.
Differentiation and technology definitely come into play when teaching in the modern classroom. If we follow Jackson’s approach, and know the different learning styles of our students, we can differentiate or tier the lessons to meet the needs/learning styles of the students that we have. Technology represents an integral part of differentiation because it allows for so many modes of information to be accessed quickly. To differentiate, we can use technology to offer a plethora of different learning sources that will appeal to every student in the class in one way or another. Take it one step further, we can allow students to use differentiation to research or present material that they have learned.
SUBMITTED BY CHRIS FOSTER
There are many ways to determine the needs of students. Firstly, you can look to the school curriculum for a basis of what content they are supposed to know, and what they should know by the end of the school year. However, this is obvious and often not reflective of where the students actually are. The use of pre-assessments is probably one of the most important aspects to determining what students need to know because it tells us what the students know already, so we can adjust our units accordingly. When developing any unit, it is very important to reduce the concepts down to clear and concise objectives that can be assessed and referred to throughout a given unit. Students should always have these main ideas running through their heads as they divulge in more complex tasks relating to the overall concepts of a unit.
ReplyDeleteHomework is an interesting topic because it is very tricky to actually get students to do it. Homework as a tool is very important because it drives home the material covered and gives allotted practice time for material that may not be possible in class. The problem with homework is that kids hate it. So how do teachers overcome this?
I agree with Mark in the idea that there should be consequences for students who do not do their homework. However, the consistent absence of homework should raise a “red flag” to us as educators about what we are assigning. Obviously, the students who care about their grades are going to do the homework regardless of what is assigned. It is the students who don’t do the homework that teachers need to address. Firstly, make homework less boring by orienting it towards an overlapping project, or assigning choice homework assignments that allow students to choose something that appeals to them. Also, find a currency other than grades that appeals to students so that you get the students who don’t care about their grades to do their homework because they want that sticker, or whatever. I agree with Christie’s statement about the structure of homework. Because students hate it, teachers need to optimize the effectiveness in the smallest package possible. Overly rigorous homework will only detour students from doing it.
SUBMITTED BY CHRIS FOSTER